The JD-2 was a Polish sports plane of

1926 In Turkey, the year technically contained only 352 days. As Friday, December 18, 1926 ''(Julian Calendar)'' was followed by Saturday, January 1, 1927 '' (Gregorian Calendar)''. 13 days were dropped to make the switch. Turkey thus became the ...

. It was the first sports plane designed in Poland, that was built in a small series.

Design and development

The JD-2 was the first aircraft constructed by the Aviation Section of the Mechanic Students' Club of the

Warsaw University of Technology The Warsaw University of Technology () is one of the leading institutes of technology in Poland and one of the largest in Central Europe. It employs 2,453 teaching faculty, with 357 professors (including 145 titular professors). The student body ...

(later a home of the RWD design team). The main designer was

Jerzy Drzewiecki Jerzy Drzewiecki (7 August 1902 – 15 May 1990) was a Polish aeroplane constructor, engineer and one of the founders of the RWD construction bureau, along with Rogalski and Wigura. He was born in Warsaw. Among his most notable constructions ...

, hence a designation JD. The aircraft was designed in late

1925 Events January * January 1 – The Syrian Federation is officially dissolved, the State of Aleppo and the State of Damascus having been replaced by the State of Syria (1925–1930), State of Syria. * January 3 – Benito Mussolini m ...

, around an available Anzani engine. It was the only plane of Drzewiecki's individual design and to carry JD designation, as he later worked as a member of the RWD team. The prototype, with a workshop number SL-4, was built in 1926 and first flown on October 5, 1926 in Warsaw. During landing, a fuel pipe broke and the aircraft burned, injuring the military pilot Kazimierz Kalina. The pilot, however, expressed a good opinion on its handling, so the second modified aircraft (SL-6) was built, and one more airframe for static trials (SL-5). The second prototype SL-6 was flown on June 26, 1927. Its handling was however not too good, it was also 90 kg heavier, than estimated. It was given a registration P-PSLA, from 1929: SP-ACA. In 1929 two more aircraft of an improved variant, the JD-2bis were built for aero clubs, with a financial help of LOPP paramilitary organization. It had changed fuselage front, wing tips and a tail fin (SL-14 and 15, registration numbers: SP-ACD and ACF). In 1930 there was built one more JD-2bis (SL-20, SP-ADP). It was later fitted with a stronger radial engine 80 hp

Armstrong Siddeley Genet The Armstrong Siddeley Genet is a five-cylinder, air-cooled, radial engine for aircraft use built in the UK, first run in 1926. It developed 80 hp at 2,200 rpm in its final form and was a popular light aircraft powerplant. Following ...

Operational history

The second JD-2 (SP-ACA) was used by the Warsaw Aero Club. Flown by Kazimierz Kalina, it won in the 1st Polish Light Aircraft Contest in October 1929, and flown by Worledge it took the 7th place in the 2nd Contest the following year. In 1929 it was bought by a private owner Pawłowski, who crashed it that year. Next it was repaired and bought by Captain

Zbigniew Babiński Zbigniew Juliusz Babiński (13 May 1896 – April 1940) was a Polish military and sports aviator. He was born in Sosnowiec. While in school he constructed two simple biplane gliders in 1912 and 1913 in Milanówek. The first one crashed during ...

, who used it for touring flying - by 1931 the plane visited 225 airfields, evident from inscriptions on its fuselage. The plane was written off in August 1935. The JD-2bis SP-ACD was built for

Lwów Lviv ( or ; ; ; see #Names and symbols, below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the List of cities in Ukraine, fifth-largest city in Ukraine, with a population of It serves as the administrative centre of ...

Academic Aero Club and it crashed on 18 August 1930 in Lwów, injuring a pilot M. Pakuła. The other one, SP-ACF, built for Warsaw Academic Aero Club, crashed on 16 March 1930, killing pilot K. Trzetrzewiński. The last JD-2bis, SP-ADP, nicknamed "Adepcia" (a female name created from its registration letters), was built for the aviator Witold Rychter. In September–October 1930 Ignacy Giedgowd flying it, took the 3rd place in the 3rd Polish Light Aircraft Contest. It was written off in August 1936. The Ministry of Communication planned to build 10 aircraft for regional aero clubs, also Poznań and Cracov Aero Clubs planned to order JD-2bis, but these planes were not realized. JD-2bis was a difficult to fly machine, with low stability, it was however liked by some pilots.

Description

The JD-2 was a wooden construction low-wing braced

monoplane A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple wings. A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing con ...

, conventional in layout, with open cockpits. A

fuselage The fuselage (; from the French language, French ''fuselé'' "spindle-shaped") is an aircraft's main body section. It holds Aircrew, crew, passengers, or cargo. In single-engine aircraft, it will usually contain an Aircraft engine, engine as wel ...

was rectangular in cross-section, plywood-covered. In the JD-2bis, the fuselage was aluminium covered in an engine section. Wings were two-piece, rectangular with straight tips, two-spar, covered with canvas and plywood (in front section), supported with twin struts. Conventional

empennage The empennage ( or ), also known as the tail or tail assembly, is a structure at the rear of an aircraft that provides stability during flight, in a way similar to the feathers on an arrow.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third ed ...

, covered with plywood (fins) and canvas (elevators and rudder). Two open cockpits in

tandem Tandem, or in tandem, is an arrangement in which two or more animals, machines, or people are lined up one behind another, all facing in the same direction. ''Tandem'' can also be used more generally to refer to any group of persons or objects w ...

, with individual windshields and twin controls. A safety cage of steel pipes was above the front cockpit (JD-2) or before the front cockpit (JD-2bis). It had a fixed

conventional landing gear Conventional landing gear, or tailwheel-type landing gear, is an aircraft Landing gear, undercarriage consisting of two main wheels forward of the Center of gravity of an aircraft, center of gravity and a small wheel or skid to support the tail ...

, sprung with a rubber rope, with a common axle and a rear skid. 6-cylinder Anzani

radial engine The radial engine is a reciprocating engine, reciprocating type internal combustion engine, internal combustion engine configuration in which the cylinder (engine), cylinders "radiate" outward from a central crankcase like the spokes of a wheel. ...

in front, air-cooled. Two-blade fixed wooden propeller Szomański. A fuel tank was in a fuselage front. Cruise fuel consumption 17 L/h.

Specifications (JD-2)

References

External links