Rihn DR-109
The Rihn DR-109 is an American aerobatic homebuilt aircraft that was designed by Dan Rihn. The aircraft was supplied by Jim Kimball Enterprises of Zellwood, Florida and more recently by Ashcraft Aero Works of Aurora, Illinois in the form of plans. It was designed for competition aerobatics as well as a trainer for the Rihn DR-107 One Design.
Design and development
The DR-109 is a monoplane that features a cantilever low-wing, two seats in a tandem enclosed cockpit under a bubble canopy, fixed conventional landing gear with wheel pants and a single engine in tractor configuration.The aircraft fuselage is made from welded 4130 steel tubing, covered in sheet aluminum. The tail surfaces feature steel tube spars, sheet aluminum ribs, are covered with doped aircraft fabric and are cable-braced. The span wing is constructed in one piece and has Douglas fir spars with plywood ribs and covering. The wing employs a Wainfan 16% symmetrical airfoil and has a wing area of. The wing has almost full-span ailerons and no flaps. Other features include a wide cockpit.
The DR-109 can accept engines of. The standard powerplant used is the Lycoming AEIO-540-D4A5 six cylinder, air-cooled, four stroke aircraft engine.
The aircraft has an empty weight of and a gross weight of, giving a useful load of. With full fuel of the payload is.
The designer estimates the construction time as 1300 hours.