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Stanisław Wigura
Stanisław Wigura (9 April 1901 – 11 September 1932) was a Polish aircraft designer and aviator, co-founder of the RWD aircraft construction team and lecturer at the Warsaw University of Technology. Along with Franciszek Żwirko, he won the international air contest Challenge 1932. He was born in Warsaw. In his youth he was interested in mechanics and aviation, and he was also a Boy Scout. In 1920, during the Polish-Soviet War, he volunteered for the 8th Field Artillery Regiment. In 1921, he started studies at Warsaw University of Technology (Warsaw Tech), where he met Stanislaw Rogalski and Jerzy Drzewiecki. He was one of founders of the Aviation Section of Students' Mechanical Club. In December 1925, students of the Section founded their own workshop, where they built aircraft. In 1926, Wigura and Rogalski designed their first light aircraft WR-1, built in 1927. In 1927, three designers: Rogalski, Wigura, and Drzewiecki started working together, creating the RWD team (it ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Franciszek Żwirko
Franciszek Żwirko nglish pronunciation like: frantsishek zhvirko(16 September 1895 – 11 September 1932) was a prominent Polish sport and military aviator. Along with Stanisław Wigura, he won the international air contest Challenge 1932. He was born in Sventiany, near Vilnius in Lithuania (at that time part of the Russian Empire), and attended school in Vilnius. During World War I, he volunteered for the Russian Army, graduated from an officer school in Irkutsk, and served in infantry, fighting against the Germans. He was awarded the Order of St. Anna, 4th class. In 1917, he joined the Polish corps of Gen. Józef Dowbor-Muśnicki, formed in Russia. After the corps was disbanded in 1918, he enlisted in Gen. Anton Denikin's Volunteer Army and fought against the Bolsheviks in the Russian Civil War. He completed an air observer course. After the Bolsheviks' victory in the war in 1921, Żwirko fought his way to Poland across the Soviet-Polish border. In Poland, he completed an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
RWD-2
The RWD 2 was a 1929 Polish single-engine high-wing monoplane sports plane constructed by the RWD team. Development The RWD 2 was constructed by the RWD team of Stanisław Rogalski, Stanisław Wigura and Jerzy Drzewiecki in the Aviation Section of Mechanic Students' Club of Warsaw University of Technology. It was a development of their first design RWD-1. Its feature was a unique, fish-shaped fuselage, with good aerodynamics, but without a direct view forward from the pilot's seat. For this reason, they were later nicknamed: ''blind mice''. The first prototype (registration SP-ACE) was completed and flown by the designer Jerzy Drzewiecki in July 1929. Since it appeared successful in sports flying, three more RWD-2s were built in 1930 (registration SP-ADJ, -ADG, -ADH). Use In August–September 1929, Franciszek Żwirko and Stanisław Wigura flew the prototype across Europe, on the 5000 km Warsaw-Paris-Barcelona-Warsaw route (it was the first long foreign raid of the Poli ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prague
Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate oceanic climate, with relatively warm summers and chilly winters. Prague is a political, cultural, and economic hub of central Europe, with a rich history and Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque architectures. It was the capital of the Kingdom of Bohemia and residence of several Holy Roman Emperors, most notably Charles IV (r. 1346–1378). It was an important city to the Habsburg monarchy and Austro-Hungarian Empire. The city played major roles in the Bohemian and the Protestant Reformations, the Thirty Years' War and in 20th-century history as the capital of Czechoslovakia between the World Wars and the post-war Communist era. Prague is home to a number of well-known cultural attractions, many of which survived ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
RWD-6
The RWD 6 was a Polish sports plane of 1932, constructed by the RWD team. It was a winner of the Challenge 1932 international tourist aircraft contest. Development The aircraft was designed specially for the purpose of competing in the international tourist aircraft contest Challenge, which RWD attended in 1930, without major success. It was constructed by the RWD team of Stanislaw Rogalski, Stanislaw Wigura and Jerzy Drzewiecki in the workshops of Students' Mechanical Club of Warsaw University of Technology (their designs were named RWD after their initial letters). The new plane differed from previous RWD designs, having a cab with two seats next to each other, folding wings and good wing mechanization ( slats and flaps). Only three aircraft were built, the first one was flown on June 3, 1932 by its designer Jerzy Drzewiecki. The aircraft were given civilian registrations SP-AHL, SP-AHM and SP-AHN. During trials, SP-AHM crashed and Drzewiecki was hurt. After some modificatio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
RWD-8
The RWD 8 was a Polish parasol wing monoplane trainer aircraft produced by RWD. It was used from 1934 to 1939 by the Polish Air Force and civilian aviation. Development The RWD 8 was designed in response to a Polish Air Force requirement in 1931 for a basic trainer aircraft. It was designed by the RWD team of Stanisław Rogalski, Stanisław Wigura and Jerzy Drzewiecki. The first prototype (registration SP-AKL), was flown in early 1933. It won the contest for the new Polish military trainer, against the PZL-5bis and Bartel BM-4h biplanes. It was considered a very stable and well-handling aircraft. Since the DWL ('' Doświadczalne Warsztaty Lotnicze'') workshops – a manufacturer of RWD designs – had limited production capability, the Polish military decided to produce the aircraft in a nationalized factory PWS (''Podlaska Wytwórnia Samolotów''). DWL gave away the licence free of charge, only for covering design costs. PWS produced aircraft for both military and civili ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Transatlantic Flight
A transatlantic flight is the flight of an aircraft across the Atlantic Ocean from Europe, Africa, South Asia, or the Middle East to North America, Central America, or South America, or ''vice versa''. Such flights have been made by fixed-wing aircraft, airships, balloons and other aircraft. Early aircraft engines did not have the reliability nor the power to lift the required fuel to make a transatlantic flight. There were difficulties navigating over the featureless expanse of water for thousands of miles, and the weather, especially in the North Atlantic, is unpredictable. Since the middle of the 20th century, however, transatlantic flight has become routine, for commercial, military, diplomatic, and other purposes. History The idea of transatlantic flight came about with the advent of the hot air balloon. The balloons of the period were inflated with coal gas, a moderate lifting medium compared to hydrogen or helium, but with enough lift to use the winds that would later ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
RWD-7
The RWD 7 was a Polish sports plane of 1931, constructed by the RWD team. Development The RWD 7 was constructed by the RWD team of Stanisław Rogalski, Stanisław Wigura and Jerzy Drzewiecki in Warsaw. It was based upon their earlier designs, especially the RWD 2 and RWD 4. The RWD 7 was meant to be a record-beating plane, so it had a more powerful engine, while its mass was reduced. From its predecessors, it took the same fish-shaped fuselage without a direct view towards forward from the pilot's seat. The only RWD 7 built (registration SP-AGH) was flown in July 1931 by its designer Jerzy Drzewiecki. On August 12, 1931, Drzewiecki and Jerzy Wędrychowski established an international FAI speed record of 178 km/h (111 mph) in the light touring plane class, (below 280 kg / 616 lb empty weight). On September 30, 1932, Drzewiecki and Antoni Kocjan set a height record of 6,023 m (19,755 ft). The RWD 7 was used in Warsaw Aero Club, among others, for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
RWD-3
The RWD 3 was a 1930 Polish sports aircraft and liaison aircraft prototype, constructed by the RWD team, a single-engine high-wing monoplane. Development The RWD 3 was constructed by the RWD team of Stanisław Rogalski, Stanisław Wigura and Jerzy Drzewiecki in Warsaw. Since their earlier design, the RWD 2 sports aircraft appeared quite successful, the Polish Military of Defence ordered in 1929 to develop its enlarged variant as a liaison aircraft. It retained the same fish-shaped fuselage without a direct view towards forward from the pilot's seat, though the view improved due to a thin fuselage profile before the pilot. At the same time, the RWD developed similar enlarged sports aircraft, the RWD 4, which shared many features with the RWD 3, but was powered with an inline engine and did not have folding wings. One prototype was built for ground trials and one flying prototype. It was completed and flown by the designer Jerzy Drzewiecki in April 1930. Since it was found unsati ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
RWD-5
The RWD 5 was a Polish touring and sports plane of 1931, a two-seat high-wing monoplane, constructed by the RWD team. It was made famous by its transatlantic flight, being the smallest aircraft to cross the Atlantic. Development The RWD 5 was constructed by the RWD team of Stanisław Rogalski, Stanisław Wigura and Jerzy Drzewiecki (their designs were named RWD after their initial letters). It was a further development of earlier RWD aircraft series (RWD 1, RWD 2, RWD 3 and RWD 7), especially of its direct predecessor, the RWD 4. It shared the same wing shape and construction, while the fuselage was totally new, constructed of steel frame, unlike its wooden predecessors. The fuselage had a modern shape and a closed canopy with panoramic windows (earlier models had atypical fish-shaped fuselages with no direct forward view from the pilot's seat). The first prototype (registration SP-AGJ) was flown on 7 August 1931 by its designer Jerzy Drzewiecki. It was built in new worksho ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Challenge 1930
The International Touring Competition in 1930 (french: Challenge International de Tourisme) was the second FAI international touring aircraft contest, that took place between July 18 and August 8, 1930 in Berlin, Germany. Four Challenges, from 1929 to 1934, were major aviation events in pre-war Europe. Overview Germany organized the contest, because the German pilot Fritz Morzik won the previous contest in 1929. The regulation based upon the FAI rules, but details were worked out by the German Aero Club. The international Sports Committee was headed by the German Gerd von Hoeppner. 98 crews applied, but eventually 60 aircraft entered the Challenge in 1930, from six countries: Germany (30 crews), Poland (12 crews), United Kingdom (7 crews), France (6 crews), Spain (3 crews) and the Swiss (2 crews). In the British team there was one Canadian, and in the French team – one Belgian. It was the first major international event in which the Polish aviation took part, with second most n ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard language, Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the List of cities in Italy, second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its Metropolitan City of Milan, metropolitan city has 3.26 million inhabitants. Its continuously built-up List of urban areas in the European Union, urban area (whose outer suburbs extend well beyond the boundaries of the administrative Metropolitan cities of Italy, metropolitan city and even stretch into the nearby country of Switzerland) is the fourth largest in the EU with 5.27 million inhabitants. According to national sources, the population within the wider Milan metropolitan area (also known as Greater Milan), is estimated between 8.2 million and 12.5 million making it by far the List of metropolitan areas of Italy, largest metropolitan area in Italy and List of metropolitan areas in Europe, one of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
