The SZD-18 Czajka (Szybowcowy Zakład Doświadczalny

Szybowcowy Zakład Doświadczalny

Szybowcowy Zakład Doświadczalny , Glider Experimental Works was a glider design and research centre of the Polish aerospace industry after World War II, located in Bielsko-Biała. Through its history it underwent many organizational and name changes, among others in 1946-1948 it was Instytut...

- Glider Experimental Works) was a single-seat glider designed and built in Poland

Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

 in 1956.

Development

The last attempt by the LPŻ ( Liga Przyjaciół Żołnierza – Soldier's Friends League) paramilitary organization to design a single-seat training glider, after SZD-15 and SZD-16 designs, was the SZD-18 Czajka (peewit), which appeared in 1956. It had a simple structure, box fuselage, strutted high wing and low performance typical for the primary type of training glider. The LPŻ held a competition in 1955 for the design of a new primary style single-seat trainer, which was won in March 1955 by the design by Tadeusz Grudzieński, named X-11. The prototype glider was constructed in the SZD in Bielsko

Bielsko

Bielsko was until 1950 an independent town situated in Cieszyn Silesia, Poland. In 1951 it was joined with Biała Krakowska to form the new town of Bielsko-Biała. Bielsko constitutes the western part of that town....

 by Władysław Okarmus, and designated SZD-18. Flight trials began on 30 November 1956 (pilot Adam Zientek) proving, that the SZD-18 had good handling qualities and performance adequate for its intended role. It was regarded as one of the best gliders in its class and the Polish best training glider. However, the aero clubs

Polish Aero Club

Aeroklub Polski is the Polish central association of persons practising air sports or recreational flying. It was founded in 1921 and is a member of the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale. It has a headquarters in Warsaw....

, now independent of the LPŻ, rejected the single-seat training concept, moving towards the more conventional two-seat pupil/instructor method, which had been proven to be quicker, more efficient and safer. No production was carried out and the sole prototype (SP-1640) flew as a club glider with the Warsaw aero club until 1966, when it was given to the Polish Aviation Museum

Polish Aviation Museum

Polish Aviation Museum is a large museum of old aircraft and aircraft engines in Kraków, Poland. It is located at the site of the no-longer functional Kraków-Rakowice-Czyżyny Airport. This airfield, established by Austria-Hungary in 1912, is one of the oldest in the world...

in Kraków.

Specifications (SZD-18 Czajka with nacelle)

External links

• http://www.piotrp.de/SZYBOWCE/pszd18.htm
• http://www.dasvirtuelleluftfahrtmuseum.de/htmi/itf/szd18.htm
• http://www.abpic.co.uk/search.php?q=PZL-Bielsko%20SZD-18%20Czajka&u=type
• http://www.airliners.net/search/photo.search?aircraft_genericsearch=PZL-Bielsko%20SZD-18%20Czajka&distinct_entry=true
• http://www.abpic.co.uk/photo/1087370/
• http://www.muzeumlotnictwa.pl/zbiory_sz.php?ido=93&w=a