The LWD Żak was a Polish touring and

trainer aircraft A trainer is a class of aircraft designed specifically to facilitate flight training of pilots and aircrews. The use of a dedicated trainer aircraft with additional safety features—such as tandem flight controls, forgiving flight characteristi ...

of the late 1940s, designed in the LWD and built in a short series.

Design and development

The Żak (old-fashioned "student") was designed in the

Lotnicze Warsztaty Doświadczalne ''Lotnicze Warsztaty Doświadczalne'' (LWD) was the Polish aerospace manufacturer and construction bureau, located in Łódź, active between 1945 and 1950. The name meant Aircraft Experimental Workshops. It was the first Polish post-war aerosp ...

(LWD, ''Aviation Experimental Workshops'') in Łódź, directed by

Tadeusz Sołtyk Tadeusz Sołtyk (born 30 August 1909 in Radom, died 14 July 2004 in Warsaw) was a Polish aircraft designer and aerospace engineer, most famous as the creator of the PZL TS-11 Iskra After graduating from the Mechanical Department of the Warsaw Univ ...

in 1946, as one of the first Polish post-war aircraft. It was a light low-wing cantilever monoplane of a mixed construction, with a crew of two, sitting side by side, and fixed conventional

landing gear Landing gear is the undercarriage of an aircraft or spacecraft that is used for takeoff or landing. For aircraft it is generally needed for both. It was also formerly called ''alighting gear'' by some manufacturers, such as the Glenn L. Martin ...

. The first prototype Żak-1 was first flown on March 23, 1947. It was powered by the Czechoslovak 65 hp straight engine

Walter Mikron The Walter Mikron is a four-cylinder, air-cooled, inverted straight engine for aircraft. Development Developed in Czechoslovakia in the early 1930s, the engine saw limited use in late 1930s and early 1950s. In the 1980s an initial batch of eng ...

III and carried markings SP-AAC. The second prototype Żak-2 was powered by the 65 hp flat engine

Continental A-65 The Continental O-170 engine is the collective military designation for a family of small aircraft engines, known under the company designation of A50, A65, A75 and A80. The line was designed and built by Continental Motors commencing in the 194 ...

and had an open cockpit. It was flown on November 27, 1947, and carried markings SP-AAE. The design appeared successful and the Ministry of Communication ordered a series of 10 aircraft. They were to be powered by licence-built A-65 engines, but since plans of engine production were abandoned, it was decided to fit them with Walter Mikron engines. They were also fitted with a closed

canopy Canopy may refer to: Plants * Canopy (biology), aboveground portion of plant community or crop (including forests) * Canopy (grape), aboveground portion of grapes Religion and ceremonies * Baldachin or canopy of state, typically placed over an a ...

, sliding rearwards, and named Żak-3. Ten planes were built by the LWD in the end of 1948, the first of them was flown on November 8, 1948. They had markings: SP-AAS to SP-AAZ, and SP-BAA to SP-BAC. At least one (SP-AAX) had engine replaced later with 85 hp (63 kW) Cirrus F.III. They were used in the Polish regional aero clubs until 1955. On October 20, 1948, there was flown a prototype of the last variant, Żak-4, meant for a

glider Glider may refer to: Aircraft and transport Aircraft * Glider (aircraft), heavier-than-air aircraft primarily intended for unpowered flight ** Glider (sailplane), a rigid-winged glider aircraft with an undercarriage, used in the sport of glidin ...

towing. It had stronger 105 hp Walter engine and an open canopy. Since it showed unsuitable for glider towing, and old

Polikarpov Po-2 The Polikarpov Po-2 (also U-2, for its initial ''uchebnyy'', 'training', role as a flight instruction aircraft) served as an all-weather multirole Soviet biplane, nicknamed ''Kukuruznik'' (russian: Кукурузник,Gunston 1995, p. 292. NAT ...

appeared the better plane for this purpose, Żak-4 was not built in series, and the prototype was re-fitted with a closed canopy and used as a touring plane in aero club (markings SP-BAE).

Variants

;Żak-1 (SP-AAC) :The first prototype powered by Walter Mikron III engine. ;Żak-2 (SP-AAE) :The second prototype without canopy and powered by

engine. ;Żak-3 :Main production version with closed canopy and powered by Walter Mikron III engine, 10 built. ;Żak-4 (SP-BAE) :Prototype of the glider towing version with open canopy (later refitted with a closed one) and powered by Walter engine.

Operators

; *

Aeroklub Polski Aeroklub Polski (AP; ''Polish Aero Club'') 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 ...

Survivors

Żak-3 SP-AAX is preserved in the

Polish Aviation Museum The Polish Aviation Museum ( pl, Muzeum Lotnictwa Polskiego w Krakowie) is a large museum of historic aircraft and aircraft engines in Kraków, Poland. It is located at the site of the no-longer functional Kraków-Rakowice-Czyżyny Ai ...

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...

(disassembled as for 2007)

Specifications (Żak-3)

References

*Babiejczuk, Janusz and Grzegorzewski, Jerzy: ''Polski przemysł lotniczy 1945-1973'' (Polish aviation industry...), Wydawnictwo MON, Warsaw 1974 * Bridgman, Leonard. ''Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1953-54''. London:Jane's,1953. *Krzyżan, Marian: ''Samoloty w muzeach polskich'', Warsaw 1983,
Photo and description
at Poser page

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lwd Zak

Zak Zak may refer to: People * Zak (surname), a surname of Russian origin * Żak, a Polish surname * Žák, a Czech surname * Zak (given name) Fictional characters * Zak Adama, in the '' Battlestar Galactica'' franchise * Zak Dingle, in UK TV ''Emme ...

1940s Polish civil trainer aircraft 1940s Polish civil utility aircraft Single-engined tractor aircraft Low-wing aircraft