RWD 3
Polish sports aircraft
title: "RWD 3" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1930s-polish-sport-aircraft", "rwd-aircraft", "high-wing-aircraft", "single-engined-tractor-aircraft", "aircraft-first-flown-in-1930"] description: "Polish sports aircraft" topic_path: "sports" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RWD_3" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Polish sports aircraft ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox aircraft"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | RWD 3 |
| image | RWD 3.jpg |
| type | Sports aircraft |
| manufacturer | Warsaw University of Technology workshops |
| designer | RWD team |
| first_flight | April 1930 |
| introduction | 1930 |
| primary_user | Polish civilian aviation |
| number_built | 1 |
| :: |
|name =RWD 3 |image =RWD 3.jpg |caption = |type =Sports aircraft |manufacturer =Warsaw University of Technology workshops |designer = RWD team |first_flight =April 1930 |introduction =1930 |retired = |status = |primary_user =Polish civilian aviation |more_users = |produced = |number_built =1 |unit cost = |variants = The RWD 3 was a 1930 Polish sports aircraft and liaison aircraft prototype. A single-engine high-wing monoplane, it was constructed by the RWD team.
Development
The RWD 3 was constructed by the RWD team of Stanisław Rogalski, Stanisław Wigura and Jerzy Drzewiecki in Warsaw. Since their earlier design, the RWD 2 sports aircraft appeared quite successful, the Polish Military of Defence ordered in 1929 to develop its enlarged variant as a liaison aircraft. It retained the same fish-shaped fuselage without a direct view towards forward from the pilot's seat, though the view improved due to a thin fuselage profile before the pilot. At the same time, the RWD developed similar enlarged sports aircraft, the RWD 4, which shared many features with the RWD 3, but was powered with an inline engine and did not have folding wings.
One prototype was built for ground trials and one flying prototype. It was completed and flown by the designer Jerzy Drzewiecki in April 1930. Since it was found unsatisfactory as a liaison aircraft, it was handed over to sports aviation – Academic Aero Club in Warsaw, with the civil registration SP-WAA. It was used for training and in some competitions. Unlike the RWD 3, the RWD 4 appeared more successful design.
Description
Wooden construction single-engine high-wing cantilever monoplane, conventional in layout. The fuselage was rectangular in cross section (triangular in upper part), plywood-covered. Two-spar wings, covered with canvas, in front with plywood, were folding rearwards, unlike other early RWDs. Cantilever empennage, covered with plywood (stabilizers) and canvas (rudder and elevators). Crew of two was sitting in tandem in the fuselage. The cockpits were open in upper part on the sides, with individual doors on the right side. 5-cylinder air-cooled 88 hp radial engine Armstrong Siddeley Genet (80 hp nominal power, 88 hp take-off power) was mounted in front and drove two-blade wooden propeller. Conventional fixed landing gear, with a rear skid. Fuel tank in central wing section.
Specifications (RWD 3)
|ref= |prime units?=met General characteristics
|crew=1 |capacity=1 |length m=7 |length note= |span m=10.5 |span note= |height m=2.26 |height note= |wing area sqm=15 |wing area note= |aspect ratio= |airfoil= |empty weight kg=380 |empty weight note= |gross weight kg=560 |gross weight note= |max takeoff weight kg=690 |max takeoff weight note= |fuel capacity= |more general= Powerplant
|eng1 number=1 |eng1 name=Armstrong Siddeley Genet |eng1 type=5-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engine |eng1 hp=88 |eng1 note=
|prop blade number=2 |prop name=fixed-pitch propeller |prop dia m= |prop dia note= Performance
|max speed kmh=170 |max speed note= |cruise speed kmh=140 |cruise speed note= |stall speed kmh=68 |stall speed note= |never exceed speed kmh= |never exceed speed note= |range km= |range note= |ferry range km= |ferry range note= |endurance= |ceiling m= |ceiling note= |g limits= |roll rate= |climb rate ms= |climb rate note= |time to altitude= |wing loading kg/m2=37 |wing loading note= |fuel consumption kg/km= |power/mass= |more performance=
- Take-off run: m
- Take-off run to 15 m: m
- Landing run: m
- Landing run from 15 m: m-- |avionics=
References
::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::