science

RFB/Grumman American Fanliner

RFB/Grumman American Fanliner is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand RFB/Grumman American Fanliner rather than just read about it. In short: The RFB/Grumman American Fanliner was an experimental German light aircraft of the 1970s, propelled by a Wankel engine driving a ducted fan. A joint venture between the German company Rhein-Flugzeugbau (RFB) and the American general aviation manufacturer Grumman American, two examples were built, but no production followed.

Key takeaways

RFB/Grumman American Fanliner belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect RFB/Grumman American Fanliner to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of RFB/Grumman American Fanliner from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The RFB/Grumman American Fanliner was an experimental German light aircraft of the 1970s, propelled by a Wankel engine driving a ducted fan. A joint venture between the German company Rhein-Flugzeugbau (RFB) and the American general aviation manufacturer Grumman American, two examples were built, but no production followed.

Design and development In the 1960s, Hanno Fischer, Technical Director of Rhein-Flugzeugbau (RFB), developed an interest in aircraft powered by ducted fans integrated into the aircraft structure, flying two modified gliders as testbeds, a VFW-Fokker FK-3 fitted with an eight-bladed ducted fan in the rear fuselage, which flew as the Sirius I in 1969, and a Caproni Vizzola Calif A-21, which flew as the Sirius II on 16 December 1971. Based on the successful results of testing of these aircraft, RFB decided to start work on a two-seat ducted-fan military trainer, intended to offer jet-like handling at low cost, which became the RFB Fantrainer, while in 1972, RFB began studies on a two-seat light touring aircraft with side-by-side seating. While early interest in the Fantrainer was limited, RFB concentrated on the light tourer, which was named the Fanliner, with the intention that it would be able to act as a testbed for ducted fan installations for the Fantrainer as well as a prospective production aircraft in its own right. RFB entered into a joint venture with Grumman American to develop the Fanliner, allowing the use of components from existing Grumman American light planes. The first prototype Fanliner made its maiden flight on 8 October 1973. It was a mid-winged monoplane of all-metal construction with a fixed nosewheel undercarriage. The crew of two sat side by side in an enclosed cockpit which hinged on the centreline in a gull-wing door arrangement to give access. Dual controls were fitted. The engine, an 85 kW (114 hp) water-cooled Audi NSU wankel engine was positioned behind the cockpit, and drove the ducted fan situated behind the engine. The radiator for the engine was fitted in the aircraft's nose. The rear fuselage, which carried a T-tail, consisted of a narrow boom extended behind the fan duct, supported by triangular-section beams in a cruciform arrangement. The aircraft's wings and horizontal tail surfaces were taken from a Grumman American AA-1, while the vertical tail surfaces were new. At first the fan was ungeared, which resulted in high noise levels. The engine was replaced by a 110 kW (150 hp) engine in 1974, and considerable testing was carried out with various designs of fans and reduction gearing in order to reduce the noise to acceptable levels. The use of a three-bladed fiberglass fan, with swept blades driven via a gearbox allowed noise levels to be reduced to well below the German statutory limits for light aircraft. The first prototype Fanliner, D-EJFL with makers number 001, was exhibited at the June 1975 Paris Air Show.

A second, pre-production, aircraft registered D-EBFL, flew on 4 September 1976. It was exhibited at the June 1977 Paris Air Show. This used the wings and horizontal tail from a Grumman American AA-5 had a redesigned, more streamlined fuselage (industrial designer Luigi Colani was involved in redesigning the fuselage) and was fitted with a 110 kW (150 hp) engine with radiators moved to behind the cabin. Wingspan of the second prototype was 9.60 m (31 ft 6 in), while it demonstrated a speed of 251 km/h (156 mph) and a climb rate of 5.5 m/s (1,080 ft/min). No production followed, as RFB decided to concentrate on the military Fantrainer, which had gained priority following the receipt of a contract for two prototypes from the German Federal Ministry of Defence, although the Fanliners did provide useful development data for the Fantrainer's ducted fan.

Specifications (First prototype) Data from Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1976–77General characteristics Crew: Two Length: 6.10 m (20 ft 0 in) Wingspan: 7.45 m (24 ft 5 in) Height: 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) Wing area: 9.30 m2 (100.1 sq ft) Aspect ratio: 6.0:1 Empty weight: 520 kg (1,146 lb) Max takeoff weight: 750 kg (1,653 lb) Powerplant: 1 × Audi NSU Ro 135 Wankel engine, 85 kW (114 hp) Performance

Maximum speed: 220 km/h (140 mph, 120 kn) at sea level Cruise speed: 180 km/h (110 mph, 97 kn) Range: 660 km (410 mi, 360 nmi) Rate of climb: 3.3 m/s (650 ft/min)

References

External links

RFB Fanliner (in German)

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with RFB/Grumman American Fanliner

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what RFB/Grumman American Fanliner claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to RFB/Grumman American Fanliner before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about RFB/Grumman American Fanliner ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of RFB/Grumman American Fanliner

In research: RFB/Grumman American Fanliner appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses RFB/Grumman American Fanliner in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: RFB/Grumman American Fanliner is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1970s German sport aircraft, Aircraft first flown in 1973, Aircraft with fixed tricycle landing gear, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for RFB/Grumman American Fanliner outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study RFB/Grumman American Fanliner in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what RFB/Grumman American Fanliner means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain RFB/Grumman American Fanliner out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is RFB/Grumman American Fanliner in simple terms?

Why does RFB/Grumman American Fanliner matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study RFB/Grumman American Fanliner?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on RFB/Grumman American Fanliner.