The Ross RH-3 is a single seat,
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 wings.
A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing config ...
glider that was designed by
Harland Ross.
[Said, Bob: ''1983 Sailplane Directory, Soaring Magazine'', page 60. Soaring Society of America, November 1983. USPS 499-920]
Design and development
Ross designed the R-3 as simplified version of the
Ross R-2 Ibis with the intention of making the aircraft type easier to construct for
amateur builders. The
fuselage
The fuselage (; from the French language, French ''fuselé'' "spindle-shaped") is an aircraft's main body section. It holds Aircrew, crew, passengers, or cargo. In single-engine aircraft, it will usually contain an Aircraft engine, engine as wel ...
remained similar to the R-2, but the wing was redesigned as a straight wing, in contrast to the R-2's complex
gull wing
The gull wing, also known as Polish wing or Puławski wing, is an aircraft wing configuration with a prominent bend in the wing inner section towards the wing root. Its name is derived from the seabirds which it resembles and from the Polish a ...
. The R-3 design was intended to be of all-wooden construction and employed a
NACA
The National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) was a United States federal agency that was founded on March 3, 1915, to undertake, promote, and institutionalize aeronautical research. On October 1, 1958, the agency was dissolved and its ...
23018
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 ...
section. Ross never constructed an example of the R-3.
Marvin Hicks of
Aurora, Colorado
Aurora (, ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Home rule municipality, home rule city located in Arapahoe County, Colorado, Arapahoe, Adams County, Colorado, Adams, and Douglas County, Colorado, Douglas List of counties in Colorado, counti ...
purchased a set of plans and built a modified version of the aircraft over a ten-year period, culminating in a first flight on 1 January 1963. Hicks' aircraft used an increased span wing with
flaps and a NACA 63 (3)-618
laminar flow airfoil. He designated the aircraft as the RH-3, indicating ''Ross-Hicks'' as contributing designers. The RH-3 proved to be a good performer in soaring contests.
Variants
;R-3
:Original Ross design, with a NACA 23018 airfoil. None built.
;RH-3
:Hicks modified Ross design, with a NACA 63 (3)-618 laminar flow airfoil. One built.
Specifications (RH-3)
See also
References
{{Harland Ross aircraft designs
1960s United States sailplanes
Harland Ross aircraft
Aircraft first flown in 1963
Mid-wing aircraft