The RagWing RW9 Motor Bipe is a family of single seat, open-frame
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 ...
, open-cockpit, single engine
ultralight aircraft
Ultralight aviation (called microlight aviation in some countries) is the flying of lightweight, 1- or 2-seat fixed-wing aircraft. Some countries differentiate between weight-shift control and Aircraft flight control system, conventional three-a ...
designed by Roger Mann and sold as plans by
RagWing Aircraft Designs for
amateur construction.
[Purdy, Don: ''AeroCrafter - Homebuilt Aircraft Sourcebook'', page 233. BAI Communications. ][Downey, Julia: ''1999 Plans Aircraft Directory'', Kitplanes, Volume 16, Number 1, January 1999, page 66. Primedia Publications. ISSN 0891-1851]
Design and development
The RW9 was designed as an
FAR 103 Ultralight Vehicles compliant
biplane
A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two main wings stacked one above the other. The first powered, controlled aeroplane to fly, the Wright Flyer, used a biplane wing arrangement, as did many aircraft in the early years of aviation. While a ...
that would have an empty weight within that category's empty weight limit. The RW9 achieves its light weight in part due to its completely open-frame tube fuselage.
The RW9's wings are constructed entirely from wood and covered with
aircraft fabric
Aircraft fabric covering is a term used for both the material used and the process of covering aircraft open structures. It is also used for reinforcing closed plywood structures. The de Havilland Mosquito is an example of this technique, as are ...
. The fuselage is a fastened aluminum tube truss construction. The landing gear is of
conventional configuration. The aircraft's installed power range is and the standard engine is the
Kawasaki 440A installed in
tractor configuration
In aviation, the term tractor configuration refers to an aircraft constructed in the standard configuration with its engine mounted with the propeller in front of it so that the aircraft is "pulled" through the air. Oppositely, the pusher co ...
. The
2si 460
The 2si 460 is a family of in-line twin-cylinder, two-stroke, single ignition, aircraft engines that were designed for ultralight aircraft.Cliche, Andre: ''Ultralight Aircraft Shopper's Guide'' 8th Edition, page G-2 Cybair Limited Publishing, 200 ...
has also been used.
The RW9 is available only as plans and reported construction time is 150–175 hours.
The same basic airframe design was also used to produce the
parasol wing RagWing RW16 Aerial.
Variants
;RW9 Motor Bipe
:Open-frame fuselage, open-cockpit ultralight biplane first flown in 1995 and powered by a
Kawasaki 440A or a
2si 460
The 2si 460 is a family of in-line twin-cylinder, two-stroke, single ignition, aircraft engines that were designed for ultralight aircraft.Cliche, Andre: ''Ultralight Aircraft Shopper's Guide'' 8th Edition, page G-2 Cybair Limited Publishing, 200 ...
.
;RW16 Aerial
:Open-frame fuselage, open-cockpit ultralight parasol wing aircraft, powered by a
Kawasaki 340.
Specifications (RW9)
See also
References
External links
Official website - RW9
{{RagWing Aircraft Designs
1990s United States ultralight aircraft