Engineering:Whigham GW-6

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Short description: American glider
GW-6
Role Glider
National origin United States
Designer Gene Whigham
First flight 1983
Introduction 1983
Number built one

The Whigham GW-6 is an American mid-wing, single-seat, glider that was designed and constructed by Gene Whigham, a retired flight test engineer for Convair.[1][2]

Design and development

Whigham completed and flew the GW-6 in 1983. The aircraft was intended to be a very lightweight glider and incorporated some design innovations to achieve that goal. The wing spar was built up from extruded angles, with a sheet aluminium spar web. The wing ribs are made from sheet aluminium and the wing is covered in doped aircraft fabric covering. The wing has large ailerons, a 22:1 aspect ratio and a 44 ft (13.4 m) span. The tailplane and elevator are small in size. The normal flight centre of gravity is at 35% of chord, which is more aft than usual with the NACA 43012A airfoil employed.[1]

Only one GW-6 was constructed and it was registered with the Federal Aviation Administration as an Experimental - Amateur-built.[1][2]

Operational history

Soaring Magazine reported that the GW-6 had about 65 hours of flying time by late in the summer of 1983, Whigham having flown it that season while building the GW-7. In July 2011 the aircraft was still on the FAA registry and owned by John B. Waters of San Diego, California.[1][2]

Specifications (GW-6)

Data from Soaring[1]

General characteristics

  • Crew: one
  • Wingspan: 44 ft 0 in (13.41 m)
  • Wing area: 88 sq ft (8.2 m2)
  • Aspect ratio: 22:1
  • Airfoil: NACA 43012A
  • Empty weight: 323 lb (147 kg)
  • Gross weight: 570 lb (259 kg)

Performance

  • Maximum glide ratio: 32:1
  • Wing loading: 6.47 lb/sq ft (31.6 kg/m2)

See also

Related lists

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Said, Bob: 1983 Sailplane Directory, Soaring Magazine, page 68, Soaring Society of America November 1983. USPS 499-920
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 Federal Aviation Administration (July 2011). "Make / Model Inquiry Results N3262N". http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Results.aspx?NNumbertxt=3262N. Retrieved 5 July 2011.