Sportavia-Pützer RS 180 Sportsman

RS-180 Sportsman
Role Sport aircraft
National origin Germany
Manufacturer Sportavia-Pützer
Designer René Fournier
First flight 1978[1]
Number built 18[2]
Unit cost DM 92,500 in 1978[3]
Developed from Fournier RF-6

The Sportavia-Pützer RS-180 Sportsman is a four-seat sport aircraft that was produced in Germany in the late 1970s.[4]

The aircraft is a conventional, low-wing cantilever monoplane with fixed tricycle undercarriage.[1] The pilot and passengers are seated in 2+2 configuration under a large bubble canopy.[5] The structure is of wood, covered in plywood and given an outer skin of fibreglass.[1]

The RS-180 was developed from the RF-6C after the fatal crash of one of the RF-6C prototypes in May 1977.[3] The extensive redesign included reshaping the horizontal tail and relocating it part-way up the fin,[3] changing the wing profile,[3] and removing the turned-down wingtips of the RF-6C.[3] In this form, the RS-180 gained German type certification in 1978.[6] The Sportsman was not a commercial success and Sportavia-Pützer built only 18 examples before ceasing production in 1979.[2]

Specifications (RS 180)

Data from Wurster 2001, p.89

General characteristics

Performance

Notes

  1. ^ a b c "Team Test 43: Sportavia RS 180", p.88
  2. ^ a b Simpson 1995, p.378
  3. ^ a b c d e Barnett, Field, Hurst et al. 1978, p.1438
  4. ^ Taylor 1989, p.839
  5. ^ "Team Test 43: Sportavia RS 180", p.89
  6. ^ "Certification du RS 180 Sportsman", p.42

References