The Ruschmeyer R 90 is a four-seat light

aircraft An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air. It counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines. ...

designed and produced in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Design and development

MF-85

Ruschmeyer Luftfahrttechnik initially designed the Ruschmeyer MF-85, intended to be powered by

Porsche PFM 3200 The Porsche PFM 3200 was a six-cylinder horizontally opposed air-cooled aircraft engine developed by Porsche from its air-cooled line of automobile engines from the famous Porsche 911 sports car. The PFM designation was derived from the name o ...

derivatives, which was debuted at the 1987 Hannover Air Show. The MF-85 was a composite four seat aircraft, planned to be offered with engines, priced at DM245,000 to DM325,000 (excluding avionics), with optional fixed or retractable undercarriage. The prototype (V001 D-EEHE) first flew with a

Porsche PFM 3200N The Porsche PFM 3200 was a six-cylinder horizontally opposed air-cooled aircraft engine developed by Porsche from its air-cooled line of automobile engines from the famous Porsche 911 sports car. The PFM designation was derived from the name o ...

, driving a 3-bladed

Mühlbauer MTV.9 Mühlbauer or Muehlbauer or Muhlbauer is a German language occupational surname for a " mill builder" and may refer to: *Anke Mühlbauer (1968), German diver *Beatriz Futuro Muhlbauer (1986), Brazilian rugby sevens player *Dan Muhlbauer (1958–202 ...

constant speed propeller, on 8 August 1988, piloted by Horst Ruschmeyer. The second and third aircraft, V002 (D-EERO) and V003 (D-EERH), on flew on 23 September 1990 and 12 February 1992 respectively. Despite promising flight test results, the unavailability of Porsche engines led to the development of the Textron Lycoming powered R 90.

R 90

Lycoming IO-540-C4D5 The Lycoming O-540 is a family of air-cooled six-cylinder, horizontally opposed fixed-wing aircraft and helicopter engines of displacement, manufactured by Lycoming Engines. The engine is a six-cylinder version of the four-cylinder Lycoming ...

driving a

Mühlbauer MTV.14-B Mühlbauer or Muehlbauer or Muhlbauer is a German language occupational surname for a " mill builder" and may refer to: * Anke Mühlbauer (1968), German diver * Beatriz Futuro Muhlbauer (1986), Brazilian rugby sevens player *Dan Muhlbauer (1958–2 ...

constant speed propeller, the production R 90-230RG was built from 1988 to the mid-1990s in

. The engine is de-rated to to reduce noise, but still enables the R 90 to reach a maximum cruising speed of . German certification was awarded in June 1992, with 28 production aircraft built when Ruschmeyer Luftfahrttechnik filed for bankruptcy in June 1996. In 1999, the assets of Ruschmeyer were purchased by Solaris Aviation of

West Palm Beach West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...

, Florida, marketing the R90 as the Solaris Sigma. In 2004, the project passed to Aircraft Technology Consulting, which restarted production in Germany, building two more aircraft by mid 2005.

Variants

Data from: ;MF-85: The first three prototypes powered by

engines. ;R 90: Production aircraft powered by

engines ::R 90-230-RG: The main variant with retractable undercarriage ::R 90-230-FG: Variant with fixed undercarriage, powered by Lycoming O-540-J engines. ::R 90-180-FG: Variant with fixed undercarriage, powered by

Lycoming IO-360 The Lycoming O-360 is a family of four-cylinder, direct-drive, horizontally opposed, air-cooled, piston aircraft engines. Engines in the O-360 series produce between 145 and 225 horsepower (109 to 168 kW), with the basic O-360 producing ...

engines. ::R 90-350T-RG: High performance variant with retractable undercarriage, powered by turbo-charged engines. ::R 90-420AT-RG:High performance variant with retractable undercarriage, powered by Allison 250-B17 turboprop engines ;R 95: 5/6 seat variant with retractable undercarriage. ;Solaris Sigma: Production and marketing in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

Specifications (R 90-230 RG)

References

* *

External links

{{commons category, Ruschmeyer R90
Airliners.net
1980s German civil utility aircraft 1990s German civil utility aircraft Low-wing aircraft Single-engined tractor aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1988