The PWS-51 was a Polish sports plane of 1930, a single-engine low-wing monoplane, constructed by the ''

Podlaska Wytwórnia Samolotów Podlaska Wytwórnia Samolotów (PWS) - ''Podlasie Aircraft Factory'' - was a Polish aerospace manufacturer between 1923 and 1939, located in Biała Podlaska. History Podlaska Wytwórnia Samolotów SA was created in 1923. The first aircraft prod ...

'' (PWS), that remained a prototype.

Design and development

The plane was designed in 1929 by Stanisław Cywiński in ''Podlaska Wytwórnia Samolotów'', on factory's initiative, specially to participate in the

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 ...

international touring aircraft contest (along with

PWS-50 The PWS-50,(PWS - Podlaska Wytwórnia Samolotów - Podlasie Aircraft Factory), was a prototype Polish single-engine mid-wing monoplane sports aircraft of 1930, constructed by ''Podlaska Wytwórnia Samolotów''. Design and development The aircra ...

, PWS-52 and

PWS-8 The P.W.S.8 was a 1930 Polish sports plane, constructed by the ''Podlaska Wytwórnia Samolotów'' (PWS), that remained a prototype. Design and development The plane was designed in 1929 by Jarosław Naleszkiewicz in ''Podlaska Wytwórnia Samolo ...

). The plane was built with a financial help of

LOPP Air and Chemical Defense League (Polish: ''Liga Obrony Powietrznej i Przeciwgazowej'', ''L.O.P.P.'') was a mass Polish paramilitary organization, founded in 1928 as a result of the merger of the ''State Air Defense League'' (Polish: ''Liga Obrony ...

organization and it was first flown in spring of 1930 by Franciszek Rutkowski in

Biała Podlaska Biała Podlaska ( la, Alba Ducalis) is a city in eastern Poland with 56,498 inhabitants as of December 2021. It is situated in the Lublin Voivodeship (since 1999), having previously been the capital of Biała Podlaska Voivodeship (1975–1998). ...

. It's noteworthy, that it was only 10 kg heavier, and its maximum speed was 15 km/h higher, than estimated.

Operational history

The prototype, with markings SP-ADC and contest number O7, took part in the

international contest in July 1930, flown by Józef Lewoniewski. He completed most of a rally over Europe, but had to withdraw after a forced landing near

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

on July 28, due to an oil pipe damage. Later the plane took part in some competitions in Poland, without much success, among others it took the 10th place in the 3rd Polish Light Aircraft Contest in 1930. In 1931 during repair, a radial engine Genet was replaced with a radial engine

Walter Vega The Walter Vega was a five-cylinder, air-cooled, radial engine for aircraft use, built in Czechoslovakia in the late 1920s. Applications * Aero A.34 * ANBO V * Avia BH-11 * Couzinet 22 * Pander E85 * PWS-8 Specifications See also Refer ...

NZ (from

aircraft) with a

Townend ring A Townend ring is a narrow-chord cowling ring fitted around the cylinders of an aircraft radial engine to reduce drag and improve cooling. Development The Townend ring was the invention of Dr. Hubert Townend of the British National Physical ...

. It was used then by an Aviation Club of the PWS factory. In June 1933 the plane was damaged. During repair it was fitted with a straight engine Cirrus III (from broken up

aircraft). It crashed during the 4th Winter Air Contest of

Lublin Lublin is the ninth-largest city in Poland and the second-largest city of historical Lesser Poland. It is the capital and the center of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 336,339 (December 2021). Lublin is the largest Polish city east of ...

and

Podlasie Podlachia, or Podlasie, ( pl, Podlasie, , be, Падляшша, translit=Padliašša, uk, Підляшшя, translit=Pidliashshia) is a historical region in the north-eastern part of Poland. Between 1513 and 1795 it was a voivodeship with the ...

in 2–4 February 1934, flown by A. Uszacki, and was broken up. PWS51

Description

Single-engine mixed construction braced low-wing

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 planes. A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing confi ...

. Fuselage rectangular in cross-section, built on a steel frame, covered with canvas and aluminum in engine part. Rectangular two-section wings with rounded tips, two-spar, covered with plywood in forward part and canvas in a rear part, supported with upper struts. Crew of two, sitting in tandem in open cockpits with windshields, fitted with dual controls. A luggage compartment behind a cockpit. Conventional fixed

landing gear Landing gear is the undercarriage of an aircraft or spacecraft that is used for takeoff or landing. For aircraft it is generally needed for both. It was also formerly called ''alighting gear'' by some manufacturers, such as the Glenn L. Marti ...

, with a rear skid. 5-cylinder air-cooled radial engine

Armstrong Siddeley Genet The Armstrong Siddeley Genet was 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. Followin ...

in front, 80 hp nominal power and 88 hp take-off power (later replaced with

NZ 5-cylinder radial engine, 85 HP nominal power, and Cirrus III 4-cylinder straight engine, 85 HP nominal and 94 take-off power). Two-blade wooden propeller of a fixed pitch. Fuel tank 100 L before a cockpit. Fuel consumption - 22 L/hour.

Specifications

References

External links