SZD-17X Jaskółka L

Szybowcowy Zakład Doświadczalny · Poland · first flew 1956 · glider

The SZD-17X Jaskółka L (Swallow Laminar) was a single-seat high-performance competition glider designed and built in Poland by Szybowcowy Zakład Doświadczalny in Bielsko-Biała. It had a wooden semi-monocoque fuselage and wooden wings.

Recognition (WEFT)

W — Wings	Mid-mounted, tapered
E — Engines	1 × none, embedded-mounted
F — Fuselage	6.8 m fuselage
T — Tail	V-tail

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Single-seat wooden glider with a 16 m wing with laminar flow aerofoil sections and flaps
Butterfly (V) tail, retained from the SZD-14X
Single-seat glider with a long, slender wing

It was nicknamed laminarka because of its laminar flow profile, and had a butterfly tail.

Specifications

The SZD-17X Jaskółka L has a length of 6.8 m (22 ft).
It has a wingspan of 16 m (52 ft).
Its maximum speed is 250 km/h (155 mph).
Typical crew: 1.

Figures are for the representative variant described above; marks differ. See how AircraftIQ sources figures.

History

It drew on experience with the SZD-11 and SZD-14X, combined with new laminar flow aerofoil sections, flaps, provision for water ballast and a fully retractable undercarriage. Its first flight was at Bielsko airfield on 9 March 1956, flown by Adam Zientek.

Variants

It was developed from the SZD-14X Jaskółka M and kept Jerzy Rudlicki's butterfly tail.

Where you'll see it

Four were built for the 1956 World Gliding Championships, but performance fell short of expectations and they were not used there. Tadeusz Góra still set a cross-country speed record in SP-1506 on 9 May 1956, and that glider was used until 1977 before going to the Polish Aviation Museum.

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