Thanks
hesham. I had never heard of the RG-X until today! I've added to my my own Novițschi list which has a few more details, sub-types, etc. But first some notes ...
As in your listings, the designer name was not 'Novichi' but Vladimir Novițschi (using țî, the 25th letter of the Romanian alphabet). Novițschi (1917-2003) was born in Russia but moved to Bessarabia. After schooling, he moved to Poland before returning to Romania in 1939 (or 1940?).
Vladimir Novițschi was an experienced gliding instructor who had also worked at IAR. However, after WW2, he was forced out of aviation for 'political reasons'. However, in 1950, he was asked to organize a gliding club at Reghin in Transylvania. That brought him to glider design and IFIL-Reghin - the source of the wood for glider construction. And, AFAIK, the RM-1 was by Radu Manicatide. Novițschi would have only been 10 years old when Manicatide designed the RM-1 in 1926. So, the RG-1 was Vladimir Novițschi's first aircraft design. Also on names, the RM-8-H1 light helicopter was named
Țânţar (Mosquito) not 'Tintar' (which I suspect is a Russian transliteration).
At a pedantic level, the IFIL-Reghin name of the title only lasts until 1957. In 1958, the acronym is changed to CIL. So, technically, only the RM-1 through RM-6 belong to IFIL-Reghin. Design work seems to have continued only in 1958. By 1960-'61, the '
Aero' section at Reghin had turned to repair work. Novițschi returned to Braşov where he worked on the IS series with Iosif Şilimon.
______________________________________
IFIL-Reghin - 1950-1957
-- Intreprinderea forestierǎ de industrializare a lemnului - Reghin [1]
RG-1 - 1950 single-seat elementary training glider, x 158
- RG-1: Impr. Schneider
Grunau Baby IIb development*
- RG-1: Spruce structure, cloth/ply covered; span 13.50 m
- RG-1: 1950 initial model fitted with belly landing skid
- RG-1: 1953 major prod. model, single-wheel landing gear
-- * RG-1 could be recognized by its rounded rudder shape
-- aka '
Baby-RG-1'
--
https://www.j2mcl-planeurs.net/dbj2mcl/planeurs-machines/3vues/RG-1_3v.jpg
RG-2 - 1950
Partizan 2-seat performance sailplane, x 17
- RG-2: Derived from Hans Jacobs' German DFS
Kranich II
- RG-2: Spruce structure, cloth/ply covered; span 18.00 m
- RG-2: No wing dihedral (unlike the gulled
Kranich II)
RG-3 - 1953
Stahanov 2-seat basic school glider, x 51
- RG-3: High wing, open-frame beam fuselage,* tandem seats
- RG-3: Truss fuselage, fabric-covered wings, span 12.60 m
- RG-3: Strut-braced wood-framed wings with no dihedral
-- * With shock-mounted landing skid beneath crew seats
--
https://www.j2mcl-planeurs.net/dbj2mcl/planeurs-machines/3vues/RG-3_3v.jpg
RG-4 - 1954
Pionier single-seat school glider, x 62
- RG-4: Designed for launch by catapult (or on a slope)*
- RG-4: Spruce structure, cloth/ply covered; span 10.45 m
- RG-4: Strut-braced wings/central pylon on beam fuselage
-- * Landing skid terminates at twin wheels for take-off
RG-5 - 1956
Pescăruș (Herring Gull) sailplane, x 30*
- RG-5: Single-seat, shoulder-wing performance sailplane
- RG-5: Wood structure, cloth/ply covered;** span 15.10 m
- RG-5: Full-span ailerons, DFS airbrakes (but no flaps)
-- * Sources vary, some say only 26 x RG-5s produced
-- ** Monocoque fuselage, ply- & fabric-covered wings
RG-6 - 1957 low-winged 2-seat sport/aeroclub trainer, x 3
- RG-6: Built to AVSAP (sport flying ass'n) requirem't
- RG-6: 1 x 75 hp Praga D HO4 engine, span 10.50 m
- RG-6: Wooden structure, semi-monocoque fuselage
-- Built RG-6s featured a fixed taildragger u/c*
-- * Retractable considered (??) or just in error (??)
--
https://aviadejavu.ru/Site/Crafts/Craft31880.htm
CIL-Reghin - 1958-1959(?)
-- Combinatul de industrializare a lemnului - Reghin [2]
RG-7 - 1958
Şoim (Falcon) trainer and aerobatics a/c
- RG-7 : Refined, higher-powered RG-6 development,* x 25
- RG-7 : 1 x 105 hp Walter
Minor 4-III, span 9.90 m
- RG-7 : AVSAP require advanced trainer and aerobatic a/c
-- * RG-6's Praga D dictated by available AVSAP stocks
- RG-7A: Aerobatics vers., at least 1 + 3 x
Şoim IIs
- RG-7A
Şoim II: Prototype/pre-prod'n
Şoim III
- RG-7A
Şoim II: Single-seat, forward-set cockpit
- RG-7S
Şoim III: Single-seater w/ aft cockpit, x (?)
-- aka '
Şoim S', 'S' suffix standing for '
Special' [3]
- RG-7S
Şoim III: 1 x
Minor 4-III, span 9.50 m
-- 9 x RG-7A & RG-7S built total (who knows exact breakdown?)
RG-8-H1 - 1960
Țânţar 2-seat light helicopter, x 1
- RG-8-H1: Side-by-side crew seating, mixed construction*
- RG-8-H1: 105 hp Walter
Minor 4 III, rotor 10.50 m
- RG-8-H1: 3-bladed main rotor with a 2-bladed tail rotor
-- * Wood/steel-tube with alumuminum/ply/cloth covering
-- Stored in a Reghin hangar, RG-8-H1 was robbed of parts
-– Vladimir Novițchi, Gheorghe Rado,** Stefan Andrei design
-- ** Rado was from
Institutul de Mecanică Aplicată
--
https://resboiu.wordpress.com/2011/09/07/rg-8-tantarul/
--
https://www.secretprojects.co.uk/threads/ifil-reghin-rg-8-h1-light-helicopter.10220/
RG-9 - 1958
Albatros performance sailplane, x 25
- RG-9: '18m' class tandem 2-seat mid-winged sailplane
- RG-9: Training & performance sailplane, span 16.45 m
- RG-9: Ply monocoque fuselage, ply/cloth wings & tail
-- Twin-wheeled central u/c, resting on extended tail
RG-X - 1959 open cockpit version of RG-7
Şoim trainer
- RG-X:
Şoim c/n 26 compl'd as a 2-seater w/o canopy
______________________________
[1] Translates as 'Forestry Industrialization Enterprise - Reghin'. Sometimes referred to as the
Secţia de Construcţii Aeronautice de la Reghin or 'Aeronautical Constructions Section of Reghin'. In 1958, IFIL was rebranded as CIL-Reghin (see below).
[2] Translates as 'Wood Industrialization Plant - Reghin'.
[3] Note that
hesham's clipping on the RG-X implies that the 'S' for
Special suffix may have applied only to a cancelled long-range modification. Does anyone know for sure?[/B]
