LWD Szpak
|
|
Szpak-4T
|
Role
|
Utility aircraft
Type of aircraft
|
Manufacturer
|
LWD
,
WSK-Mielec
|
Designer
|
Tadeusz Sołtyk
|
First flight
|
October 28, 1945
|
Introduction
|
1946
|
Retired
|
1955
|
Primary user
|
Polish civilian aviation
|
Produced
|
1945?1948
|
Number built
|
13
|
The
LWD Szpak
(
starling
) was a Polish utility
aircraft
of
1945
, the first Polish aircraft designed after
World War II
and built in a short series.
Development
[
edit
]
The war destroyed the whole Polish aviation industry. As soon as the Eastern part of Poland was liberated by the
Red Army
in October 1944 a group of designers gathered in
Lublin
, under the direction of
Tadeusz Sołtyk
, thus creating the first Polish post-war construction team. They designed a touring low-plane aircraft of a wooden construction called
Szpak-1
, with a
M-11F
radial engine. The plane was not built, nevertheless it gave the beginning to a Szpak family. In early 1945 the construction team moved to
Łod?
and on April 1, 1945, created
Lotnicze Warsztaty Do?wiadczalne
(LWD,
Aviation Experimental Workshops
).
On October 28, 1945, the prototype of the
Szpak-2
was flown for the first time; first Polish post-war civilian plane in operation. It broke its landing gear during a landing, but was repaired. The official first flight took place on 10 November 1945. Szpak was a
strutted
monoplane low-wing utility/touring plane of wooden construction, powered by a radial engine
Bramo Sh 14
, left in the country by the retreating Germans. A crew of 4 sat in a closed cab under a multi-part
canopy
, in two rows. Szpak-2 was not built in series, the single aircraft was used by the factory, then in 1947-1948 by the Polish government as a utility and light transport aircraft. Being the first plane registered in Poland after the war (on 10 May 1946) it carried the registration SP-AAA. It completed some 500 flights and transported some 250 passengers in total and was retired on April 5, 1948.
The Szpak-2 had a conventional fixed landing gear. On 17 December 1946, for the first time flew its improved experimental variant called
Szpak-3
with a fixed
tricycle landing gear
(markings SP-AAB). It was not built in a series either, and the prototype was used as a courier plane by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs during 1947, then by the factory. It was retired on March 6, 1950.
The next variant, the
Szpak-4A
, was designed as an
aerobatic
aircraft. Only one prototype was built, flown on May 20, 1947. It had a steel fuselage frame rather than a wooden one, and a two-men side-by-side open cab. It was not certified as an aerobatic aircraft however, and was used by the factory as a utility plane in 1947?1948.
The only variant produced in a series was the 4-seater utility plane called
Szpak-4T
, utilizing the steel fuselage frame with a conventional landing gear. Contrary to Szpak-2 and 3, its fuselage was lowered behind a canopy. It was ordered by the Ministry of Communication and ten planes were built in 1947-1948 by the
PZL
(later WSK) in
Mielec
as the first Polish post-war planes built in a series. The very first one was flown on January 5, 1948. The planes had markings: SP-AAF to SP-AAO, and SP-AAR. They were used by the Polish civilian aviation - regional
aero clubs
until
1952
, except for the SP-AAG, which was retired in
1955
. They are also known as WSK Szpak-4T.
Survivors
[
edit
]
- Szpak-1
- The design concept which spawned the Szpak series
- Szpak-2
- (SP-AAA) preserved in the
Polish Aviation Museum
in
Krakow
(damaged)
- Szpak-3
- A tricycle undercarriage prototype, (SP-AAB), preserved in the
Polish Aviation Museum
in
Krakow
(disassembled as of 2008)
- Szpak-4a
- A single prototype aerobatic aircraft.
- Szpak-4T
- 10 production aircraft. A Szpak-4T, (SP-AAG), is preserved in the
Polish Aviation Museum
in
Krakow
(disassembled as of 2008)
Operators
[
edit
]
Poland
Specifications (Szpak-4T)
[
edit
]
Data from
[
citation needed
]
General characteristics
- Crew:
1
- Capacity:
3 pax
- Length:
8.05 m (26 ft 5 in)
- Wingspan:
11.4 m (37 ft 5 in)
- Height:
2.4 m (7 ft 10 in)
- Wing area:
18.2 m
2
(196 sq ft)
- Empty weight:
700 kg (1,543 lb)
- Gross weight:
1,200 kg (2,646 lb)
- Powerplant:
1 ×
Bramo Sh.14A-4
7-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engine, 118 kW (158 hp)
- Propellers:
2-bladed fixed-pitch propeller
Performance
- Maximum speed:
180 km/h (110 mph, 97 kn)
- Range:
630 km (390 mi, 340 nmi)
- Service ceiling:
3,350 m (10,990 ft)
See also
[
edit
]
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era
References
[
edit
]
- Babiejczuk, Janusz and Grzegorzewski, Jerzy:
Polski przemysł lotniczy 1945-1973
(Polish aviation industry...), Wydawnictwo MON, Warsaw 1974 (no ISBN)
(in Polish)
- Krzy?an, Marian:
Samoloty w muzeach polskich
, Warsaw 1983,
ISBN
978-83-206-0432-0
(in Polish)
External links
[
edit
]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to
LWD Szpak
.