The RWD 23 was a Polish low-wing
trainer aircraft
A trainer is a class of aircraft designed specifically to facilitate flight training of pilots and aircrews. The use of a dedicated trainer aircraft with additional safety features—such as tandem flight controls, forgiving flight characteristi ...
of 1938, constructed by the
RWD team, that remained a prototype.
Development
The aircraft was designed in 1938 to fill the gap in the Polish trainer aircraft, by creating a light low-wing trainer. All trainers built in series in Poland to that point were high-wing monoplanes, for example the
RWD-8
The RWD 8 was a Polish parasol wing monoplane trainer aircraft produced by RWD. It was used from 1934 to 1939 by the Polish Air Force and civilian aviation.
Development
The RWD 8 was designed in response to a Polish Air Force requirement in 193 ...
or the various biplanes. The main designer was Andrzej Anczutin of the
RWD bureau. Among the designers were also
Bronisław Żurakowski and
Tadeusz Chyliński
Tadeusz Chylińnski (13 October 1911 in Warsaw – 15 February 1978 in Warsaw) – was a Polish airplane designer and constructor, a researcher at the Institute of Aviation, Warsaw, Institute of Aviation in Warsaw and specialist in aircraft s ...
. Chyliński designed the base mount for its engine.
[Andrzej Glass (2003). ''Słownik biograficzny techników polskich'', SBTP: Warsaw, p. 24: fragment of its entry about ]Tadeusz Chyliński
Tadeusz Chylińnski (13 October 1911 in Warsaw – 15 February 1978 in Warsaw) – was a Polish airplane designer and constructor, a researcher at the Institute of Aviation, Warsaw, Institute of Aviation in Warsaw and specialist in aircraft s ...
: ( pl, W 1937 r. podjął prace w Doświadczalnych Warsztatach Lotniczych ( RWD) jako konstr., jednocześnie kontynuowal studia. Pracował przy dok. seryjnej samolotu obserwacyjnego RWD-14 Czapla
The RWD-14 Czapla (LWS Czapla) was a Polish army cooperation aircraft (observation, close reconnaissance and liaison aircraft), designed in the mid-1930s by the RWD team, and produced in the LWS factory from 1938. A series of 65 aircraft were b ...
, następnie zaprojektował plat samolotu zawodniczego RWD-19
The RWD-19 was a Polish two-seat low-wing sports aircraft of 1938, constructed by the RWD bureau.
Development
The RWD-19 was designed in 1937-1938 in the RWD bureau. The chief designer was Jerzy Drzewiecki. Designer Tadeusz Chyliński designed ...
, kadlub samolotu dyspozycyjnego RWD-18
The RWD 18 was a four/five seat STOL (Short Take-Off and Landing) utility aircraft designed and built in Poland from 1936.
Development
DWL studied a small twin-engined STOL utility aircraft as a private venture due to the lack of official suppo ...
, łoże silnika do samolotu szk. RWD-23 i dźwigar płata samolotu myśliwskiego RWD-25 __NOTOC__
The RWD-25 was a proposed Polish low-wing light fighter aircraft of 1939 designed by RWD. The project was abandoned when Poland was invaded.
Design and development
In late 1930s the Polish Army sought several replacements for the ra ...
. W l. 1933-38 byl czl. Sekcji Lotniczej Kola Mechaników Stud. PW.) The plane was similar to
de Havilland Moth Minor
The de Havilland DH.94 Moth Minor was a 1930s British two-seat tourer/trainer aircraft built by de Havilland at Hatfield Aerodrome, England. With the start of the second world war production of the Moth Minor was moved to de Havilland Austral ...
, but over 100 kg lighter. Low power output and simple wooden construction would make it cheap and economical in service, and therefore it might replace the RWD-8 in
aeroclubs.
The first prototype (registration SP-BPO) was flown in late 1938 or early 1939 in Warsaw by E. Przysiecki. It underwent factory trials in June 1939, then it was given to tests to the Aviation Technical Institute. It was destroyed in the first days of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, in September 1939. The plane was found as successful, it could also perform basic aerobatics.
The second improved prototype was under construction when the war broke out, but it was not completed. The
LOPP
Air and Chemical Defense League (Polish: ''Liga Obrony Powietrznej i Przeciwgazowej'', ''L.O.P.P.'') was a mass Polish paramilitary organization, founded in 1928 as a result of the merger of the ''State Air Defense League'' (Polish: ''Liga Obron ...
paramilitary organization ordered a series of 10 aircraft, that were not completed due to the war.
Description
Wooden construction low-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, with a fixed landing gear and open cockpits. Fuselage semi-
monocoque
Monocoque ( ), also called structural skin, is a structural system in which loads are supported by an object's external skin, in a manner similar to an egg shell. The word ''monocoque'' is a French term for "single shell".
First used for boats, ...
, rectangular in cross-section, plywood-covered. Single-piece trapezoid wings with rounded tips, single-spar, plywood (front) and canvas covered, fitted with
flaps. Conventional tail of a shape typical to RWD designs, like
RWD 8
The RWD 8 was a Polish parasol wing monoplane trainer aircraft produced by RWD. It was used from 1934 to 1939 by the Polish Air Force and civilian aviation.
Development
The RWD 8 was designed in response to a Polish Air Force requirement in 193 ...
, plywood (fins) and canvas (elevators and rudder) covered. Two open cockpits 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 ...
, with individual windshields and twin controls. Rear cockpit was raised a bit for a better view. Conventional fixed landing gear with a rear skid, main gear in aerodynamic covers.
Walter Mikron
The Walter Mikron is a four-cylinder, air-cooled, inverted straight engine for aircraft.
Development
Developed in Czechoslovakia in the early 1930s, the engine saw limited use in late 1930s and early 1950s. In the 1980s an initial batch of eng ...
II inline engine in front, with two-blade wooden propeller.
Cirrus Minor or 63 hp
Avia 3
Avia Motors s.r.o. is a Czech automotive manufacturer. It was founded in 1919 as an aircraft maker, and diversified into trucks after 1945. As an aircraft maker it was notable for producing biplane fighter aircraft, especially the B-534. Avia ...
engines could also to be installed. Fuel tank 45 L in a fuselage, cruise fuel consumption 14 L/h.
(
Specifications (RWD 23 prototype)
See also
References
*Andrzej Glass: "Polskie konstrukcje lotnicze 1893-1939" (''Polish aviation constructions 1893-1939''), WKiŁ, Warsaw 1977 , no ISBN
External links
Photos and drawings at Ugolok Neba
{{RWD aircraft
1930s Polish civil trainer aircraft
RWD-23
Low-wing aircraft
Single-engined tractor aircraft
Aircraft first flown in 1938