General aviation heaven

Some like fast jets. Others like large airliners. Me, my favourite planes are piston engined, tail-dragging designs that date back to the 1930s-1950s. I was delighted to receive an invite to the 15th anniversary celebrations of Przegląd Lotniczy - Aviation Revue, Poland's leading general aviation magazine, at the private airfield near Konstancin (beyond Gassy). Located here: 52° 04'38.70"N, 21°11'0.41"E, the aeroclub has an 800m grass runway and a hangar for 20 light aircraft.

Above: Ah now! Here comes my favourite biplane, an Antonov An-2. This example, Polish PZL-built SP-KMZ, belongs to the Lubuskie Aeroklub and today was used to haul two parachutists up to a decent height before they made their display jump. The An-2 is among the most widely produced aircraft of all time, with over 20,000 produced between 1947 and 2003 in the USSR, China and Poland (where the majority was built). Despite its archaic appearance, the An-2 is an extremely rugged and reliable design with amazing short-field take off and landing characteristics.


Above: An upside down pass along the runway from an Extra 300 piloted by Robert Kowalik, eight times Polish aerobatics champion. This plane is designed uncompromisingly for aerobatic flight. Right: The Extra 300 executed an amazing series of manouevres. Here; the pilot dives towards the ground while spinning like a corkscrew. The plane seemed to be on the verge of being out of control, yet the pilot always manages to recover.

Above: A Steen Super Skybolt piloted by Marek Szufa, another excellent display.

Below: More interesting stuff in the hangar; a Tiger Moth commemorating Polish pilots' participation in the RAF during WW2 (though the overall yellow scheme was pre-war). The De Havilland DH82 Tiger Moth was the principal basic trainer with the RAF throughout the war.

Also of note in the hangar, a TS-8 Bies trainer (Polish design similar in configuration to the North American T-28 Trojan), a Yakovlev Yak-52 trainer, several Cessnas and other more modern types. Outside the hanger, a spread of modern general aviation types; one beauty that caught my eye was this Diamond TwinStar below.

Below: Another of my favourite planes - the Polish designed PZL-104 Wilga, which has excellent short take off and landing characteristics. No longer in production, the Wilga is an aeroclub workhorse used for glider towing and carrying parachutists.

And finally - the oldest aircraft in the air today, a CSS-13 (Polish licence-built Polikarpov Po-2). The predecessor of the An-2, the legendary kukuruzhnik was built in even larger numbers and used in many roles, including night bomber during the Korean War.

An excellent day out, the event was incredibly well organised, a great time was had by all. Just about anyone in Poland owning an aeroplane was here, a spirit of shared enthusiasm was evident. Fans of balloons, parachutes, gliders, hang gliders, microlights - all were present today. And we were lucky with the weather, setting off for Konstancin, it was raining. I got home, swapped car for bicycle, and by the time I'd reached the airfield, the weather was perfect for VFR flight.

This time last year:
Burnt by the Sun