The Ross R-6 is a

tandem Tandem, or in tandem, is an arrangement in which two or more animals, machines, or people are lined up one behind another, all facing in the same direction. ''Tandem'' can also be used more generally to refer to any group of persons or objects w ...

two-seat,

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 ...

glider that was designed by

Harland Ross Harland may refer to: *Harland (name) *Parker Boudreaux, an American professional wrestler who once wrestled in ''NXT'' under the ring name "Harland" Organizations * Harland and Wolff, a British heavy engineering company specializing in shipbuil ...

and first flown in 1956.

Design and development

Ross designed the R-6 as a two-seat sailplane with the intention of setting new multi-place records with it. The aircraft was initially designed to use the same span wing as the highly successful

Ross-Johnson RJ-5 The Ross-Johnson RJ-5 is a single seat competition glider that was designed by Harland Ross and constructed partially by Ross and finished by Dick Johnson. The RJ-5 became one of the most famous gliders ever built when Johnson flew it in 195 ...

, but with a gross weight of as opposed to the RJ-5's this gave the R-6 one of the highest

wing loading In aerodynamics, wing loading is the total weight of an aircraft or flying animal divided by the area of its wing. The stalling speed, takeoff speed and landing speed of an aircraft are partly determined by its wing loading. The faster an airc ...

s for a glider of its day. The R-6 was constructed with a metal

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 ...

, which was a departure from Ross's earlier designs. The passenger seat is behind the pilot's seat, aft of the wing spar and has no windows, visibility is provided by a removable plastic overhead dome. The wing features

dive brake Dive brakes or dive flaps are deployed to slow down an aircraft when in a dive. They often consist of a metal flap that is lowered against the air flow, thus creating drag and reducing dive speed.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, ...

s. The wingspan was later increased to , lowering the wing loading somewhat, but increasing the high

aspect ratio The aspect ratio of a geometry, geometric shape is the ratio of its sizes in different dimensions. For example, the aspect ratio of a rectangle is the ratio of its longer side to its shorter side—the ratio of width to height, when the rectangl ...

to 28:1. Originally taking off from a dolly and landing on a fixed skid, the R-6 later had a retractable monowheel landing gear installed.

Operational history

In one four-day period in 1958 Ross flew the R-6 to set four records. He set new World Record marks for the multi-place glider category in , and speed triangles and also set a US National Record for out-and-return distance of . Two of the three World Records exceeded the standing single-place record at the time. In 1959, Ross flew the R-6 solo from

Kent, Texas Kent is a ghost town in Culberson County, Texas, United States. According to the Handbook of Texas, the community had a population of 60 in 2000. History Due to the abundance of antelope, the area was named Antelope when it was first establi ...

to Farley, New Mexico for his diamond distance and won the

Barringer Trophy The Lewin B. Barringer Memorial Trophy was established by the will of Lewin Barringer in 1948. The original rules specified that the trophy would be awarded for the longest distance soaring flight from any type of launching method other than ai ...

The R-6 was later owned by Bob Storck of

Waldorf, Maryland Waldorf is a census-designated place in Charles County, Maryland, United States. Located south-southeast of Washington, D.C., Waldorf is part of Southern Maryland. Its population was 81,410 at the 2020 census. Waldorf has experienced dramatic gr ...

who loaned it to the

National Soaring Museum The National Soaring Museum (NSM) is an aviation museum whose stated aim is to preserve the history of motorless flight. It is located in Big Flats Town, New York, on top of Harris Hill near Elmira. The NSM is the Soaring Society of America's ...

, where it is currently listed as in storage.

Aircraft on display

- the sole example.

Specifications (R-6 2-seater / single-seater)

References

{{Harland Ross aircraft designs 1950s United States sailplanes Harland Ross aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1956

Design and development

Operational history

Aircraft on display

Specifications (R-6 2-seater / single-seater)

See also

References