Janowski J-3 Eagle

[ Home | J1 | J2 | J3 | J4 | J5 | J6]

Model		J-3 Eagle (Orzel)
Serial Number		MN-1
Registration		C-GCIP
First Flight		1976[3] 1977[4] 1978[2] 1980[7]
Wingspan		21 ft[1] 6.7 m/22 ft[3] 7.0 m/23 ft[4]
Wing area		6.8 sq m/73 sq ft[4]
Airfoil		Wortmann[3] NACA 23015[4]
Length		4.8 m (15 ft 9 in) [4]
Empty Weight		105 kg/231 lbs[4] 120 kg/265 lbs[3] 320 lbs[1]
Gross Weight		317 kg/699 lbs[2] 721 lbs[1]
Engine		35 HP Porsche[7]
Cruise Speed		100 mph[1]
Landing Speed		45 mph[1]
Max Speed		250? kph/155 mph[4]
Takeoff run		100? km/328 ft[4]

The beautiful J-3 Eagle (Orzel) was a collaboration of Mr. Janowski with Marian Nowak and Witold Kalita. Only one example was produced using the now familiar pod-and-boom pusher arrangement, with a top-mounted engine and conventional landing gear similar to the J-1, and a T-tail stabilator and shoulder-mounted cantilever wings similar to the J-2. The wings used a 19% thick laminar airfoil and could be easily detached for ground transport.

The J-3 Eagle was built from sketches, and no blueprints or plans of any sort were ever produced.

When Marian Nowak emigrated from Poland to Canada he took the J-3 with him. He flew the aircraft for 250 trouble-free hours, regularly making 375 mile commutes. However, he decided to take advantage of the detachable wings and transport it by trailer when he exhibited it at the EAA convention at Oshkosh in 1980.

The Eagle initially flew with a 35 HP converted Porsche automobile engine, but Mr. Nowak also flew it with a Rotax 503, a Rotax 447, a BMW motorcycle engine, and finally a water-cooled 3 cylinder Suzuki auto engine. Eventually Mr. Nowak sold the airplane, and the new owner tied it down outdoors where it unfortunately deteriorated beyond airworthy condition. It is not known whether the J-3 Eagle still exists or was scrapped, but the Transport Canada database lists it as last registered to Wieslaw Pawelkiewicz in April 2002, operating at Burlington, Ontario.

Sources:

[1] Scott Perkins (www.vula.org)
[2] Transport Canada (www.tc.gc.ca)
[3] Piotr Piechowski (www.piotrp.de) (polish version)
[4] Stanislaw Gradolewski (sgrado.meil.pw.edu.pl)
[5] Jim Vachuska
[6] Art Smith, New Zealand
[7] Don & Julia Downie ("The Oshkosh Fly-In" 1981 TAB BOOKS Inc. pg 171)
[8] Andrew Ross ("Who Is Jaroslaw Janowski, What has he done?" April 2000, Wesola Poland)
[9] Letiste AirCon Miroslav (www.airconfly.cz)

Disclaimer: The author of these pages has never built or flown any aircraft designed by Jaroslaw Janowski. All information is extracted from published sources or as noted.

Last updated 06/10/07