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The SZD-17X Jaskółka L was a single-seat high-performance competition glider designed and built in
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
at ''Szybowcowy Zakład Doświadczalny
Szybowcowy Zakład Doświadczalny (SZD), ''Glider Experimental Works'' was a glider aircraft, glider design and research centre of the Polish aerospace industry after World War II, located in Bielsko-Biała. Through its history it underwent many o ...
'' (Glider Experimental Works) in Bielsko-Biała
Bielsko-Biała (; ; , ; ) is a city in southern Poland, with a population of approximately 166,765 as of December 2022, making it the List of cities and towns in Poland#Largest cities and towns by population, 22nd largest city in Poland, and an a ...
in 1955.
Development
The SZD-17X Jaskółka L (''Swallow Laminar'') drew on the experience gained from developing the SZD-11 and SZD-14X gliders combined with newlaminar flow
Laminar flow () is the property of fluid particles in fluid dynamics to follow smooth paths in layers, with each layer moving smoothly past the adjacent layers with little or no mixing. At low velocities, the fluid tends to flow without lateral m ...
aerofoil sections and flaps, as well as provision for water ballast and a fully retractable undercarriage. Main designer was Tadeusz Kostia, main constructor Jan Dyrek. Construction of the SZD-17X was of conventional wooden semi-monocoque fuselage and thick skinned wooden wings with wooden spars, retaining the Jerzy Rudlicki
Jerzy Rudlicki (Polish pronunciation: ; 14 March 1893 – 18 August 1977) was a Polish pilot and aerospace engineer. Best known for his inventing and patenting of the V-tail, which is an aircraft tail configuration that combines the rudder and e ...
's butterfly tail of the SZD-14X. First flight of the SZD-17X took place at Bielsko airfield, flown by Adam Zientek
Adam is the name given in Genesis 1–5 to the first human. Adam is the first human-being aware of God, and features as such in various belief systems (including Judaism, Christianity, Gnosticism and Islam).
According to Christianity, Adam sin ...
, on 9 March 1956.
Four aircraft, (reg'n no.'s SP-1504 to SP-1507), were built for use in 1956 World Gliding Championships
The World Gliding Championships (WGC) is a gliding competitions, gliding competition held roughly every two years by the FAI Gliding Commission. The dates are not always exactly two years apart, often because the contests are always held in the sum ...
, but performance fell short of expectations and they finally were not used there. Despite the disappointing performance, Tadeusz Góra was able to establish a cross-country speed record on 9 May 1956 whilst flying SP-1506. SP-1506 was used until 1977, then it was given to the Polish Aviation Museum
The Polish Aviation Museum () 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 Airport. This airfield, established by Austr ...
. The glider was nicknamed ''laminarka'', due to its laminar flow profile.
Specifications (SZD-17X Jaskółka L)
Note: A. GlassGlass, A. (ed) (1965), p.64-68 quotes different specifications: maximum glide ratio 30.5 at 98 km/h; best sink rate 0.86 m/s at 93 km/h; wing loading 31.2 kg/m2 (40 with ballast).See also
Notes
References
* * * * * * *Glass, Andrzej (ed) (1965) ''Konstrukcje lotnicze Polski Ludowej'' viation constructions of People's Poland WKiŁ, Warsaw, p. 64–68 (Polish)Further reading
*Taylor, J. H. (ed) (1989) ''Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation''. Studio Editions: London. p. 29External links
* http://www.piotrp.de/SZYBOWCE/pszd17.htm * http://www.muzeumlotnictwa.pl/zbiory_sz.php?ido=92&w=a * http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1958/1958%20-%200793.html * http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1958/1958%20-%200794.html *http://www.airwar.ru/enc/glider/szd17.html *http://www.luftfahrtmuseum.com/htmi/ite/szd17.htm {{DEFAULTSORT:SZD-17 1950s Polish sailplanes SZD aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1956