RWD 6

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title: "RWD 6" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1930s-polish-sport-aircraft", "rwd-aircraft", "single-engined-tractor-aircraft", "high-wing-aircraft", "aircraft-first-flown-in-1932"] description: "Polish sports plane of 1932" topic_path: "sports" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RWD_6" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Polish sports plane of 1932 ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox aircraft"]

Field	Value
name	RWD 6
image	RWD 6.jpg
caption	RWD 6 of Franciszek Zwirko during a short take-off trial at the Challenge 1932
type	Sports plane
manufacturer	Warsaw University of Technology workshops
designer	RWD team
first_flight	3 June 1932
introduction	1932
retired	1935
primary_user	Polish civilian aviation
number_built	3
::

|name =RWD 6 |image =RWD 6.jpg |caption =RWD 6 of Franciszek Zwirko during a short take-off trial at the Challenge 1932 |type =Sports plane |manufacturer =Warsaw University of Technology workshops |designer = RWD team |first_flight =3 June 1932 |introduction =1932 |retired =1935 |status = |primary_user =Polish civilian aviation |more_users = |produced = |number_built =3 |unit cost = |variants = The RWD 6 was a Polish sports plane of 1932, constructed by the RWD team. It was a winner of the Challenge 1932 international tourist aircraft contest.

Development

The aircraft was designed specially for the purpose of competing in the international tourist aircraft contest Challenge, which RWD attended in 1930, without major success. It was constructed by the RWD team of Stanislaw Rogalski, Stanislaw Wigura and Jerzy Drzewiecki in the workshops of Students' Mechanical Club of Warsaw University of Technology (their designs were named RWD after their initial letters). The new plane differed from previous RWD designs, having a cab with two seats next to each other, folding wings and good wing mechanization (slats and flaps).

Only three aircraft were built, the first one was flown on June 3, 1932, by its designer Jerzy Drzewiecki. The aircraft were given civilian registrations SP-AHL, SP-AHM and SP-AHN. During trials, SP-AHM crashed and Drzewiecki was hurt. After some modification of the tail, the two remaining RWD 6s were sent to the Challenge contest.

Challenge 1932, held between August 11–28, 1932, was eventually won by Franciszek Żwirko (pilot) and Stanisław Wigura (mechanic) in their RWD 6 SP-AHN, with a start number O6. The other RWD 6, flown by Tadeusz Karpiński, took ninth place out of 43 competitors (SP-AHL, nr. O4). During contest, the RWD 6 was given the highest scores for technical evaluation of all participating aircraft.

On September 11, 1932, the RWD 6 SP-AHN with Franciszek Żwirko and Stanisław Wigura aboard, crashed during a storm while flying to an air meeting in Czechoslovakia. Both died. The cause was found to be weak wing mountings, that caused wing warping at higher speeds. The last remaining RWD 6 (SP-AHL) was modified after this accident, receiving a strengthened wing with V-shaped struts and the new designation RWD 6bis. The RWD 6bis was completed and flown in September 1933. In 1935 it was broken up, and its fuselage was used to create the RWD 13 touring plane prototype. A direct development of the RWD 6 as a sport plane was a four-seater RWD 9, a winner of the Challenge 1934.

Description

The RWD 6 was a two-seater sports and touring strutted high-wing monoplane of a mixed construction. A metal frame fuselage covered with canvas, with the engine clad in aluminium sheets. It had rectangular single-spar wing of wooden construction, canvas and plywood covered. Its wings folded rearwards, and were equipped with automatic slats and flaps. Closed cabin with two seats side-by-side, with dual controls. The cabin had a pair of doors. 7-cylinder Armstrong Siddeley Genet Major radial engine of 104 kW (140 hp) (119 kW, 160 hp start power). Two-blade metal propeller. Conventional landing gear, with a rear skid. Fuel tanks in wings (140 L, 34 US gal). Take-off: 111 m (to altitude 8 m), landing: 106 m (from altitude 8 m – best results from the Challenge contest).

Specifications

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fd/RWD_6_3_view_L'Aerophile_January_1933.png" caption="RWD 6 3 view from l'Aerophile magazine, January 1933"] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/63/RWD_6_model.jpg"] ::

|ref=Polish aircraft 1893-1939 |prime units?=met General characteristics

|crew=2 |capacity=2 |length m=6.6 |length note= |span m=11 |span note= |height m=2.07 |height note= |wing area sqm=16 |wing area note= |aspect ratio= |airfoil= |empty weight kg=475 |empty weight note= |gross weight kg=750 |gross weight note= |max takeoff weight kg= |max takeoff weight note= |fuel capacity=140 L in two wing tanks |more general= Powerplant

|eng1 number=1 |eng1 name=Armstrong Siddeley Genet Major |eng1 type=7-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engine |eng1 hp=160 |eng1 note=

|prop blade number=2 |prop name=adjustable-pitch metal propeller |prop dia m= |prop dia note= Performance

|max speed kmh=225 |max speed note=at sea level |cruise speed kmh=190 |cruise speed note= |stall speed kmh=57.6 |stall speed note=

• Landing speed: 60 km/h |never exceed speed kmh= |never exceed speed note= |range km=650 |range note= |ferry range km= |ferry range note= |endurance= |ceiling m=6000 |ceiling note= |g limits= |roll rate= |climb rate ms=5.5 |climb rate note= |time to altitude=1000 m in 3 minutes 20 seconds |wing loading kg/m2=46.9 |wing loading note= |fuel consumption kg/km= |power/mass=.0926 hp/lb |more performance=
• Take-off run: m
• Take-off run to 15 m: m
• Landing run: m
• Landing run from 15 m: m--

|avionics=

References

References

1. (1971). "Polish aircraft, 1893-1939". Putnam.

::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. ::