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Szybowcowy Zakład Doświadczalny

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Szybowcowy Zakład Doświadczalny (SZD)
Company typeState-owned (historically)
IndustryAerospace
PredecessorInstytut Szybownictwa (1946–1948)
Founded1948 in Bielsko-Biała, Poland
Defunct2008 (liquidated as PZL-Bielsko)
FateLiquidation and acquisition by Allstar PZL Glider Sp.z o.o.
SuccessorAllstar PZL Glider Sp.z o.o.
Headquarters
Bielsko-Biała
,
Poland
Area served
Worldwide (glider exports)
Key people
Władysław Nowakowski (initial leader)
ProductsGliders and sailplanes
OwnerState-owned (historically), later private (Allstar PZL Glider)
Websitewww.allstar-pzl.pl


File:Bielsko-Biała, Allstar PZL Glider (Szybowcowy Zakład Doświadczalny) 01.jpg
Main office located in Bielsko-Biała

Szybowcowy Zakład Doświadczalny (SZD), translated as Glider Experimental Works, served as a prominent Polish aerospace industry facility specializing in glider design and research following World War II. Situated in Bielsko-Biała, the organization experienced multiple restructurings and name changes throughout its existence, including the period from 1946 to 1948 when it operated under the name Instytut Szybownictwa. Although after 1969 it adopted different titles, the SZD abbreviation remained consistently applied to its aircraft designs. The gliders developed by SZD were manufactured at a production hub in Bielsko-Biała, which was centered around SZD and known from the 1990s onward as PZL-Bielsko. Additionally, several other state-owned aerospace plants contributed to production, with the aircraft not bearing specific manufacturer names.

File:Polish gliders.jpg
SZD-6X, SZD-15,
SZD-12,
SZD-8, SZD-17X
File:SZD-30-Pirat at EPSU, Aug, 2007.jpg
SZD-30 Pirat
File:Jantar Standard 3 flying crop.jpg
SZD-48 Jantar Standard 3
File:PZL Bielsko SZD-59 Acro.jpg
SZD-59 Acro

Origins

In the immediate aftermath of World War II, which resulted in the loss of most Polish pre-war gliders and crucially their design documentation, the Ministry of Communications established the Main Scouts' Gliding Centre (Centralny Harcerski Ośrodek Szybowcowy) in Bielsko-Biała during May 1945. Later that year, in autumn, it was reorganized into the Gliding Organizational Centre (Ośrodek Organizacji Szybownictwa), and by January 1946 it had evolved into the Gliding Institute (Instytut Szybownictwa, IS). This institute inherited both responsibilities and heritage from the pre-war Gliding and Motor Gliding Institute located in Lwów. It was structured into Training, Technical Divisions, and Experimental Workshops. As additional entities took on roles related to gliding instruction, IS shifted its primary focus towards design development and technical research. During this period, several glider models were created under the IS designation.

Reflecting its evolving mission, the Gliding Institute was renamed in 1948 to the Glider Experimental Works (Szybowcowy Zakład Doświadczalny), initially led by Władysław Nowakowski. It became Poland’s principal institution for glider design, with subsequent production carried out either by SZD’s own workshops or other state-owned factories operating within the centrally planned economy framework.

Structural developments

During the early 1950s, SZD was integrated into the Sports Aviation Equipment Works Management (Zarząd Zakładów Sprzętu Lotnictwa Sportowego), serving as its design division. This management entity also oversaw various glider manufacturing facilities located in Jeżów (Grunau), Gdańsk-Wrzeszcz until 1954, as well as plants in Poznań, Krosno, and from 1956 in Wrocław. In 1957, this management structure was placed under the authority of the Central Management of Communications Equipment Industry, which later became part of the PZL Aerospace Industry Union.

File:Konstruktorzy SZD.png
Designers of SZD. From left to right: Władysław Okarmus, Marian Gracz, Jan Dyrek, Jerzy Śmielkiewicz, Józef Niespał, Władysław Nowakowski, Zbigniew Badura, Jerzy Trzeciak, Bogumił Szuba, Roman Zatwarnicki

In 1963, the Sports Aviation Equipment Works (Zakłady Sprzętu Lotnictwa Sportowego, ZSLS) was established in Bielsko-Biała with SZD operating as its core division. Production branches in Jeżów and Wrocław functioned as manufacturing units under this umbrella; meanwhile, facilities in Poznań and Krosno were excluded from glider production and reorganized into separate Communication Equipment Factories (WSK). Around 1969, SZD underwent a renaming to become the Glider Development and Construction Experimental Works (Zakład Doświadczalny Rozwoju i Budowy Szybowców) followed by another change in 1971 to Gliding Research and Development Centre (Ośrodek Badawczo-Rozwojowy Szybownictwa). Despite these rebrandings, all new designs continued to carry the SZD prefix. During this era, significant upgrades were made to facilities based in Bielsko-Biała.

Design and Manufacturing

Between 1946 and 1972, the Polish centralized glider industry, primarily centered on SZD, manufactured a total of 2,743 gliders. Of these, 1,167 units were exported starting in 1951, including 367 sent to Western nations. The shift to series production of laminate gliders commenced in 1973.

Ongoing Development by Allstar PZL Glider

File:Bielsko-Biała, Allstar PZL Glider - hangar 06.jpg
Allstar PZL Glider hangar in 2025
File:Bielsko-Biała, Allstar PZL Glider - hale produkcyjne 09.jpg
Manufacturing facility in 2025

Following the collapse of communism in Poland, the glider design and manufacturing hub located in Bielsko-Biała, along with other associated plants, was renamed in the 1990s to the state-owned entity PZL-Bielsko—officially known as Przedsiębiorstwo Doświadczalno-Produkcyjne Szybownictwa PZL-Bielsko. Attempts to restructure the company were unsuccessful, leading to its liquidation in 2008.

In 2002, the primary production site and design office in Bielsko were acquired by Allstar PZL Glider Sp.z o.o., which currently develops and manufactures multiple SZD models tailored for aerobatics and cross-country flying:

  • SZD-54-2 Perkoz – a two-seat glider featuring a wingspan of 17.5 meters for aerobatic use; the same wingspan with winglets optimized for training; and a variant with a 20-meter wingspan suited for cross-country flights.
  • SZD-59-1 Acro – a single-seat glider available with a wingspan of 13.2 meters designed for aerobatics; a standard class version with a 15-meter wingspan; and a cross-country variant boasting a wingspan of 16.5 meters.
  • SZD-55-1 Nexus – single-seat model intended for competitive cross-country soaring with a wingspan of 15 meters; optionally equipped with the electric sustainer system Allstar-e-motion.
  • SZD-51-1 Junior – a single-seat club class glider primarily used for pilot training.

Moreover, Allstar PZL Glider holds Type Certificates for both the SZD-50-3 Puchacz and the SZD-48-3 Jantar Standard 3. While production of the SZD-50-3 two-seater has ceased, it has been superseded by the modern double-seater SZD-54-2 Perkoz. The SZD-48 model represents the final iteration of the renowned Jantar series and serves as the foundation for the current SZD-59-1 Acro. The company also handles manufacturing and distribution of spare parts across all six glider types.

Since 2019, Allstar PZL Glider has been engaged in designing and producing electric propulsion systems under the brand Allstar-e-motion. The electric sustainer prototype for the SZD-55 Nexus was initially unveiled at the AERO Friedrichshafen trade fair in 2019.

Between 2005 and January 2007, another manufacturer operating under this name, PZL-Bielsko 1 Sp. z o.o., was active in Górki Wielkie producing PW-5 gliders designed by Politechnika Warszawska.

References

External links

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