RWD 1

The RWD-1 was a Polish sports plane of 1928, a single-engine high-wing monoplane constructed by the RWD design team.

Development

The RWD-1 was the first aircraft constructed by the RWD team of Stanisław Rogalski, Stanisław Wigura and Jerzy Drzewiecki in the Aviation Section of Mechanic Students' Club of Warsaw University of Technology. It was designed in late 1927. The plane was built with a financial help of the LOPP organization. One prototype was built for static trials, and one flying prototype (registration SP-ACC), completed and flown by the designer Jerzy Drzewiecki in September 1928.

Its unusual feature was a unique, fish-shaped fuselage, similar to early Messerschmitt's designs (M17). Two crewmen sat in tandem inside the fuselage and had only side openings in its upper part. In front of the pilot's head there was an upper part of the fuselage, supporting wings, limiting his view forward, though its profile was thin. This shape was repeated in following RWD designs. The aircraft was evaluated as a quite good design, with an original construction. It had high glide ratio of 12, and its payload was bigger than its empty weight. It was not built in any quantities, but gave a basis to further more successful RWD designs: RWD-2, RWD-3, RWD-4, RWD-7, and, partly RWD-5.