The Roberts Cygnet is an American
high-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 wings.
A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing config ...
,
cruciform tail
The cruciform tail is an aircraft empennage configuration which, when viewed from the aircraft's front or rear, looks much like a cross. The usual arrangement is to have the tailplane, horizontal stabilizer intersect the vertical tail somewhere ...
, single-seat,
glider that was designed and produced by
Donald Roberts as a contender for the
IGC World Class sailplane.
Design and development
The Cygnet was the sole US entrant in the competition for the World Class sailplane, losing out to the Polish
Politechnika Warszawska PW-5
The Politechnika Warszawska PW-5 ''Smyk'' ( Polish: "Little rascal") is a single seater sailplane designed at the Warsaw University of Technology (Polish: "Politechnika Warszawska") and manufactured in Poland. It is a monotype World Class glider. ...
. As a result only one Cygnet was completed. The prototype was finished and first flown in 1992
The aircraft is made from steel tubing and
aluminium
Aluminium (or aluminum in North American English) is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol Al and atomic number 13. It has a density lower than that of other common metals, about one-third that of steel. Aluminium has ...
, with
fiberglass
Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English) is a common type of fibre-reinforced plastic, fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened i ...
fairings. Its span wing employs a Somers-Maughmer SM701
airfoil
An airfoil (American English) or aerofoil (British English) is a streamlined body that is capable of generating significantly more Lift (force), lift than Drag (physics), drag. Wings, sails and propeller blades are examples of airfoils. Foil (fl ...
and features balanced top and bottom
DFS DFS may refer to:
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* Dancer Fitzgerald Sample, advertising agency, now Saatchi & Saatchi
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* DFS Program Exchang ...
-style
air brakes for glidepath control. A
ballistic parachute
A ballistic parachute, ballistic reserve parachute, or emergency ballistic reserve parachute, is a parachute ejected from its casing by a small explosion, much like that used in an ejection seat. The advantage of the ballistic parachute over a co ...
was to be standard equipment.
Operational history
In August 2011 the sole Cygnet built was still listed on the US
Federal Aviation Administration
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is a Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government agency within the United States Department of Transportation, U.S. Department of Transportation that regulates civil aviation in t ...
registry.
Specifications (Cygnet)
See also
References
External links
Photo of the Cygnet{{World class sailplane competitors
1990s United States sailplanes
Cruciform tail aircraft
Aircraft first flown in 1992