PZL Bielsko SZD-56

SZD 56 Diana
Role	15 Meter-class sailplane
National origin	Poland
Manufacturer	PZL-Bielsko, Diana Sailplanes
Designer	Bogumił Bereś, Krzysztof Kubryński
First flight	29 November 1990 (Diana)[1], 12 January 2005 (Diana 2)

The SZD-56 Diana is a 15 metre class glider originally designed by Bogumił Bereś at PZL-Bielsko. However PZL Bielsko went bankrupt before it could be put into serial production. The rights to the design were taken over by a new entity, Diana Sailplanes, which developed the design further and called it the Diana 2. This glider first flew on 12 January 2005.

At 2006 World Gliding Championships in Eskilstuna (Sweden) Janusz Centka flew a Diana 2 and won the 15 metre class.

Sebastian Kawa won all three FAI World Grand Prix Championships in Diana 2 and is current World Champion. The first World Grand Prix Championships were organised in 2005 in St. Auban, France, the second in 2007 in Omarama, New Zealand and the third in 2010 in Santiago, Chile.

The Diana 2 features a number of structural innovations, including a spar-less wing. It also has an unusual side-stick control system to accommodate the pilot in its unusually narrow cockpit. The possible water ballast in the wings is by almost 60 kg (130 lb) higher than the empty weight of the glider so that the Diana 2 has a very large range of wing loadings from 28 to 58 kg/m² (5.7 to 11.9 lb/ft²).^[2]

Design and development

The Diana is a single-seat high-performance 15-metre class sailplane. It is a mid-wing cantilever monoplane with a T-tail unit. It has an all composite carbon-aramid-epoxy structure. The wing has plate airbrakes protruding from the upper surface only with full-span flaperons. The Diana has a retractable main landing gear with a fixed tail wheel.

Specifications (Diana 2)

Data from ^[2]

General characteristics

• Crew: One
• Capacity: 240 kg (63.4 US gal / 110 lb) of water ballast
• Length: 6.88 m (22 ft 5 in)
• Wingspan: 15.00 m (49 ft 2 in)
• Height: 1.35 m (4 ft 43 in)
• Wing area: 8.16 m² (88 ft²)
• Aspect ratio: 27.57
• Empty weight: 182 kg (401 lb)
• Gross weight: 500 kg (1,100 lb)

Performance

• Maximum speed: 270 km/h (146 knots/170 mph)
• Stall speed: 60 km/h (32.4 knots/ 37.2 mph)
• Maximum glide ratio: > 50
• Rate of sink: 0.45 m/s (89 ft/min)

References

1. ^ Piotr Piechowski: Polnische Segelflugzeuge: SZD-56 Diana (in German) - accessed 2008-08-26
2. ^ ^{a b} Diana Sailplanes: DIANA 2 - accessed 2008-08-26

External links

• Diana Sailplanes
• EASA Type Certificate Data Sheet