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Polish single-seat glider, 1956
The
SZD-15 Sroka
(
Szybowcowy Zakład Do?wiadczalny
- Glider Experimental Works) was a single-seat glider designed and built in
Poland
in 1956.
Development
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The SZD-15 Sroka (
Magpie
) was designed as a replacement for the
IS-B Komar
in the single-seat trainer role, at the request of the LP? (Soldier's Friends League) from 1955. Of typical wooden construction with plywood or fabric covering, the SZD-15 Sroka was typical of many contemporary club training gliders throughout Europe. The main designer on the project was Z. Badura.
[1]
The first prototype, named 'Pionier' (registration SP-1598) was flown on 25 February 1956 by Stanisław Skrzydlewski at
Bielsko
, leading to modifications to improve the room in the cockpit, re-position the winch launch hook to increase directional stability during winch launching, and to increase the strength of the forward fuselage. Further improvements were made to the second prototype, SZD-15-2 Sroka (registration SP-1667), which flew on 1 February 1957.
[1]
Production aircraft were designated SZD-15A, and 20 were built in ZSLS in
Krosno
, in addition to the two prototypes.
The flying characteristics of the SZD-15A were a marked improvement on those of the
IS-B Komar
, including better climb performance in weak thermals. The solo training regime employed by
Polish Aero Clubs
up to the late 1950s was eventually proven to be inefficient, thus the 'raison d'etre' of the SZD-15 Sroka was removed, and the remaining SZD-15s were used as club single seaters until superseded by higher performance club aircraft in the mid-1970s. Two, including the first prototype, are preserved in the
Polish Aviation Museum
in Krakow.
[2]
Variants
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- SZD-15 Pioneer - the first prototype,
registration
SP-1598.
- SZD-15-2 Sroka - the second prototype with modifications.
- SZD-15A Sroka - production aircraft, 20 built.
Specifications (SZD-15 Sroka)
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Data from
http://www.piotrp.de/SZYBOWCE/pszd15.htm
General characteristics
- Crew:
1
- Length:
6.9 m (22 ft 8 in)
- Wingspan:
14.5 m (47 ft 7 in)
- Height:
1.5 m (4 ft 11 in)
- Wing area:
14.5 m
2
(156 sq ft)
- Aspect ratio
:
14.5
- Airfoil
:
NACA 43012A
- Empty weight:
170 kg (375 lb)
- Gross weight:
270 kg (595 lb)
Performance
- Maximum speed:
200 km/h (120 mph, 110 kn)
- Stall speed:
49 km/h (30 mph, 26 kn)
- Maximum glide ratio:
19 at 64 km/h (35 kts/40 mph)
- Rate of sink:
0.88 m/s (173 ft/min) at 58 km/h (31 kts/36 mph)
See also
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Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era
References
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- ^
a
b
Babiejczuk, Janusz and Grzegorzewski, Jerzy.
Polski przemysł lotniczy 1945-1973
[Polish aerospace industry 1945-1973]. Warsaw: Wydawnictwo MON, 1974, p. 123
- ^
(in Polish)
Krzy?an, Marian,
Samoloty w muzeach polskich
[Aircraft in the Polish museums], Warsaw: Wydawnictwa Komunikacji i Ł?czno?ci, 1983,
ISBN
978-83-206-0432-0
, p. 139
- Taylor, J. H. (ed) (1989)
Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation
. Studio Editions: London. p. 29
External links
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