PZL Bielsko SZD-50

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The PZL Bielsko SZD-50 "Puchacz" (Polish: "Eagle Owl") is a Polish two-place training and aerobatic sailplane.

Development

The Puchacz was designed by Dipl-Ing Adam Meus based on the prototype SZD-50-1 Dromader. It was intended to serve as the successor to the popular Bocian for training. Its first flight was April 13 1979.

Being a moderately priced, versatile, modern two-seater with good handling qualities on the ground and in the air, the Puchacz has become a very popular two-seater sailplane in many countries both for "ab-initio" and aerobatic instruction.

A number of fatal accidents involving spins have occurred with the Puchacz. Investigation have cleared the design in each case, but the type's reputation has nevertheless been tainted. Its supporters point out that it was designed to obey faithfully all control inputs - including foolish ones. Partial failures at the rudder bar and control sticks have been known to occur, but Airworthiness Directives have been issued for modifications.

Description

The Puchacz is built mainly of fibreglass epoxy sandwich construction protected by polyurethane paint rather than the more usual gelcoat finish. Although it is mainly glassfibre, the fuselage has two wooden frames as the connection point for the wings and undercarriage. Assembly entails inserting a single main pin to secure the wings in place and a spring-loaded locking pin for the tailplane.

The front rudder pedals and the rear seat shell are adjustable. The front instruments are arranged so that they can be easily viewed from the rear seat; a rear instruments panel is also available as an option.

The Puchacz meets both OSTIV and JAR-22 Utility Category certification requirements and is approved for extended aerobatics including inverted flight and rolling manoeuvres.

pecifications

aerospecs
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crew=Two
capacity=
length m=8.38
length ft=27
length in=6
span m=16.67
span ft=57
span in=8
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height m=2.04
height ft=6
height in=8
wing area sqm=18.6
wing area sqft=195
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volume m3=
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aspect ratio= 15.3
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empty weight kg=368
empty weight lb=811
gross weight kg=570
gross weight lb=1,256
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max speed kmh=215
max speed mph=134
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glide ratio= 30
climb rate ms=
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sink rate ms= 0.7
sink rate ftmin= 138

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References

* [http://www.gliding-in-melbourne.org/puchacz.htm#Top Geelong Club website]
* [http://web.archive.org/web/20050206183811/http://www.ssa.org/Magazines/Johnson.asp Richard Johnson, A FTE of the SZD-50-3 Puchacz 2-Place Sailplane, Soaring, April 1994]
* [http://www.sailplanedirectory.com/ Sailplane Directory]