PZL Bielsko IS-A

IS-A / WWS-1 Salamandra
Type:	School glider
Design country:	Poland
Manufacturer:	Wojskowe Warsztaty Szybowcowe Instytut Szybownictwa
First flight:	1936
Production time:	1936–1939 (WWS-1) 1946–1957 (IS-A)
Number of pieces:	> 500

The IS-A (also WWS-1 ) Salamandra is a Polish glider . IS stands for Instytut Szybownictwa (Institute for Glider Aviation).

development

The Salamandra was developed on the basis of a tender by the Polish government in order to be able to provide the glider flying sport, which flourished in the country at the beginning of the 1930s, with a suitable model for training from our own production. The construction was worked out by Wacław Czerwiński in the Military Glider Factory (Wojskowe Warsztaty Szybowcowe) in Kraków , which is why it was designated WWS-1. The type proved to be very suitable and by 1939 about 140 copies were made by the WWS, some of which were also exported to Finland, Yugoslavia and the Baltic States. Production was discontinued during the occupation of Poland . Wacław Czerwiński emigrated to Canada, where he developed the Sparrow and Robin types, which were closely related to the WWS-1 .

After the end of the Second World War there was again an increasing need for school sailors and so Józef Niespał as well as Rudolf and Marian Gracz redesigned the construction plans on the basis of a WWS-1, which had survived the occupation time unscathed in a barn near Goleszów in autumn 1946 a pilot series of five aircraft, now designated as IS-A, was launched. The prototype received the registration number SP – 320 and was flown by Piotr Mynarski on October 12, 1946 for the first time. In Jeżów , the first series, called Salamandra 48 , began in spring 1948 and consisted of 75 pieces. In the meantime the model had been revised and equipped with spoilers and another 50 pieces were launched as Salamandra 49 in Jeżów, the first of which was flown in on June 8, 1949 as SP-825 . A further 43 school sailors of this version were built from 1950 to 1951 at the WSK works in Mielec .

1953 with a modified appeared tailplane provided Salamandra 53 , whose prototype SP-1228 on May 7, 1953 fully introduced the first flight. 50 pieces of this IS-A were produced. Gradually, the earlier versions were also equipped with the modified tail units. For a foreign order, the parts for a further 30 pieces were produced and exported to China, where the aircraft were finally assembled. Furthermore, the production of an unknown number as Salamandra 53A took place under license. In total, exports and Chinese replicas not included, 223, according to other sources 235 IS-A.

Versions

WWS-1

WWS-1

Basic version from 1936, about 140 pieces built

IS-A

Revised variant from 1946, five units including a prototype built

Salamandra 48

first series from 1948, 75 pieces built

Salamandra 49

Series production from 1949 with spoilers , 93 units built by 1951

Salamandra 53

Version with revised horizontal stabilizer from 1953, 50 pieces built

Salamandra 53A

Export variant for China, 30 pieces produced, plus an unknown number of Chinese licensed buildings

construction

The IS-A / MRP-1 is a strained -wing monoplane in wood construction . The two-part hydrofoil is placed on the wooden hull behind the open driver's seat and supported on the sides with tubular steel struts and braced with steel cables. It has a main spar , a diagonal auxiliary spar, a wing nose made of plywood and fabric covering. The ailerons are also covered with fabric. The rear fuselage is formed by two braced and uncovered wooden stalks, to which the braced cross tail , consisting of the fins covered with plywood and the oars covered with fabric, is attached. The undercarriage consists of a rubber-sprung wooden runner under the hull and an equally wooden and rubber-sprung grinding spur on the stern.

Technical specifications

Three-sided tear

Parameter	Data
crew	1
span	12.48 m
length	6.48 m
height	2.38 m
Wing area	16.9 m²
Wing extension	9.25
Wing loading	11.6 kg / m² - 13.3 kg / m²
Preparation mass	110 kg
Takeoff mass	195 kg-225 kg
Glide ratio	15.2 at 54 km / h
Minimum speed	43 km / h

literature

• Kazimierz Wojciech Chudzinski: Polish gliders . Volume 1: 1945-1970. Verlag für Technik und Handwerk, Baden-Baden 2014, ISBN 978-3-88180-454-7 , p. 9-13 .
• Martin Simons: Gliders . 1945-1965. 4th edition. Eqip, Bonn 2017, ISBN 3-9807977-3-2 , p. 206/207 .

Web links

Commons : WWS-1 / IS-A Salamandra  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Chudzinski, p. 284
2. ↑ Chudzinski, p. 9