Bronisław Żurakowski (26 June 1911 – 4 October 2009) was a Polish

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...

aeroplane An airplane (American English), or aeroplane (Commonwealth English), informally plane, is a fixed-wing aircraft that is propelled forward by thrust from a jet engine, Propeller (aircraft), propeller, or rocket engine. Airplanes come in a vari ...

constructor, and glider test pilot.

Personal life

Bronisław Żurakowski was born in Makiejowka. He was a brother of test pilot

Janusz Żurakowski Janusz Żurakowski (12 September 1914 – 9 February 2004) was a Polish fighter aircraft, fighter and test pilot. At various times in his life he lived and worked in Poland, the United Kingdom, and Canada. Early life Żurakowski was born in 191 ...

. Żurakowski died on October 4th, 2009.

Career

Before the Second World War Żurakowski worked in the RWD bureau, where he designed aircraft

RWD-17 The RWD 17 was a Polish aerobatics-trainer aircraft of 1937, parasol wing monoplane, constructed by the RWD team. Development The aircraft was designed for an order of the LOPP paramilitary organization, as an interim trainer aircraft between p ...

RWD-17W The RWD 17 was a Polish aerobatics-trainer aircraft of 1937, parasol wing monoplane, constructed by the RWD team. Development The aircraft was designed for an order of the LOPP paramilitary organization, as an interim trainer aircraft between p ...

, RWD-20 and made calculations for RWD-16bis, RWD-21 and RWD-23. After the war he designed the first Polish

helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which Lift (force), lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning Helicopter rotor, rotors. This allows the helicopter to VTOL, take off and land vertically, to hover (helicopter), hover, and ...

BŻ-1 GIL and later a helicopter BŻ-4 Żuk (both designated BŻ for his initials). He was a co-designer of a successful utility plane

PZL-104 Wilga PZL-104 Wilga ('' golden oriole'') is a Polish short-takeoff-and-landing (STOL) civil aviation utility aircraft designed and originally manufactured by PZL Warszawa-Okęcie, and later by European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS), who ...

References

1911 births 2009 deaths Polish aerospace engineers Polish glider pilots Polish test pilots {{Poland-engineer-stub