RWD 5

{{Short description|Polish touring and sports plane of 1931}}  {{Infobox aircraft |name =RWD 5 |image =RWD 5 SP-AGJ.jpg |caption =RWD 5 SP-AGJ |type =Sports plane |manufacturer =DWL |designer = RWD team |first_flight =7 August 1931 |introduction =1931 |retired =1939 |status = |primary_user =Poland |more_users = |produced =1931–1937 |number_built =20 |unit cost = |variants = }} The '''RWD 5''' was a Polish touring and sports plane of 1931, a two-seat high-wing monoplane, constructed by the RWD team. It was made famous by its transatlantic flight, being the smallest aircraft to cross the Atlantic.<ref name=glass/>

==Development== The RWD 5 was constructed by the RWD team of Stanisław Rogalski, Stanisław Wigura and Jerzy Drzewiecki (their designs were named RWD after their initial letters). It was a further development of earlier RWD aircraft series (RWD 1, RWD 2, RWD 3 and RWD 7), especially of its direct predecessor, the RWD 4. It shared the same wing shape and construction, while the fuselage was totally new, constructed of steel frame, unlike its wooden predecessors. The fuselage had a modern shape and a closed canopy with panoramic windows (earlier models had atypical fish-shaped fuselages with no direct forward view from the pilot's seat).

The first prototype (registration SP-AGJ) was flown on 7 August 1931 by its designer Jerzy Drzewiecki. It was built in new workshops of Warsaw University of Technology near Okęcie airport, from 1933 converted to ''Doświadczalne Warsztaty Lotnicze'' (DWL) company.

After successes of the prototype in air competitions, a small-scale series production was set up, mostly for the Polish Aero Club. Series aircraft had improved landing gear. Two were built in 1932 (registration SP-AJA and AJB), five in 1933 (including the single-seater RWD 5bis), eleven in 1934 (including one in Aero Club workshops in Lublin) and one more in 1937 (SP-BGX), for a total of 20 aircraft.<ref name=glass/> In 1932, the RWD 5 was shown at the International Air Show in Paris.

==Service== thumb|Refuelling during 4th Domestic Touring Aircraft Contest RWD 5s were mostly used as trainers and sport planes by Polish regional aero clubs. They scored good results in local competitions, starting from 1931, when the prototype won the 3rd South-Western Poland Flight (pilot M. Pronaszko) and the 4th Domestic Touring Aircraft Contest (pilot Franciszek Żwirko). As sport and touring planes, they were later superseded by the RWD 13, and were relegated mostly for training. Three were written off before 1939.

One aircraft was used by LOT Polish Airlines in 1933–1936 for taxi flights (registration SP-LOT), one by LOPP organization (SP-LOP). After the outbreak of World War II, during the Polish September Campaign, at least three RWD 5 were utilized as liaison aircraft by the Polish Air Force (SP-ALR, ALX, ALZ).<ref name=morg>{{cite book |last1=Morgała|first1=Andrzej|date= 2003|title=Samoloty wojskowe w Polsce 1924–1939|trans-title= Military aircraft in Poland 1924–1939|language= pl|location=Warsaw |publisher= Bellona|isbn=83-11-09319-9|pages=315–316}}</ref> Also, Maj. E. Wyrwicki flew RWD 5 from Romania to besieged Warsaw<ref name=glass/> (according to other sources, he flew RWD-5 SP-AJB from Warsaw<ref name=morg/>). None of the RWD 5s survived the war.

One RWD 5 was sold to Brazil in 1938 (former SP-LO, removed from the Polish registry on 4 December 1936) and registered there as PP-TDX in 1939. Its airworthiness expired in 1943.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.samoloty.ow.pl/str356.htm|last=Stefanicki|first=Maciej|title=Samoloty RWD w Brazylii, Izraelu i USA|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070709054823/http://www.samoloty.ow.pl/str356.htm|archive-date=2007-07-09|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In late 1990s, a flying replica of the RWD 5, named RWD 5R, was built in Poland by EEA991 association. It flew first on 26 August 2000,<ref>Marcin Sigmund (2018): ''Na przekór przeciwnościom'', "Skrzydlata Polska" nr 8(2466)/2018, p.44-45 (in Polish)</ref> and is powered with 140 hp LOM Praha Avia M-332 engine (registration SP-LOT).

==The flight across the Atlantic== thumb|Single-seater record version RWD 5bis SP-AJU In March 1933 a special single-seater variant was built, called '''RWD 5bis''' (registration SP-AJU), powered with a 130 hp Gipsy Major engine. The rear cabin was replaced with an additional 300 L (79 US gal) fuel tank, and the windows were removed. Additional fuel tanks were added in wings, the fuel capacity reached 752 L (199 US gal) in total and the range increased to {{convert|5,000|km|mi|abbr=on}}. Stanisław Skarżyński flew this plane from Warsaw to Rio de Janeiro from 27 April to 24 June 1933, on a path of {{convert|17,885|km|mi|abbr=on}}.

During his travel, on 7 May/8 May, Skarżynski flew the RWD 5bis across the southern Atlantic, from Saint-Louis, Senegal to Maceio in Brazil. The flight took 20 hours 30 minutes (17 hours above the ocean). He crossed {{convert|3,582|km|mi|abbr=on}}, establishing a distance record in the FAI light tourist plane class. The RWD 5bis was at that time the smallest plane that had ever flown across the Atlantic — its empty weight was below 450 kg (1000 lb), loaded 1100 kg (2425 lb). The plane had no radio nor safety equipment, due to weight considerations. It returned to Europe on a ship. After its record-breaking flight, the RWD 5bis was converted to a two-seater variant without additional tanks, and used by Skarżyński. The SP-AJU was seized by the Soviets in Lwów in September 1939, after their invasion of Poland.<ref name=morg/>

thumb|Modern replica thumb|Replica in flight ==Description== Mixed construction (steel and wood) high-wing cantilever monoplane, conventional in layout. The fuselage of a steel frame, covered with canvas on a wooden frame (with duralumin in engine section). Trapezoid one-part wing, canvas covered (plywood in front), two-spar, with no mechanization. A crew of two, sitting in tandem in a glazed cockpit, with dual controls and individual doors on the right. Conventional fixed landing gear, with a rear skid, wheels in teardrop covers on serial aircraft.

Engine in front, with tractor two-blade wooden propeller of a fixed pitch. A variety of 4-cylinder air-cooled inverted straight engines were used, most typically Cirrus Hermes IIB (105 hp (78 kW) nominal power and 115 hp (86 kW) take-off power). Used also were 130 hp Hermes IV or de Havilland Gipsy III, or 120 hp Walter Junior 4. The RWD 5bis and RWD 5 SP-LOT had a 130 hp (97 kW) de Havilland Gipsy Major.

==Specifications (RWD 5)== {{Aircraft specs |ref=,<ref name=Cynk>{{cite book |last1=Cynk |first1=Jerzy B |title=Polish aircraft, 1893-1939 |year=1971 |publisher=Putnam |isbn=0-370-00085-4 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/polishaircraft1800cynk/page/498 498-504] |url=https://archive.org/details/polishaircraft1800cynk/page/498 }}</ref> Polskie konstrukcje lotnicze 1893–1939<ref name=glass>{{cite book|last1=Glass|first1=Andrzej|title=Polskie konstrukcje lotnicze 1893–1939|date=1977|publisher=WKiŁ|location=Warsaw|language=Polish |pages=291–294}}</ref> |prime units?=met  |crew=1 |capacity=1 passenger / trainee or second pilot |length m=7.2 |length note= |span m=10.5 |span note= |height m=2.7 |height note= |wing area sqm=15.5 |wing area note= |aspect ratio= |airfoil= |empty weight kg=445 |empty weight note= |gross weight kg=760 |gross weight note= |max takeoff weight kg= |max takeoff weight note= |fuel capacity={{cvt|22|L|USgal impgal}} in two wing tanks |more general=  |eng1 number=1 |eng1 name=Cirrus Hermes IIB |eng1 type=4-cylinder air-cooled in-line piston engines |eng1 hp=105-115 |eng1 note=

|prop blade number=2 |prop name=fixed-pitch propeller |prop dia m= |prop dia note=  |max speed kmh=200-210 |max speed note=at sea level |cruise speed kmh=175-185 |cruise speed note=<br/> *'''Landing speed:''' {{cvt|75|km/h|mph kn}} |stall speed kmh= |stall speed note= |never exceed speed kmh= |never exceed speed note= |range km=1080-1200 |range note= |combat range km= |combat range note= |ferry range km= |ferry range note= |endurance= |ceiling m=4700-5000 |ceiling note= |g limits= |roll rate= |climb rate ms=4.6 |climb rate note= |time to altitude={{cvt|1000|m}} in 4 minutes 20 seconds |wing loading kg/m2=50.7 |wing loading note= |fuel consumption kg/km= |power/mass={{cvt|0.0685|hp/lb|order=flip}} |more performance=

|avionics= }}

==See also== {{aircontent| |related= *RWD 4 |similar aircraft= *de Havilland Puss Moth |lists= |see also= }}

==References== {{Commons category}} {{Reflist}} * [http://rwd5.republika.pl/ RWD-5 aircraft Website by Rafał Krok], retrieved on 2008-07-06.

{{DEFAULTSORT:RWD 05}} Category:1930s Polish civil utility aircraft Category:1930s Polish sport aircraft RWD 05 Category:Single-engined tractor aircraft Category:High-wing aircraft Category:Aircraft first flown in 1931