NEWS   -   PW-5 / PW-6 "news"

Email me your Smyk News via     bea_steve@hotmail.com

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November 2004

Firstly some Bad NEWS and then some Good NEWS !

Accident - New Zealand Smyk ZK-GXZ was destroyed at Drury airfield on 8th November 2004 - thankfully the pilot survived.  The New Zealand CAA quotes the following brief details - the Smyk was being winch launched when at approx 300 ft AGL the cable was released - the nose up glider rolled right and spun in - these details can be found on the following web link ( go to Accidents and Incidents  - w/c 15.11.05 PDF  )

http://www.caa.govt.nz/

Good News - Sales - Charles Yeates the North American agent for the PZL Swidnik PW-5 Smyk informs me of recent sales - one new build PW-6U has just been deliverd to Tuscon soaring in Arizona, USA - a new build PW-5 will be delivered  to a customer in Texas, USA in Feb 2005 - Thanks for this NEWS Charles

Link added on SMYK LINKS page to Central Coast Soaring Club of New South Wales, Australia - they operate PW-5 VH-GBT - pop in and see them next time you are in the Sydney, Australia area !

I will gladly add links to your club website if you operate either the PW-5 or the twin PW-6 - please let me know if you want me to add your link - Cheers

October 2004

Steve Ellison in the USA has a number of spare parts for the PW-5 Smyk - these originate from a Batch 11  ( ie s/n 17.011...... ) PZL Swidnik built PW-5 Smyk built in 1998 - the parts include

Spoilers - mounted in spoiler boxes

Steve and his parts are located in Oregon, USA - if interested please contact him via the following email address.

st.ellison@comcast.net

Disclaimer - I post the message above in good faith  - please ensure you satisfy yourself as regards the integrity of these items.

August 2004

Good News for PW-5 Altitude -  Rafal Mikke at Bielsko1 builders of the B1-PW-5 has just sent me this email  - "I am able to share with you a pretty good news for all B1-PW-5 owners. Our glider is officially permitted for 11000 m flights. It will take a while until bulletins are translated" - please check with Bielsko1 and PZL Swidnik for more details on this new opportunity - hopefully official bulletins will be issued shortly.

July 2004

First PW-6U in Australia - The Bendigo Gliding Club in Victoria have recently imported the first PW-6U Twin Smyk into Australia - the glider first flew at Bendigo on Sunday 18th July 2004 and is registered as VH-GYC - thanks to Patrick Richards of Bendigo GC for this news.  I have added a photo of "GYC" onto the PW-6 Fleet page plus a link to the Bendigo Gliding Club website on my LINKS page

June 2004

Bielsko1 the Warsaw based manufacturers of the B1-PW-5 Smyk have announced the start of production "batch 2"  - the first glider from this batch will go to a customer in the USA - production "batch 1" comprised 12 B1-PW-5 Smyks

February 2004

Smyk Accident - I've just learned about an accident to Smyk JA21TT in Japan in January 2004 - the glider was being winch launched when at about 50 feet it rolled to the right and ended up in an adjacent river - thankfully the pilot was safe.  Thanks to Y Nakaba for this news.

New PW-5 Smyk sale - PZL Swidnik have confirmed that a new build Smyk will be delivered to a French customer in March 2004, to be based at Amiens.

The Central Indiana Soaring Society operators of Smyk N197PW "5I" have relocated from Terry airport to Alexandria Knotts airport, the move took place at the end of Dec 2003.  Note that I also added their club website address to my LINKS page - If you want your club added to the links page too then please send me the web address

If you want to go and see a PW-6U then PZL Swidnik and North American dealer Charles Yeates will be presenting the PW-6U at the SSA convention in Atlanta, Georgia in February 2004.

January 2004

Good news from the FAA in the USA - they have now granted a Type Certificate ( # G18CE ) for the two seat PW-6U - in addition the French authorities have also granted the PW-6U a Type Certificate too.

November 2003

Fatal Accident - Sad News - Canadian Smyk C-GDLE was destroyed on 17.8.03 after a mid-air collision with a LS-1 glider near Hawkesbury, ONT. The Smyk pilot managed to bail out and survived.  Unfortunately the LS-1 pilot was killed.  

A pair of 6s - Charles Yeates and John Wren managed to get two PW-6 gliders together in North America recently, first time this has been done in this part of the World - shown here near Boston, MA .

The Joy of Six - Rod Morris a PW-6 pilot in Canada recently told me of his experiences of flying his recently accquirred two seat PW-6 ( C-FBCY ) this summer - His enthusiastic comments include the following and well worth sharing with you,

""  The PW6 has exceeded all my hopes. I have had 45 flights this season, and over 65 hours in the air, including one 4.5 hour xc and one flight to 18,700' at Cowley in October. The shortest flight was a 30 minute check out this spring with Trevor, the rest were all in excess of an 45 minutes mininum. What a great season. The PW6 has had the pleasure of introducing 16 people to their first taste of soaring, including three under 15 years old and one over 60 (in the Wave at Cowley, what a way to start!). "Duet" as Kenna has dubbed the PW6, has also been "experienced" by four student pilots, one of which transitioned to the Pw5 in it, and at least half a dozen other experienced pilots from NZ, Vancouver, Cranbrook, Calgary and of course Invermere. Everyone loves it, although not as much as I do.  ""

Thanks to Rod  Morris and Charles Yeates for the above

October 2003

I recently heard from George O'Leary owner of Smyk N105PS.  George confirmed that he and his Smyk suffered an accident on 30th August 2003.  Although the Smyk was destroyed thankfully George walked away with minor injuries.  His Smyk crashed into tall pine trees several thousand feet up a mountainside near Yreka in California after departing from the airfield at Montague. Thankfully the pine trees cushioned the impact.  George is now back flying again and we wish him well. 

September 2003

Chet Meyerson of Duluth, Georgia, USA has contacted me to tell me he is the new owner of Smyk N515DD - formerly based in California this Smyk has moved right across the USA to become the first Smyk resident in Georgia  ( I think so ! )    

In late August I visited the offices of Bielsko1 at the Politechnic Warszawa buildings in Warsaw, Poland. I meet again with Rafal Mikke and his team. Rafal brought me up to date with developments at Bielsko1 - they currently are awaiting final sign off for three more B1-PW-5 Smyk gliders. The Bielsko1 team are also continuing to work on static trials aimed at increasing the altitude limit on the B1-PW-5. The company are also working on other aeronautical projects but I am not able to share these details with you currently - sorry !

Whilst I was at Bielsko1 I was able to catch up with Smyk K-01 - this is the very first, the original, the prototype Smyk first flown way back in 1992.  This glider was built at Politechnic Warszawa and used in the FAI World class trials.  It has not flown for a couple of years, but it is their intention to get it airworthy once again.  The Poish Civil Aviation authority have now registered this unique glider in the "Special Non Standard Production" catargory and as such it has accquirred the new registration markings SP-8005 - hopefully one day this historic airframe will be displayed in an aviation museum somewhere.

August 2003

Well I am just back from a two week holiday to Poland - during this time I managed to visit Bielsko1 in Warsaw - I'll add a short report on this next month.

Jamie Pinto in Toronto, Canada became the proud new owner of a brand spanking new PZL Swidnik PW-5 Smyk in August 2003 - his machine is now C-GOPJ - c/n 17.12.025.  Jaime will fly this Smyk from Rockton, Toronto with his first flight in this new machine due at the end of August - good luck and enjoy it.  He has a webpage showing details of "PJ"s arrival in Canada - click here Jaimes Smyk page for more details 

New PW-6 delivery - in mid August PZL Swidnik delivered their first PW-6 to Norway - this is c/n 78.03.09 registered LN-GCV - it will operate with Oslo Gliding Club - one more PW-6 is due to go to Norway in the next few months.

Click here for photos of PW-6 LN-GCV on the Oslo GC website

July 2003

Congratulations to Pilots and Organisers of the 4th WORLD CLASS CHAMPIONSHIP - held at NITRA, SLOVAKIA.

The event has now finished and the winner is Sebastian Kawa from Poland - congratulations to Sebastian.

The top three were

1st Sebastian Kawa of Poland - 7825 points

2nd Matthieu Kril of France - 7805 points

3rd Richard Montigny of France - 7598 points

Two Lithuanian pilots came 4th and 5th

Daily and full Final results can be found via this link

Nitra Competition Results

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Currently sailing across the Atlantic is a container containing one new build PW-5 and a new build PW-6 - these two are destined for Canada  -  they left the PZL Swidnik factory in Poland on July 11th 

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Starting on the 5th of July is the 4th WORLD CLASS CHAMPIONSHIP - being held at NITRA, SLOVAKIA. 

The weather looks good for the Opening Ceremony and start of the competition - follow the link below to view the World Class competitors - good luck to them all

http://web.viapvt.sk/aeroklub.nitra/wjgc2003/competitors/competitors.htm

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From New Zealand I can report that PW-5 Smyk ZK-GHB has been cancelled and is shown as "exported" - can any one tell me please where this Smyk has gone to ?  Thanks  ( Now known to have gone to Australia )

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June 2003

"Return to Kittyhawk" - 100 years of aviation - currently taking place right now ( last week on June 2003 ) across the USA, this trans continent flight includes one PW-5 Smyk.  Pilots Bernie Smith and Robert Ball are flying Smyk N737BS to the east coast of the USA - owner Bernie intends to donate this Smyk to the US National Soaring Museum in New York state after the "Return to Kitthawk" flight.  Well done chaps - first Smyk in a museum - unless you know otherwise ? Thanks to Francois Pin for this news.

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PW-6 delivery - PZL Swidnik delivered a new two seat PW-6U to Austria at the end of May 2003 - this is c/n 78.03.07 and was registered OE-5704.  Two further PW-6 gliders are due for delivery in June ( to Norway ) and one in July ( to North America ).  One PW-5 myk is is build for North America too.

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B1-PW-5 Smyk - New glider c/n 05.001.12 has now been registered as N105HK to an owner in North Carolina, USA - this is the sixth Bielsko1 built PW-5 in the USA.

May 2003

PW-5 Smyk - PZL Swidnik will deliver one new PW-5 to Charles Yeates in Canada in June 2003

Have a look at this  -  The fantastic PW-5 Smyk model built by Ted in Hawaii - what an excellent finish too - click on the following link for more details of this superb scratch built Smyk

Ted's PW-5 Smyk model

April 2003

Good News for the PW-6 from PZL Swidnik - Two new PW-6 deliveries will be made in the first week of April - both going to the Politechnic Rzeszow in Poland.  

Production continues and deliveries of two more PW-6 should take place later in April  - one going to Germany ( this will feature the automatic control hook up as required by the German LBA ) and another example to Austria. There are also other PW-6 orders in production for North American and Norwegian ( first sale to Norway ) customers.

March 2003

4th WORLD CLASS CHAMPIONSHIP - NITRA, SLOVAKIA JULY 2003

You can follow the latest progress of the preparations for this contest via the following link on the Aeroklub Nitra website - this includes details about pilots who intend to compete plus latest competition news - have a look at 

Aeroklub Nitra World Class link

February 2003          

HELP WANTED - 4th WORLD CLASS CHAMPIONSHIP - NITRA, SLOVAKIA JULY 2003

There are many pilots traveling from overseas to take place at this event  - for many it is impossible to bring their own PW-5 Smyks - too far, too expensive.

Do you have a PW-5 Smyk based in Europe that could be made available for renting to competitors at the 4th WORLD CLASS CHAMPIONSHIP - NITRA, SLOVAKIA in July 2003 ? 

If so can I ask you to please contact Mr Vladimir Foltin, the IGC Delegate for Slovakia - his email is

info@nitra2003.sk

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PW-5 Smyk model - Ted in Hawaii has sent some photos of the wings and wingtips for his 1:2 scale radio controlled Smyk - these can seen on the link below

PW-5 Smyk Model page

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More PW-6 news - PZL Swidnik announced that they are delivering two new PW-6 gliders to the Politechnic Rzeszow ( Rzeszow University ) in Poland during February 2003 - these will be c/n 78.03.04 and 78.03.05 ( delayed see April 2003 above )

Planned for delivery during March 2003 will be one PW-6 to Germany and another PW-6 to Austria.

See latest PW-6 "fleet" disposition via this link

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More Smyk Photos - I've recently received some more interesting Smyk photos from Gerhard Spaink of The Netherlands and from Bob Harris of NJ,USA - these can be viewed from the link below - you will note that we've now got a variety of cockpit instrument panel layouts !  Many thanks to the contributors.

See More Smyk Photos via this link

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January 2003          

SSA Convention - Dayton, Ohio, USA - This years event took place in late January 2003 and Smyk representation was provided by John Downing who exhibited his Bielkso1 built B1-PW-5 Smyk  N830PD. John tells me the event was a great success with his stand being very busy indeed.  John was joined by Rafal Mikke of Bielsko1 who had travelled across from Warsaw, Poland to assist with the promotion.

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Help Wanted ! - Smyk to rent - I have received an email from a member of the Brazilian team - they wish to rent a PW-5 for use at the World Class World Championship at Nitra, Slovakia in July 2003 - can you or your club help ?

If so please contact Joao Peter Haddad in Brazil via email

haddad83@terra.com.br

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I hope you all enjoyed your Xmas break - I will start the year by sharing a couple of photographs that have been sent to me recently - two PW-5s - one PW-6

  Gerhard Spaink of the Netherlands provided this photo of his Smyk PH-1147 - this is now based at Lemelerveld, Salland.

Remember Summer ? PW-5 SE-ULU operates from Orebro, Sweden

Summer soaring - PW-6 OO-YPX over Belgium

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December 2002    

Events for 2003 - The World Class World Championship event will now take place at Nitra, Slovakia from July 5th  - July 20th 2003  - this was the competition that was originally scheduled to be held in New Zealand.

Link Here to the Nitra Gliding Club "english" pages

The Polish World Class Nationals will be held at Leszno, Poland from May 17th to June 1st 2003

The US World Class Nationals will be held at Harris Hill, New York, USA from June 17th to June 27th 2003

Thanks to Bielsko1 ( Poland ) and Francois Pin ( USA ) for these dates

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Orders for the two seat PW-6 continue to flow in - PZL Swidnik have announced that in addition to the orders listed below ( November 2002 ) they currently have two orders from Polish University Gliding Clubs and one order from Germany for the "new" PW-6 with automatic hookups.  An FAA inspector will visit PZL Swidnik in Feb 2003 and this should conclude US Type Certification.

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November 2002

PW-6 News - Charles Yeates in Canada reports that he has ordered another PW-6U, and in addition to this another PW-6 is destined for Texas, USA.  Down in New Zealand the Piako GC have just registered a new PW-6U as ZK-GPK c/n 78.03.01.  A further new build PW-6 has arrived in New Zealand too  - I await news of its ultimate destination.  

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Bielkso1 have appointed John Downing as their sales agent for the B1-PW-5 Smyk in the USA - B1-PW-5 N830PD c/n 08 has now arrived with this dealer - further details can be found via this link here   Downing Sailplanes, USA

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World Class Gliding Championship 2003 - New Zealand - The organisers of the 2003 due to take place at Matamata in February 2003 have reluctantly cancelled the event - it would appear that only 12 pilots had confirmed their entry by 1st November 2002.   LATE NEWS - An alternative venue in Central Europe is being considered by the IGC for this 2003 event - hopefully more details soon

The full text of the NZ Organisers statement can be found on the official event website - link here 

The good news is that the 2003 New Zealand National PW-5 event will now move to this Feb 2003 slot and overseas pilot participation in this event is welcomed.

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The Illini Glider Club, USA  tell us that  ""This spring saw the re-certification of Smyk N107TP to a Standard Airworthiness Certificate Utility Category. For us this eliminates the yearly Experimental class letter application process "" Thanks to Rod Pool for this top tip.

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and the winner was....................

Charles Yeates - many congratulations to Charles flying his trusty stead C-GBVS. 

Second place went to Sebastian Kawa of Poland, with Francois Pin taking third. 

Full results can be found on the following link 

follow this link to Glider.com

The inaugral "America's Cup" event held during the above cometition was won by the USA.

August 2002

For the latest daily results from the World Class event currently being held at Uvalde, Texas follow this link to Glider.com

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Smyk  - 1:2 scale model - further photos in from Hawaiian Ted follow this link ________________________________________________________________

John Wren and colleagues are pleased to report that they have now flown their newly acquired PW-6 "Twin Smyk" N606PW - first flown in the USA on 4th August. This is the second PW-6 to operate in the USA. The first flight was a "30 minute shake down and followed later in the day by a 3hr 45min in the local Sterling, MA area" 

PW-6 N606PW ready for its first US flight

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July 2002 - lots and lots of "News" for July so make sure you scroll down

Bill Thar and colleagues took delivery of new PZL Swidnik Smyk N341PW in late July 2002. This new build Smyk will operate from New Jersey and replaces Smyk N908BT which  hit trees in April 2002 and was declared an insurance write off. Bill has kindly supplied three photos showing Smyk N908BT after its accident - thankfully the pilot escaped unharmed. Link to "Tree Smyk" photos

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Three new Bielsko1 built PW-5 Smyks ready to set sail - all are ready for the Atlantic crossing, two for customers in Texas and one in California - these should arrive in time for the 1st America's Cup event at Uvalde, Texas - see above. The following picture shows the loading process at Bielsko1 in Warsaw and new build N141VG for an owner in Houston, Texas.

Next stop Texas !    N141VG rest between test flights 

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New "6" arrives in US - new build two seat PZL Swidnik PW-6 N606PW arrived in Boston docks on 19th July - the photo below shows them enjoying a little struggle to get it out of the freight shed !  John Wren and his colleagues hope to have her ready for first flight in the first week of August.

PW-6 N606PW arrives in the USA - photo by Charles Yeates

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Accident - A serious accident occurred on 23rd June 2002 to US Smyk N115TM - the following is an extract from the US NTSB preliminary report,

On June 23, 2002, about 1415 Pacific daylight time, a glider WSK PZL-SWIDNIK

Further details can be found at the US NTSB website -  N115TM Report. Let's all wish the pilot a full recovery.

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Happening Right Now !!

1^st International World Class Gliding Championships of Poland

Between July 4^th and 19^th - 1^st International World Class Gliding Championships of Poland will take place at Czestochowa, in the centre of Poland.  The event has been  been placed in official calendar of contests of Polish Aeroclub for 2002. 

I understand that have 11 local pilots taking part in this event - More information can be obtained on the Bielkso1 website - I will post Results as soon as I get them

The following link will show some photos of this event taken by Janusz Kesik of Poland

Photos from Czestochowa July 2002 - Thanks to Janusz Kesik

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Have a look at this Smyk model being built in Hawaii - what a great job follow this link

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Bielsko1 will delivery four B1-PW-5 Smyks to the USA this month. These will be build numbers 08,09,10 and 11. The first of these will become N141VG and will belong to an owner in Houston, Texas. All these four B1-PW-5 Smyk will take part in the Americas Cup event at Uvalde Texas in August 2002.  

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Aeroklub Warsaw, Poland will shortly take delivery of new build Bielsko1 PW-5 Smyk SP-3670 - this is build number 07. First flight is due week commencing 1st July 2002

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June 2002

24.6.02 - Former Dutch PW-5 Smyk PH-1063 has now been registered in Germany as D-4113 - this will operate from the airfield at Pohlheim-Viehheide. This bring the current German Smyk fleet to 5 gliders. Note that Bielsko1 are currently in the process of undergoing Certification work with the German LBA for their own product the B1-PW-5 Smyk

24.6.02 - Further "news" on recent stories - New PW-6 c/n 78.02.10 has been reserved as N606PW and will operate from Massachusetts, USA - delivery to the US due July 2002 in a container together with new PZL Swidnik PW-5 c/n 17.12.023

More Smyk and PW-6 sales - in addition to the PW-5+PW-6 mentioned last month, PZL Swidnik have confirmed the following are in production - one PW-5 Smyk and one PW-6 both to go to Japan ( first PW-6 for Japan ) in July 2002, plus also for July delivery a pair of two seat PW-6 gliders for New Zealand. PZL Swidnik are confident of several US orders for the PW-6 once type certification is complete.

May 2002

New US Orders - PZL Swidnik are preparing one new PW-5 Smyk and one PW-6 for US customers - hopefully for delivery in July 2002.  The PW-5 will repalce the unfortunate "N908BT"  ( see NEWS story April 2002 ).  The PW-6 is for an east coast operator.  Thanks to Charles Yeates for this news

Newly registered Smyk joins Canada Smyk fleet - PZL PW-5 Smyk c/n 17.12.011 has recently been registered ( 4.02 ) to a female owner in Invermere BC and takes up the appropriate registration C-GLDY ( LDY - Lady ). This Smyk was originally imported into Canada in 1999 - Canada now has 12 registered Smyks and one PW-6.   

April 2002

Accident - US Smyk N908BT came to rest in a 20ft tree on 11th April 2002 - thankfully the NTSB report suggests the pilot was uninjured - the following extract comes from the NTSB

On April 11, 2002, at 1500 eastern daylight time, a WSK PZL PW-5 glider, N908BT, was substantially damaged during a forced landing near New Smithville, Pennsylvania. The certificated private pilot was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the personal flight conducted under 14 CFR Part 91.

In a telephone interview, the pilot stated that he departed the Blairstown Airport (1N7), Blairstown, New Jersey around 1300. He intended to perform an "out-and-back" cross-country flight from Blairstown to Kutztown, Pennsylvania, and then return to Blairstown. The pilot reported that during the return trip to Blairstown, the lift began to dissipate, and he decided to 'land out' in a field below him. He performed a traffic pattern entry to the field, and prepared for a forced landing to the east. While on the base leg, the airplane struck the top of a row of 20-foot tall 'hedge trees' at the edge of the field. The airplane came to rest suspended in one of the trees.

A Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector performed an on-scene examination of the airplane. According to the inspector, the tail of the glider was separated and substantial damage was observed to both wings. A flight control continuity check revealed no mechanical deficiencies with the glider

Further details can be found at NTSB - N208BT report

Bielsko1 will soon have a modified B1-PW-5 Smyk ready for German ( LBA ) certification trials. This Smyk has a re-located winch hook position- trials will take place during the summer of 2002.  

Prize for "first flight" of a B1-PW-5 Smyk in the USA goes to John Duprey with his N205PS - John flew his Smyk in late March 2002 - this glider will soon be delivered to an East coast customer. 

Larry Pardue in New Mexico, USA recently made the first flight of his B1-PW-5 Smyk in the USA on 16th April 2002. Larry's Smyk is N441LG "2I" and he was working with the FAA to get certification under the Experimental Category ( Exhibition and air Racing ) .  This is what Larry had to say   ""I would like to report that we have now flown N441LG, B1-PW-5, 05.001.05. The first flight was an airtow launch at a gross weight of 300Kg, with full tail ballast, and a duration of 1.1 hours. During the flight we completed our FAA assigned test flight program of spins, loops, stall turns, spirals, stalls and the entire range of approved speeds, both on tow and off, and G loadings of up to 4.5. I found the glider a delight to fly and was especially impressed with the handling on tow and the relative silence during flight.""  Congratulations to Larry and co-owner Charles Shaw. 

Happy first "USA" flight in B1-PW-5 N441LG

B1-PW-5 Smyks serial numbers 08 and 09 are now in production at the Bielsko1 facility in Warsaw. 

March 2002

PW-6U - Good News On 11th March 2002 Austria issued a Certificate of Type Acceptance, Nr.
SF33/02-ACG for the PW-6U.   PW-6U s/n 78.02.05 was sold to Austria in 2001 - this now operates as OE-5695 from Wiener Neustadt ( Vienna ).   Thanks to Charles Yeates and Norbert Niessler for this news

In preparation for the "America's Cup" World Class event listed below ( Uvalde, Texas, USA ) Bielkso1 have announced they are now building four new B1-PW5 Smyks ready for shipping to this event ( August 2002 ). 

PZL Swidnik are hopeful of further PW-6U deliveries to Egypt later in 2002. Further orders are anticipated from US and Germany customers for the PW-6U once Type Certification is completed in those two countries.

Bielsko1 test flew B1-PW5 # 06 during February 2002 - this Smyk is destined for the Polish Aeroklub and will be based at Zar, high in the mountains in southern Poland. 

"America's Cup - PW-5 Event" - This new competition is being organised by the WCSA in the US - here are basic details

First America's Cup of World Class Soaring - Uvalde, Texas, USA August 13 - 23 2002

The America's Cup is a perpetual trophy that will be won, and held until the next event, by the country achieving the highest culmulative score in an America's Cup competition.  The America's Cup competitions will be a monotype soaring competition using the World Class glider - the PW-5.

Because most countries do not currently have any regular World Class contests, the Amercia's Cup is intended to provide World Class pilots from all over the World with a World Class contest opportunity, as well as a World class event to look for in years with no World Class World Championship.  Open to all qualifying pilots ( not just pilots from National Teams ), and possibly "travelling" from country to country, the America's Cup should foster international interaction and friendship, as well as exposure and growth of the World Class. Being held  in conjunction with existing national contests, it should require no additional burden or specific organisation beyond publicity. 

If you require more details about this innovative idea then please,

contact Francois Pin for more details - Francois Pin  - President WCSA 

February 2002

A World Class competition will be held at Czestochowa in Poland this summer - the dates are July 4th to July 19th.  The event is known as the 1st Polish World Class Gliding Championship and it is hoped to invite some foreign Smyk pilots - for more details view this link now

Former Spanish Smyk EC-GLQ has now been sold on to new owners in North Eastern Portugal as CS-PCB.

January 2002

PW-6 news - PZL Swidnik have delivered the latest example c/n 78.02.08 to Portugal as CS-PBX. This operates from Evora and replaces another PW-6 ( SP-3658) that suffered a heavy outlanding in summer 2001. A photo can be found on the PW-6 Fleet page

PW-5 Smyk Mandatory Bulletin - PZL Swidnik recently issued bulletin "BO-17-02-16" relating to an Inspection of an Adhesive Bonded Joint - take a look at the bulletin in PDF form here

Good News - WCSA - The World Class Soaring Association has re-formed after a quiet period - it is now headed by US pilot Francois Pin  and a number of US based World Class ( PW-5 ) events all planned for 2002 - contact Francois Pin for more details - Francois Pin  - President WCSA 

New Smyk delivery - Bielsko1 shipped B1-PW-5 Smyk N441LG from Warsaw in early Janaury 2002 - 

It is now on the sea heading to its new owner in New Mexico, USA - this is the second Smyk Bielsko1 have built and exported to the USA recently.

Accident - Finnish Smyk OH-876 suffered a landing accident in June 2001 at Rayskyla, Finland.  It appears the glider landed heavily, bounced and stalled before impacting the ground. The following photo comes from the official report. Thanks to Kyösti Partonen for this news.

Smyk OH-876 after its landing accident - June 2001

A full accident report, in Finnish can be found on this link 

http://www.onnettomuustutkinta.fi/uploads/6u54a.pdf

Welcome to the New Year  - lets hope it is a more peaceful year than 2001 and that the PW-5 Smyk goes from strength to strength

I've added a page of AEROJUMBLE - here I have posted a selection of Aviation books, photogrpahs and postcards that I no longer require - if you want any of these items for your aviation collection just drop me an email - I am happy to exchange or sell - Link to AEROJUMBLE

December 2001 - Seasons Greetings to one and all

More Smyks to the USA - Bielsko1 will ship their first export B1-PW-5 Smyk to the USA in mid December 2001 - this will be N205PS and will go to John Duprey at Peak Soaring.  A second B1-PW-5  # 05 N441LG will leave for New Mexico later in December 2001 below is a picture of this latest glider on test flight in early Dec 2001

Test flying in the winter snow - Dec 2001

 PW-6  - A second PW-6 "Twin Smyk" has just been registered in New Zealand - this is ZK-GPW c/n 78.02.07 and is now owned by the Taupo Gliding Club - just in time for the peak summer season down under.  Egypt still ranks 1st in PW-6 ownership with a fleet of four examples.  I've also a LINK to the Taupo GC on my LINKS page so you can easily email them for more details if you wish. 

November 2001

PZL Swidnik - I have been asked by several people why I have no "NEWS" from PZL Swidnik recently.  I have contacted PZL Swidnik and some of their agents requesting "NEWS", but I have not received any replies.   I am happy to report ANY PW-5 / PW-6 NEWS regardless of the glider manufacturer - currently I receive regular NEWS reports from Bielkso1, but nothing from PZL Swidnik.

Bielkso1 will be displaying their B1-PW-5 Smyk in Switzerland on Saturday 24th November at the Swiss Gliding Association Convention at Burgdorf.  For more information visit their website www.segelfliegen.ch

Bielsko1 PW-5 Smyk c/n 04 N205PS has now completed pre delivery test flights and will now be shipped off to the USA - this is their first "export" delivery - well done.  

   Bielsko1 PW-5 Smyk N205PS under going flight test at Warsaw-Bemowo October 2001

October 2001

Bielsko1 have now test flown B1-PW-5 Smyk c/n 04 - this first flew during October and will shortly be shipped off to the USA as N205PS, together with example c/n 05 which is bound for New Mexico. This will be their first non Polish customer delivery.

Congratulations to Charles Yeates for registering the first PW-6U in North America. Charles used PW-6U SP-3656 on his North American demo tour during 2001 and on 12th October 2001 it was re-registered as C-FBCY.  A further PW-6U is already in the USA, but registration is still pending.  

  Here is a photo of C-FBCY showing the quality finish on those wings.

A new Canadian Smyk - ship 17.12.010 has just been registered as C-GJKJ - this was originally imported into Canada in late 1999.  The Smyks owner is in Sorrento, British Columbia.  This leaves one further Smyk known to have been exported to Canada in late 1999 that is still to be registered - this being c/n 17.12.011.

Many thanks to Francois Pin of the USA for providing recent photos of about a dozen US Smyks - these were taken at the PW-5 gathering held at Cordele, Georgia earlier in 2001.   This website now has individual photos of approx 110 different Smyks from around this world  - If you can HELP plug the missing gaps then I'd be very pleased to hear from you - especially if you can provide photos of Smyks in Australia, Japan, Egypt, Argentina or the USA.