Lublin R-XI

Lublin R-XI

Role	Passenger plane
National origin	Poland
Manufacturer	Plage i Laśkiewicz
First flight	8 February 1930
Status	prototype
Number built	1

The Lublin R-XI was the Polish passenger plane for 4 passengers, designed in 1930 in the Plage i Laśkiewicz factory in Lublin, that remained a prototype.

Development

The aircraft was developed for a contest for a successor of Junkers F-13 as a light passenger and mail plane in LOT Polish Airlines, announced by the Ministry of Communication. The design was partly modeled on a construction of Fokker F.VII, produced under license by Plage i Laśkiewicz, especially in a wing design. The main designer was Jerzy Rudlicki. The prototype was first flown on 8 February 1930 in Lublin (registration: SP-ACC). From June 1930 it was evaluated by the LOT Airlines. The prototype was damaged during take-off in July 1931, and was not repaired.

The aircraft was not successful, because its weight appeared 250 kg more, than designed, it also had worse speed, range and ceiling, than expected (its competitor, the PWS-21, was not successful either). Its improved development became Lublin R-XVI, built in a small series, although not as a passenger plane.

Description

The R-XI was a mixed construction cantilever high-wing monoplane, single-engine, conventional in layout. It had a steel-framed, canvas-covered fuselage (engine part covered with duralumin) and a single-piece, plywood-covered, three-spar elliptical wing of wooden construction. The empennage was of steel construction, canvas covered. It had a conventional fixed landing gear, with a rear skid, base 2.7 m. The main gear was joined with a wing by struts. The closed cabin had a capacity of six: a pilot, a mechanic and 4 passengers. Two crewmen had twin controls and individual doors on either side, the fifth passenger could be carried instead of the mechanic. The passenger cabin had height 1.5 m and width 1.3 m and two triangular doors on the left side. Behind it there was a place for a baggage.

Single engine in front: 9-cylinder air-cooled Polish Skoda Works Wright Whirlwind J-5 radial engine delivering 240 hp (179 kW) take-off power and 220 hp (164 kW) nominal power, with a NACA cowling, driving a two-blade metal propeller of a fixed pitch. A 300-litre fuel tank was fitted in wing and 150-litre under the cab (normal capacity was 200 l). The cruise fuel consumption was 40–50 l/h.

Specifications

Data from Glass, A. (1977)

General characteristics

Crew: 2, pilot and mechanic
Capacity: 4 passengers (maximum 5 with a crew of one)
Length: 9.6 m (31 ft 5⅞ in)
Wingspan: 15 m (49 ft 2⅜ in)
Height: 2.9 m (9 ft 6 in)
Wing area: 30 m² (323 ft²)
Empty weight: 1,210 kg (2,662 lb)
Loaded weight: 1,943 kg (4,275 lb)
Useful load: 733 kg (1,613 lb)
Powerplant: 1 × Skoda Wright Whirlwind J-5 9-cylinder radial engine, 240 hp (180 kW)

Performance

Maximum speed: 185 km/h (100 knots, 115 mph)
Cruise speed: 168 km/h (91 knots, 104 mph)
Stall speed: 90 km/h (49 knots, 56 mph)
Range: 730 km (394 NM, 453 mi)
Service ceiling: 2,800 m (9,200 ft)
Rate of climb: 1.8 m/s (354 ft/min)
Wing loading: 65 kg/m² (13 lb/ft²)

References

Andrzej Glass: "Polskie konstrukcje lotnicze 1893-1939" (Polish aviation constructions 1893-1939), WKiŁ, Warsaw 1977, p. 147-149 (Polish)

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lublin R-XI.

Photos and drawings at Ugolok Neba page

Aircraft designed by Plage i Laśkiewicz, under Lublin brand

R-VIII R-IX R-X R-XI R-XII R-XIII R-XIV R-XV R-XVI R-XVII R-XVIII R-XIX R-XX R-XXI R-XXII

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Tuesday, June 23, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.