Travel is awesome – it allows you to visit the places you want to see but in many cases, you can travel down the memory lane. My trip to Poland this Winter was of the latter type. I had a chance to visit the airfield of the Aeroklub Jeleleniogorski where as a young man I had a chance to experience some love for aviation.
Polish glider SZD-51 Junior
In this short blog, I would like to show few photos of an amazing glider SZD-51 Junior. This glider was designed in Bielsko-Biala in Poland and took to the skies for the first time in 1980.
SZD-51 Junior from the side
Junior is a single-seat sailplane, with fiberglass body (rudder is an exception – it is covered by fabric) and fixed landing gear. The construction is very sturdy, designed to take some serious flying in the clubs, including acrobatic performance.
There were around 250 Juniors build and they are still flying in Poland and other countries in Europe. The glider is very easy to fly and forgives the small mistakes of less experienced pilots while delivering good performance.
Instrument panel of SZD-51 Junior
The cockpit is designed with simplicity, allowing the pilot to focus on flying and enjoying the time in the air.
Here is the link to the info about SZD-51 on Wikipedia and producer’s website.
SZD-51 Junior from the side
Instrument panel of SZD-51 Junior
Polish glider SZD-51 Junior
Work horse of Polish Aeroklubs Travel is awesome - it allows you to visit the places you want to see but in many cases, you can travel down the memory lane.