The Johnson RHJ-6 Adastra (English: ''Star'') was an American
mid-wing
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 ...
, two-seat
glider
Glider may refer to:
Aircraft and transport Aircraft
* Glider (aircraft), heavier-than-air aircraft primarily intended for unpowered flight
** Glider (sailplane), a rigid-winged glider aircraft with an undercarriage, used in the sport of glidin ...
that was designed and constructed by
Dick Johnson and first flown on 3 April 1960.
Design and development
The Adastra was conceived by Johnson as a two-place competition aircraft. He completed and flew it in 1960.
The aircraft was of mixed construction. The
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 ...
was built from wood and was a
monocoque design. The wing had a wooden structure, with
fiberglass
Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass (Commonwealth English) is a common type of fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened into a sheet called a chopped strand mat, or woven into glass cloth ...
leading edge
The leading edge of an airfoil surface such as a wing is its foremost edge and is therefore the part which first meets the oncoming air.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third edition'', page 305. Aviation Supplies & Academics, ...
. The tail surfaces were constructed of wood. The wings aft of the leading edge, the tail surfaces and all control surfaces were covered with doped
aircraft fabric.
Originally the aircraft employed an Eppler 150
airfoil
An airfoil (American English) or aerofoil (British English) is the cross-sectional shape of an object whose motion through a gas is capable of generating significant lift, such as a wing, a sail, or the blades of propeller, rotor, or turbine.
...
section, but Johnson later modified it by adding a 10% wing chord extension, turning the airfoil into an Eppler 151. Later new wings were built with an Eppler 414 airfoil to improve low-speed performance. The new wings used a foam-filled fiberglass leading edge. The tail was originally a "Y" tail, but this was later replaced with a conventional tail, with a low-mounted
tailplane
A tailplane, also known as a horizontal stabiliser, is a small lifting surface located on the tail (empennage) behind the main lifting surfaces of a fixed-wing aircraft as well as other non-fixed-wing aircraft such as helicopters and gyroplane ...
.
The individual cockpits were covered with independent
bubble canopies, although the aircraft was most often flown solo, with a flat hatch replacing the rear canopy to reduce
aerodynamic drag
In fluid dynamics, drag (sometimes called air resistance, a type of friction, or fluid resistance, another type of friction or fluid friction) is a force acting opposite to the relative motion of any object moving with respect to a surrounding fl ...
. In 1983 it was reported that a single canopy was being designed for the aircraft.
Only one Adastra was built.
Operational history
In its original configuration Johnson flew the Adastra in the 1960
World Gliding Championships in
Cologne
Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...
,
West Germany
West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...
and finished in 15th place. After extending the wing chord and altering the airfoil he flew it in the US Nationals to a seventh-place finish in 1961 and second place in 1962.
The aircraft was later owned by Jesse Womack of
Graham, Texas
Graham is a city in north-central Texas. It is the county seat and largest city of Young County.
History
The site was first settled in 1871 by brothers Gustavus A. and Edwin S. Graham, primary shareholders in the Texas Emigration and Land Company ...
. The
Federal Aviation Administration
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic m ...
registry records indicate that the aircraft was destroyed and was removed from the registry on 6 April 1992. The
National Soaring Museum lists the aircraft as being part of their collection and in storage.
Aircraft on display
*
National Soaring Museum - listed as "in storage"
Specifications (Adastra - later configuration)
See also
References
*
*
*
*{{cite web, url=http://www.soaringmuseum.org/collection.html , title=Sailplanes in Our Collection , accessdate=17 May 2011 , last=
National Soaring Museum , authorlink= , year=2011 , url-status=dead, archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110516142717/http://www.soaringmuseum.org/collection.html , archivedate=16 May 2011
1960s United States sailplanes
Homebuilt aircraft
Aircraft first flown in 1960
Mid-wing aircraft