Smyk - Production

Email me,  Steven May  via         bea_steve@hotmail.com

The PW-5 Smyk has been built at a number of locations to date. 

PW / DWLKK

Politechinc Warszawa designed the PW-5 glider. The first prototype was built in conjunction with DWLKK, a Warsaw based company that specialises is composite material structures. This prototype ( SP-P575 ) was given the construction number K-01 and first flew on 5.9.92.  The static test frame was also built here and given the c/n K-02.

PZL Swidnik    

Once trials and certification was completed, serial production of the PW-5 Smyk was undertaken by PZL Swidnik, near Lublin. Their first Smyk flew in March 1993 and was given the c/n 17.02.001.  All Smyk production at Swidnik is prefixed by "17".  The 02 refers to Smyk batch 2 ( ie batch 1 being the PW/DWLKK built Smyks ).  The "001" refers to glider 1 within batch 2.  Batch 02 totalled  5 Smyks, and included the first to be exported c/n 17.02.004, to France in June 1994

Subsequent batches have each totaled 25 Smyks.  Production soon picked up pace and sales/deliveries roared along at about 10-12 per month through 1995/96/97. During 1998/1999 production slowed right down with only about 12 being delivered in 1999.

Production received a large boost during August 2000 when Egypt ordered a mix of 48 PW-5 and PW-6 gliders.  Eight will be fully built and delivered from Swidnik, the remainder will be shipped as kits to Egypt for final assembly.

As from 2001, PZL Swidnik will face direct competition from "Bielsko1". Production of the original PW-5 Smyk continues at PZL Swidnik.

Click on this image to see PW-5 Smyk production  PZL Swidnik during August 2000 

Bielsko1 - B1      

This new private company was established during 2000. The key staff here are ex PW and DWLKK, and include the designers and initial builders of the PW-5 Smyk.

This company is currently establishing a PW-5 Smyk production line at Gorki Wielka, located close to Bielsko Biala in southern Poland. Funding for this was secured in September 2000. By mid 2002 production was now centred in Warsaw.

Construction of their first B1 PW-5 Smyk began in March 2001 and they displayed their own B1-PW-5 Smyk at the Frederichshafen trade show in Germany in late April 2001. First customer deliveries followed shortly afterwards, with two B1-PW-5 Smyk attending the 2nd World air Games in Spain June 2001.  

            Click on these images to view the Bielsko1 brochure

Photos of the first Bielsko1 Smyk under production - March 2001

The Bielsko1 PW-5 Smyk offers the following new features,

Automatic hook up of all controls

Built in tail ballast

Total Energy ( TE ) probe

Mecaplex high quality canopy 

Larger compartment behind pilots seat for stowage

New winch launch position

The first two exported aircraft went to the USA in December 2001

Type Certification was granted by the Polish Civil Aviation Authority ( GILC ) on 12th June 2001 - Type Cert number BG-214

Bielsko1 also offer a number of modifications to exisiting original SWidnik built PW-5 Smyks - they have supplementary Type Certificates for the PW-5C1 and PW-5C2

Click HERE to see a report of my visit to Bielsko1 in August 2001 

In November 2001 Bielsko1 exported their first PW-5 deliveries - two Smyks off to the USA.

As at mid summer 2002 approx 10 B1-PW-5 Smyks have been built - production continues

Nicks - Smyk

This Smyk was built by the late Oran Nicks in the USA.  He bought a copy of the PW-5 blueprints from PW ( I understand about 12 sets of plans have been sold to date ) and set about building his own Smyk.  Oran Nicks had previously worked for NASA for many years and was a leading aerodynamist.

His Smyk was registered as N110WN on 30.4.98 and wore the tail code "NI".  I understand that he incorporated an aluminum fuselage boom. 

    Click on this image to see Oran Nicks working on his own homebuilt PW-5 Smyk

  The Nicks Smyk - N110WN

Sadly Oran Nicks died whilst performing an outlanding in his homebuilt Smyk in September 1998. The glider had flown approx 15 flight hours.

EGYPT

In late 2000, 4 fully assembled PW-5 Smyks were delivered to Egypt.  Negotiations are now underway to assembly PZL Swidnik supplied PW-5 and PW-6 kits in Egypt.  More details are awaited.

To date these are the only sources that have built a PW-5 Smyk.  With a dozen set of PW-5 blueprints sold worldwide then I suspect we may see others building Smyk in the future.  If you can add anything to the above please email me, via my Home Page.   Thanks 

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