The RWD 3 was a 1930

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...

sports aircraft and

liaison aircraft A liaison aircraft (also called an army cooperation aircraft) is a small, usually unarmed aircraft primarily used by military forces for artillery observation or transporting commanders and messages. The concept developed before World War II and ...

prototype, constructed by the RWD team, a single-engine high-wing monoplane.

Development

The RWD 3 was constructed by the RWD team of

Stanisław Rogalski Stanisław Rogalski (25 May 1904 – 6 February 1976) was a Polish aircraft designer, born in Olomouc, best known as one of the founding trio of the inter-war period RWD airplane factory in Warsaw. He obtained his degree at Warsaw University of ...

Stanisław Wigura Stanisław Wigura (9 April 1901 – 11 September 1932) was a Polish aircraft designer and aviator, co-founder of the RWD aircraft construction team and lecturer at the Warsaw University of Technology. Along with Franciszek Żwirko, he won the in ...

and

Jerzy Drzewiecki Jerzy Drzewiecki (7 August 1902 – 15 May 1990) was a Polish aeroplane constructor, an engineer and one of the founders of the RWD construction bureau, along with Rogalski and Wigura. He was born in Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), of ...

in Warsaw. Since their earlier design, the

RWD 2 The RWD 2 was a 1929 Polish single-engine high-wing monoplane sports plane constructed by the RWD team. Development The RWD 2 was constructed by the RWD team of Stanisław Rogalski, Stanisław Wigura and Jerzy Drzewiecki in the Aviation Section ...

sports aircraft appeared quite successful, the Polish Military of Defence ordered in 1929 to develop its enlarged variant as a liaison aircraft. It retained the same fish-shaped fuselage without a direct view towards forward from the pilot's seat, though the view improved due to a thin fuselage profile before the pilot. At the same time, the RWD developed similar enlarged sports aircraft, the

RWD 4 The RWD 4 was a Polish sports plane of 1930, constructed by the RWD team. Development The RWD 4 was constructed by the RWD team of Stanisław Rogalski, Stanisław Wigura and Jerzy Drzewiecki in Warsaw. It was based upon their earlier RWD 2 des ...

, which shared many features with the RWD 3, but was powered with an inline engine and did not have folding wings. One prototype was built for ground trials and one flying prototype. It was completed and flown by the designer Jerzy Drzewiecki in April 1930. Since it was found unsatisfactory as a liaison aircraft, it was handed over to sports aviation – Academic

Aero Club A flying club or aero club is a non-profit organization, not-for-profit, member-run organization that provides its members with affordable access to aircraft. Many clubs also provide flight training, flight planning facilities, pilot supplies and ...

in Warsaw, with the civil registration SP-WAA. It was used for training and in some competitions. Unlike the RWD 3, the RWD 4 appeared more successful design.

Description

Wooden construction single-engine high-wing cantilever

monoplane A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple planes. A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing confi ...

, conventional in layout. The fuselage was rectangular in cross section (triangular in upper part), plywood-covered. Two-spar wings, covered with canvas, in front with plywood, were folding rearwards, unlike other early RWDs. Cantilever

empennage The empennage ( or ), also known as the tail or tail assembly, is a structure at the rear of an aircraft that provides stability during flight, in a way similar to the feathers on an arrow.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third ed ...

, covered with plywood (stabilizers) and canvas (rudder and elevators). Crew of two was sitting in

tandem Tandem, or in tandem, is an arrangement in which a team of machines, animals or people are lined up one behind another, all facing in the same direction. The original use of the term in English was in ''tandem harness'', which is used for two ...

in the fuselage. The cockpits were open in upper part on the sides, with individual doors on the right side. 5-cylinder air-cooled 88 hp

radial engine The radial engine is a reciprocating type internal combustion engine configuration in which the cylinders "radiate" outward from a central crankcase like the spokes of a wheel. It resembles a stylized star when viewed from the front, and is ca ...

Armstrong Siddeley Genet The Armstrong Siddeley Genet was a five-cylinder, air-cooled, radial engine for aircraft use built in the UK, first run in 1926. It developed 80 hp at 2,200 rpm in its final form and was a popular light aircraft powerplant. Followin ...

(80 hp nominal power, 88 hp take-off power) was mounted in front and drove two-blade wooden propeller. Conventional fixed

landing gear Landing gear is the undercarriage of an aircraft or spacecraft that is used for takeoff or landing. For aircraft it is generally needed for both. It was also formerly called ''alighting gear'' by some manufacturers, such as the Glenn L. Martin ...

, with a rear skid. Fuel tank in central wing section.

Development

Description

Specifications (RWD 3)

See also

References

Further reading