USA
Ross Aircraft Corporation was established in New York and built RS-1 light monoplane in 1940; war stopped production plans. A new model, the RS-2L two-seater, powered by a Lycoming engine, was built in 1942.
Aircraft
Ross RS-1 Zanonia
Harland Ross built the all wood RS-1 in 1937 for Harvey Stephens, hence the designation. It was one of the first small-span high-performance sailplanes. The lines of the ship were inspired by the Lippisch Fafnir II and the name comes from an Australian seed with good gliding characteristics.
Ross flew the RS-1 in the 1937 U.S. Nationals and placed 3rd behind Peter Riedel and Richard du Pont. The ship placed 2nd in the Easton design competition.
Later, owned and piloted by John Robinson, it made American Soaring history by winning the 1940, 1941 and 1946 Nationals, placing third in 1947 and second in 1948, and setting National distance record of 466 km. /290 miles in 1940 and 523 km. /325 miles in 1947 and the world altitude record of 10,211 m. / 33,500 ft. in 1949. Robinson also completed the Worlds’s first Diamond badge using the RS-1
Wing span: 14.02 m / 46 ft
Wing area: 11.61 sq.m / 125 sq.ft
Empty Weight: 150 kg / 330 lb
Aspect ratio: 17
Airfoil: NACA 2418,2412
Payload: 122 kg / 270 lb
Gross Weight: 272 kg / 600 lb
Wing Loading: 23.43 kg/sq.m / 4.8 lb/sq.ft
Water Ballast: 0
L/DMax: 30 77 kph / 42 kt / 48 mph
MinSink: 0.70 m/s / 2.3 fps / 1.36 kt
Seats: 1
No. Built: 1
Ross RJ-5 / RHJ-5
The original design was almost entirely that of Harland Ross, whom Dick Johnson commissioned to build it in 1948. Johnson took delivery of the semi-complete ship in 1950 and finished it at Mississippi State University, incorporated some changes of his own.
The RJ-5 became one of the world’s most famous sailplane when Dick Johnson flew it 861 km/ 535 miles in 1951 for a world sitance record that stood for 13 years. It was one of the first sailplanes to utilize a laminar airfoil and to archieve a glide ratio of 40 to 1. With it Dick Johnson won the 1950, 1951, 1952 and 1954 Nationals and set a 510/ 317 miles National goal record, a 584 km/ 363 miles National distance record, a 85.0 kph/ 45.9 kt/ 52.8 mph 100 km. Triangular speed course record as well as the world distance record.
The wood fuselage and tail were badly damaged later in an accident so the then owner had an-all metal fuselage and tail built, designed by Adnan Kisovec (thus the K in the later designation). The ship originally used a takeoff dolly, but the fuselage was later modified to incorporate a Schweizer 1-34 retractable landing gear and airbrakes.
It now belongs to the National Soaring Museum, which has a project under way to build a replacemant original fuselage and tail.
RHJ-5
Wing span: 16.76 m / 55 ft
Wing area: 11.61 sq.m / 125 sq.ft
Aspect ratio: 24.2
Airfoil: NACA 63 (2)-615
Empty Weight: 295 kg / 650 lb
Payload: 91 kg / 200 lb
Gross Weight: 386 kg / 850 lb
Wing Loading: 33.25 kg/sq.m / 6.8 lb/sq.ft
Water Ballast: 0
L/DMax: 37 85 kph / 37 kt / 53 mph
MinSink: 0.61 m/s / 2.0 fps / 1.18 kt
Seats: 1
No. Built: 1
Ross R-6
Harland Ross completed the all metal, two-place R-6 in 1956 with the same wing designed for the RJ-5, giving it one of the heaviest wing loading in the world at that time. The span was subsequently increased by five feet (to 18.29 m/ 60 ft).
The R-6 has a metal fuselage and is equipped with dive brakes. The original skid and takeoff dolly was subsequently replaced with a retractable gear. The passenger sits aft of the spar under a removable bubble. Only one was built.
In 1958 Ross used it to set world multi-place records in the 100 km, 300 km and 500 km triangle speed categories and a national out-and-return record of 377.6 km./ 234.66 miles, all set in a four-day period.
Wing span: 18.29 m / 60 ft
Wing area: 11.91 sq.m / 128.2 sq.ft
Aspect ratio: 28
Airfoil: NACA 63(2)-615
Empty Weight: 300 kg / 662 lb
Payload: 256 kg / 564 lb
Gross Weight: 556 kg / 1226 lb
Wing Loading: 46.43 kg/sq.m /9.6 lb/sq.ft
Water Ballast: 0
L/DMax: 40 106 kph / 57 kt / 66 mph
MinSink: 0.72 m/s / 2.35 fps / 1.39 kt
Seats: 2
Ross R-3 Ibis
After the RS-1, Ross was commissioned by the Soaring Society of America to design and build the RS-3 Ibis for promotion purposes. The R-2 was quite similar to the RS-1 but the gull wing had a 48 ft. span and an all-moving tail was used. Ross later altered the design to remove the gull wing, change the airfoil and simplify the all wood construction for homebuilders, designating it the R-3.
Marvin Hicks bought a set of plans and built a modified R-3 (RH-3) by extending the wing, using laminar airfoil and flaps, first flying in 1963.
The Vintage Sailplane Association has plans.
Wing span: 15.24 m / 50 ft
Wing area: 13.56 sq.m / 146 sq.ft
Aspect ratio: 17
Airfoil: NACA 63 (3)-618
Empty Weight: 218 kg / 480 lb
Payload: 107 kg / 235 lb
Gross Weight: 325 kg / 715 lb
Wing Loading: 23.97 kg/sq.m / 4.9 lb/sq.ft
Water Ballast: 0
MinSink: 0.64 m/s / 2.1 fps / 1.24 kt
L/DMax: 34 93 kph / 50 kt / 58 mph
Seats: 1
Ross R-2
The R-2 was quite similar to the RS-1 but the gull wing had a 48 ft. span and an all-moving tail was used. It made the first wave flight I the U.S. on Oct. 25, 1938, at White Mountain, New Hampshire.
Wingspan: 46 ft
Length: 20.5 ft
Wing area: 125 sq.ft
Aspect ratio: 17
Empty weight: 280 lb
Gross weight: 470 lb
Min sink: 2.5 f/sec
Glide ratio: 23-1
Rosen-Rozniewski 1910
Rose Parakeet / Hannaford Bee
As flying began to recover from the depression, the little Rose Parakeet appeared in 1934. This was built by the Rose Aeroplane & Motor Co. of Chicago, Illinois. Powered with the new (and relatively expensive) 37-hp Continenal A.40 flat-four engine, it drew heavily on the layout of the old Lincoln Sport but incorporated welded steel-tube fuselage and tail construction and greatly modified wing rigging. The airfoil was a Rose design, nearly symmetrical. In spite of winning an ATC, only eight were built before the venture folded.
After acquiring in 1948 the manufacturing and marketing rights to the prewar Rose Parakeet single-seat sports biplane from Rose Aeroplane & Motor Company, Hannaford Aircraft Co offered production versions of the airplane with 40- 85hp engines. The design reappeared in the post-World War II homebuilt boom as the “Hannaford Bee,” the plans for which were available to the homebuilders. With 65-to 90-hp engines, the Bees, and some refurbished Parakeets became very suitable sport planes.
The design was revived in 1969 by Doug Rinehart, who used a 100-hp Continental 0-200 engine and intended to make the new Parakeet an ATC’d model for the general aviation market. The market did not accept it.
Replica:
Westphal Rose Parakeet
Parakeet
Engine: Continental, 80-90 hp
Wingspan: 20 ft
Wing area: 116 sq.ft
Length: 17 ft
Empty weight: 550 lb
Gross weight: 860 lb
Wing load gross: 7.2 lb/sq.ft
Wing load 777lb aerobatic: 6.6 lb/sq.ft
Pwr load Gross: 9.5 lb/hp
Pwr load aerobatic: 8.5 lb/sq.ft
Top speed: 135 mph
Cruise: 120 mph
Parakeet
Engine: Lycoming, 125 hp
Wingspan: 20 ft
Length: 17 ft
Cruise: 135 mph
Rose Aeroplane & Motor
Rose Airplane Corporation
Rose Aeroplane & Motor
USA
Founded in Chicago by J. W. Rose in mid-1930s as Rose Airplane Corporation. Produced Parakeet light single-seat biplane with 40 hp Continental engine.
Rose Peregrine RP-5
The RP-5 Peregrine N13NG c/n 101 was a 1998 biplane with a 150hp Lycoming O-320 engine.
It won the biplane class in 2003.
On 11 September 2007, the Rose Peregrine RP-5 biplane appeared to experience difficulties almost immediately after takeoff, at about 1745 local time. Witnesses say smoke billowed from plane at less than 100 feet after takeoff from Reno Stead Airport, practicing for the start of the 2007 Reno National Championship Air Races. The pilot, from Lemon Grove, Calif., was dead on impact. The Rose Peregrine was based at Montgomery Field in San Diego, and owned by David Rose. Rose was reportedly not the accident pilot.
Another example has been registered as a Peregrine 4 N111AY.
