The ICA IS-28 is a two-seat

sailplane A glider or sailplane is a type of glider aircraft used in the leisure activity and sport of gliding (also called soaring). This unpowered aircraft can use naturally occurring currents of rising air in the atmosphere to gain altitude. Sailplan ...

produced in

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

in the 1970s. An all-metal

aircraft An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air. It counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines ...

of conventional design with a T-tail, it was originally produced with 15-metre wings, but in 1973, production shifted to the IS-28B with 17-metre wings and numerous

aerodynamic Aerodynamics, from grc, ἀήρ ''aero'' (air) + grc, δυναμική (dynamics), is the study of the motion of air, particularly when affected by a solid object, such as an airplane wing. It involves topics covered in the field of fluid dyn ...

refinements. These included a smaller tail with decreased dihedral, decreased dihedral on the wings, and redesigned

fuselage The fuselage (; from the French ''fuselé'' "spindle-shaped") is an aircraft's main body section. It holds crew, passengers, or cargo. In single-engine aircraft, it will usually contain an engine as well, although in some amphibious aircraft t ...

contours. This version first flew on 26 April 1973 and was subsequently produced in versions with flaps (IS-28B2) and without (IS-28B1). Around 100 had been built by the early 1980s, with a substantial number sold for export. On April 7, 1979, Tom Knauff and R. Tawse set a world record with the IS-28 B2 glider, covering a distance of 829 kilometres on a predetermined out-and-return course from the

Ridge Soaring Gliderport Ridge Soaring Gliderport was a public-use glider airport located two nautical miles (4 km) southwest of the central business district of Unionville, in Centre County, Pennsylvania, United States. It was privately owned by Knauff & Grove, ...

Julian, Pennsylvania Julian is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Centre County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is part of the State College, Pennsylvania Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 152 at the 2010 census. Most lo ...

. The IS-28B2 is depicted in the film

Escape From New York ''Escape from New York'' is a 1981 American science fiction action film co-written, co-scored and directed by John Carpenter. It stars Kurt Russell, Lee Van Cleef, Ernest Borgnine, Donald Pleasence, Isaac Hayes, Adrienne Barbeau, and Harry Dea ...

(1980) The IS-28 was also produced as a

motorglider A motor glider is a fixed-wing aircraft that can be flown with or without engine power. The FAI Gliding Commission Sporting Code definition is: a fixed-wing aerodyne equipped with a means of propulsion (MoP), capable of sustained soaring flight ...

, initially as just a powered version of the IS-28B2 (designated the IS-28M1) and then as the more radically redesigned IS-28M2. This version had an entirely new forward fuselage offering side-by-side seating for the two occupants, wings relocated to a low-set position on the fuselage, and tailwheel undercarriage with main units that semi-retracted backwards into the wings. The rear fuselage, empennage, and outer wing panels remained identical with the sailplane version. The IS-29 is a single-seat sailplane that was designed and manufactured to complement training carried out in the IS-28 two-seater. The IS-30 is a refined IS-28B2, identical in most respects other than having all-metal control surfaces (where the IS-28 has fabric-covered surfaces) and a re-designed horizontal stabiliser.

Variants

* IS-28 - sailplane with 15 metre wings * IS-28B ** IS-28B1 - sailplane with 17 metre wings and DFS-style airbrakes ** IS-28B2 - similar to IS-28B1 with flaps and Schempp-Hirth-style airbrakes * IS-28M ** IS-28M1 (aka IAR-34)- tandem seat motorglider version of IS-28B1 with Limbach SL.1700E1 engine ** IS-28M2 - motor-glider with side-by-side seating and three-point undercarriage ** IAR-28M2A - IS-28M2 with new wing, split flaps and Limbach L.2000E01 engine * IS-30 - all-metal IS-28B2 with new tailplane. * IAR-46 - trainer version of IS-28M2 with reduced wingspan and Rotax 912A engine

Operators

; *

Romanian Air Force The Romanian Air Force (RoAF) ( ro, Forțele Aeriene Române) is the air force branch of the Romanian Armed Forces. It has an air force headquarters, an operational command, five airbases and an air defense brigade. Reserve forces include one ai ...

- received 10 IAR-28MA from 1984. *The Romanian Airclub - still using IS-28B2 and IS-29D2 for glider pilots in training and performer pilots. A fleet of 5 IS-28M2 motor-gliders were restored and declared able to fly again.

Variants

Operators

Specifications (IS-28B2)

References

Further reading