| LWD Szpak | |
|---|---|
 Szpak-4T | |
| General information | |
| Type | Utility aircraft |
| Manufacturer | LWD,WSK-Mielec |
| Designer | Tadeusz Sołtyk |
| Primary user | Polish civilian aviation |
| Number built | 13 |
| History | |
| Manufactured | 1945–1948 |
| Introduction date | 1946 |
| First flight | October 28, 1945 |
| Retired | 1955 |
TheLWD Szpak (starling) was a Polish utilityaircraft of1945, the first Polish aircraft designed afterWorld War II and built in a short series.
The war destroyed the whole Polish aviation industry. As soon as the Eastern part of Poland was liberated by theRed Army in October 1944 a group of designers gathered inLublin, under the direction ofTadeusz Sołtyk, thus creating the first Polish post-war construction team. They designed a touring low-plane aircraft of a wooden construction calledSzpak-1, with aM-11F radial engine. The plane was not built, nevertheless it gave the beginning to a Szpak family. In early 1945 the construction team moved toŁódź and on April 1, 1945, createdLotnicze Warsztaty Doświadczalne (LWD,Aviation Experimental Workshops).
On October 28, 1945, the prototype of theSzpak-2 was flown for the first time; first Polish post-war civilian plane in operation. It broke its landing gear during a landing, but was repaired. The official first flight took place on 10 November 1945. Szpak was astrutted monoplane low-wing utility/touring plane of wooden construction, powered by a radial engineBramo Sh 14, left in the country by the retreating Germans. A crew of 4 sat in a closed cab under a multi-partcanopy, in two rows. Szpak-2 was not built in series, the single aircraft was used by the factory, then in 1947-1948 by the Polish government as a utility and light transport aircraft. Being the first plane registered in Poland after the war (on 10 May 1946) it carried the registration SP-AAA. It completed some 500 flights and transported some 250 passengers in total and was retired on April 5, 1948.
The Szpak-2 had a conventional fixed landing gear. On 17 December 1946, for the first time flew its improved experimental variant calledSzpak-3 with a fixedtricycle landing gear (markings SP-AAB). It was not built in a series either, and the prototype was used as a courier plane by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs during 1947, then by the factory. It was retired on March 6, 1950.
The next variant, theSzpak-4A, was designed as anaerobatic aircraft. Only one prototype was built, flown on May 20, 1947. It had a steel fuselage frame rather than a wooden one, and a two-men side-by-side open cab. It was not certified as an aerobatic aircraft however, and was used by the factory as a utility plane in 1947–1948.
The only variant produced in a series was the 4-seater utility plane calledSzpak-4T, utilizing the steel fuselage frame with a conventional landing gear. Contrary to Szpak-2 and 3, its fuselage was lowered behind a canopy. It was ordered by the Ministry of Communication and ten planes were built in 1947-1948 by thePZL (later WSK) inMielec as the first Polish post-war planes built in a series. The first was flown on January 5, 1948. The planes had markings: SP-AAF to SP-AAO, and SP-AAR. They were used by the Polish civilian aviation - regionalaero clubs until1952, except for the SP-AAG, which was retired in1955. They are also known as WSK Szpak-4T.
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