The RWD-16 was a Polish two-seat low-wing sports plane of

1936 Events January–February * January 20 – The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King Edward VIII, following the death of his father, George V, at Sandringham House. * January 28 – Death and state funer ...

, constructed by the RWD team, that remained a prototype.

Development

The aircraft was designed in

1935 Events January * January 7 – Italian premier Benito Mussolini and French Foreign Minister Pierre Laval conclude an agreement, in which each power agrees not to oppose the other's colonial claims. * January 12 – Amelia Earhart ...

by Andrzej Anczutin of the RWD bureau, as a light and economical sports plane. The plane was a wooden low-wing monoplane, with two seats side-by-side in a closed cockpit, powered by 50 hp

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 engi ...

I straight engine.Glass, A., op.cit., p. 322-323. The prototype was built and first flown in early

(registration SP-AXY), funded by the Polish division of

Osram OSRAM Licht AG is a German company that makes electric lights, headquartered in Munich and Premstätten (Austria). OSRAM positions itself as a high-tech photonics company that is increasingly focusing on sensor technology, visualization and trea ...

factory. The plane did not appear a successful design, though. Test revealed lack of directional stability, therefore its rudder was much enlarged, the wings were fitted with fixed

slats Super Low Altitude Test Satellite (SLATS) or Tsubame was a JAXA satellite intended to demonstrate operations in very low Earth orbit (VLEO, below 200 km), using ion engines to counteract aerodynamic drag (physics), drag from the atmosphere ...

and a windshield was redesigned. It did not improve the situation much, and in 1937-1938 the prototype was rebuilt and fitted with stronger 60 hp Avia 3 engine in a lengthened nose, while the vertical stabilizer and rudder were made smaller. Most significant feature became a front windshield with a negative slope. After final changes, the prototype still was not satisfactory, but it served as a basis for the RWD-16bis design, which was a new, redesigned aircraft, produced as the RWD-21. The prototype RWD-16 was given then to a known touring aviator

Zbigniew Babiński Zbigniew Juliusz Babiński (13 May 1896 – April 1940) was a Polish military and sports aviator. He was born in Sosnowiec. While in school he constructed two simple biplane gliders in 1912 and 1913 in Milanówek. The first one crashed during ...

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 wings. A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing con ...

, conventional in layout, with a fixed landing gear and a closed cockpit. The fuselage was 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, ...

, plywood-covered. Single-piece trapezoid wings with rounded tips, two-spar, plywood (in front) and canvas covered. Conventional 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 ...

, plywood (fins) and canvas (elevators and rudder) covered. Two seats side-by-side, with twin controls, under a common canopy, with a fixed windshield. Conventional fixed

landing gear Landing gear is the undercarriage of an aircraft or spacecraft that is used for taxiing, takeoff or landing. For aircraft, it is generally needed for all three of these. It was also formerly called ''alighting gear'' by some manufacturers, s ...

with a rear skid.

I inline engine in front, with two-blade wooden propeller Szomański, 1.8 m diameter. In later variant, Avia 3 inline engine was installed.

Specifications (RWD 16bis)

References

External links

Photos and drawings at Ugolok Neba
{{RWD aircraft 1930s Polish sport aircraft

RWD-16 The RWD-16 was a Polish two-seat low-wing sports plane of 1936 in aviation, 1936, constructed by the RWD (aircraft manufacturer), RWD team, that remained a prototype. Development The aircraft was designed in 1935 in aviation, 1935 by Andrzej Ancz ...

Low-wing aircraft Single-engined tractor aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1936