The SZD-9 ''Bocian'' (Polish: "Stork") is a multi-purpose two-seat

sailplane A glider or sailplane is a type of glider aircraft used in the leisure activity and sport of gliding (also called soaring). This unpowered aircraft can use naturally occurring currents of rising air in the atmosphere to gain altitude. Sailplan ...

that was designed and built in Poland at ''

Szybowcowy Zakład Doświadczalny Szybowcowy Zakład Doświadczalny (SZD), ''Glider Experimental Works'' was a glider aircraft, glider design and research centre of the Polish aerospace industry after World War II, located in Bielsko-Biała. Through its history it underwent many o ...

'' (Glider Experimental Works) in

Bielsko-Biała Bielsko-Biała (; ; , ; ) is a city in southern Poland, with a population of approximately 166,765 as of December 2022, making it the List of cities and towns in Poland#Largest cities and towns by population, 22nd largest city in Poland, and an a ...

, beginning in 1952. It was designed to be capable of fulfilling the needs of every area from training to competition flying.

History

Main designer was Marian Wasilewski, with Roman Zatwarnicki and Justyn Sandauer. The prototype SZD-9 flew for the first time on 10 March 1952, piloted by Adam Zientek. After flight testing was completed, suggested changes were incorporated into the design and production began, as SZD-9bis Bocian-1A (or simply "Bocian A"). The first production unit flew for the first time on 13 March 1953, and 11 units were built. Apart from use in Poland, the type was exported to 27 countries, including Austria, Australia, Belgium, China, France, Greece, India, Norway, former

East Germany East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

and

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

, Switzerland,

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, Turkey,

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, United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union. Polish pilots set many international records flying SZD-9s.

Variants

*SZD-9 Bocian – two

prototype A prototype is an early sample, model, or release of a product built to test a concept or process. It is a term used in a variety of contexts, including semantics, design, electronics, and Software prototyping, software programming. A prototype ...

s *SZD-9bis Bocian-1A – the first variant, 11 built *SZD-9bis Bocian-1B – improved variant (e.g. bigger tailfin), 11 built *SZD-9bis Bocian-1C – improved variant of 1954 (

wing A wing is a type of fin that produces both Lift (force), lift and drag while moving through air. Wings are defined by two shape characteristics, an airfoil section and a planform (aeronautics), planform. Wing efficiency is expressed as lift-to-d ...

s swept at lesser angle, modified control surfaces and rear skid), 40 built *SZD-9bis Bocian-Z – modified competition variant for 1956 World Gliding Competition, 3 built (2 rebuilt of Bocian C) *SZD-9bis Bocian-1D – improved variant of 1958 (bigger wheel and minor modifications), 186 built *SZD-9bis Bocian-1E – modified trainer variant of 1967 (straight

wing tip A wing tip (or wingtip) is the part of the wing that is most distant from the fuselage of a fixed-wing aircraft. Because the wing tip shape influences the size and drag of the wingtip vortices, tip design has produced a diversity of sha ...

s, two-part

canopy Canopy may refer to: Plants * Canopy (biology), aboveground portion of plant community or crop (including forests) * Canopy (grape), aboveground portion of grapes Religion and ceremonies * Baldachin or canopy of state, typically placed over an a ...

instead of three-part,

landing gear Landing gear is the undercarriage of an aircraft or spacecraft that is used for taxiing, takeoff or landing. For aircraft, it is generally needed for all three of these. It was also formerly called ''alighting gear'' by some manufacturers, s ...

with

shock absorber A shock absorber or damper is a mechanical or hydraulics, hydraulic device designed to absorb and Damping ratio, damp shock (mechanics), shock impulses. It does this by converting the kinetic energy of the shock into another form of energy (typic ...

s), 366 built *SZD-33 Bocian 3 – intended to replace SZD-9's and SZD-10's but discontinued in favour of the SZD-9bis Bocian-1E.

Specifications (SZD-9bis)

History

Variants

Specifications (SZD-9bis)

See also

References

Further reading