MIP Smyk

Last updated
Smyk
Role Motor glider
National origin Poland
Manufacturer Warsaw Technical University
DesignerLudwik Moczarski. Jan Idźkowski and Jerzy Pioszajski
First flight1 October 1937
Number builtOne

The MIP Smyk, MIP from the initials of its Polish designers with Smyk meaning Brat or Kid, was an aerodynamically refined motor glider designed and built at Warsaw Technical University from 1935.

Contents

Design and development

The Smyk was designed by three students of the Warsaw Technical University, Ludwig Moczarski, Jan Idźkowski and Jerzy Ploszajski, as a diploma project. Their objective was a low-power motor glider with the lowest possible drag. [1] [2]

The result was a wooden, shoulder wing cantilever monoplane with a retractable undercarriage, powered by a 12–18 kW (16–24 hp) Scott Flying Squirrel AS-2 inverted, air-cooled, twin-cylnder, two-stroke engine. [1] [3] [Notes 1] Its one piece, tapered wing, which had an aspect ratio of 7.7, conatned a plywood covered torsion box from the main spar around the leading edge. Behind the torsion box the wing was fabric covered. An auxiliary rear spar carried long span, tapered ailerons. The wing's deepened, wholly ply-covered centre-section blended wing roots into the upper fuselage. [1] [2]

The Smyk's cockpit was immediately ahead of the wing main spar within a reinforced cut-out in the torsion box, its rear-hinged transparency closely following the wing profile. The Squirrel engine was conventionally cowled in the nose, with a fuel tank in the centre of the wing behind the main spar. The central part of the fuselage was an oval section, plywood-covered, semi-monocoque structure but the rear fuselage was alumimium-covered for easy inspection of the rear control surface cabling. Its fin was a ply-covered integral part of the fuselage and carried a fabric covered rudder; the tapered, blunt-tipped, cantilever horizontal tail with inset elevators was mounted at mid-fuselage. [1] [2]

The Smyk's unusual retractable undercarriage had two independent short, vertical legs, with compressed rubber shock absorbers and large, low-pressure tyres. Each leg top was rigidly mounted on a V-strut hinged at slight angles to both the longitudinal and vertical axes of the fuselage on a bulkhead-mounted internal frame. When the legs were lifted with a chain system the hinge geometry, combined with a folding stiffening strut, placed the wheels within the fuselage and parallel to its sides. There were two pairs of undercarriage doors, the rear one only open whilst the legs were in motion. The tailskid was a fixed, laminated spring. [2]

The Smyk's first flight was on 1 October 1937, piloted by Aleksander Onoskyo, and testing continued through 1938-9. The Squirrel engine was heavier than specified but nonetheless the aircraft handled well and had a maximum speed of 135 km/h (84 mph; 73 kn). A differential elevator linkage produced precise control input and the usual range of aerobatic manoeuvres, apart from the roll, was available. Some minor modifications were made as a result of these development flights, perhaps the most effective being a high quality repaint, which raised the maximum speed by 20 km/h (12 mph; 11 kn). Since the expensive and heavy retractable undercarriage only increased the maximum speed by 11 km/h (7 mph), it was decided that a second, two-seat Smyk, with a span reduction and powered by a 22–24 kW (30–32 hp) Saroléa Albatros flat-twin engine, should have a fixed undercarriage. Its partially complete airframe was destroyed during the German invasion of Poland in 1939.

Specifications

Data from General J.Cynk,(1974) [1] except where noted.

General characteristics

Performance

Note

  1. ↑ Lumsden gives the engine name as Flying Sqirrel A.2S.

Related Research Articles

The Bucciero SVIT,, was a single engine, mid-wing, training and touring aircraft designed and constructed by a group of Alitalia staff in the 1960s, at least two of which were built.

IAR-22

The IAR-22 was a single engine basic trainer built in Romania in about 1934. It was a low-wing monoplane with two seats in tandem and a fixed conventional undercarriage.

New Avio C205

The New Avio C205 is an aerobatic ultralight aircraft, seating two in tandem and produced by New Avio, Gruppo NewCar of Italy.

PZL.27 Polish prototype airliner/mail plane

The P.Z.L. 27 was a prototype airliner/mail plane designed by Zbysław Ciołkosz and constructed at P.Z.L. in 1933.

The Lambert Mission 212 is a conventionally laid out low-wing, fixed undercarriage, single-engine, four-seat kit built aircraft designed in the UK by a Belgian college student. Kits are manufactured in Belgium.

Aviamilano Nibbio

The Aviamilano F.14 Nibbio is a four-seat, single engine cabin monoplane built in Italy in the late 1950s. Only ten production aircraft were completed.

SNCASE SE-2300

The Sud-Est SE-2300 or S.N.C.A.S.E. SE-2300 was a two/three seat low wing, single engine touring aircraft, built just after World War II in France. The SE-2310 was a tricycle undercarriage variant. Neither type went into production.

Koolhoven F.K.54

The Koolhoven F.K.54 was a Dutch single-engine, three-seat touring aircraft with a retractable undercarriage. It flew shortly before the start of World War II and its development was abandoned after its first flight as attention turned to military aircraft.

The Bonomi BS.19 Alca was a single seat, tractor configuration motor glider, designed and built in Italy shortly before World War II. It had an unusual retractable undercarriage used only for take-offs. Only one was built.

Müller G.M.G. II

The Müller G.M.G. II was a German single engine, tandem seat sports monoplane from 1928. Its high wing was unusually mounted.

Gribovsky G-22 1936 sporting aircraft model by Gribovsky

The Gribovsky G-22 was a low powered, single seat sports cantilever monoplane, designed and built in the USSR in the mid-1930s. It set at least one class record and flew from 1936 to at least 1940, though only one was completed.

Caproni Ca.95

The Caproni Ca.95 was a large, three engine, long range, heavy bomber prototype built in Italy in 1929. It could carry a 1,600 kg (3,500 lb) bomb load and had three defensive gun positions. Only one was built.

Albatros L 83 Adler 1931 transport aircraft by Albatros

The Albatros L 83 Adler was a small, fast transport aircraft for passengers, mail or other cargo, flown in Germany in 1931. Two were built.

G.A.C. 102 Aristocrat

The G.A.C. 102 Aristocrat or General 102 Aristocrat is a single-engined cabin monoplane built in the US just before the Great Depression. It proved popular, with over forty built; an early example was taken on an aerial survey of Antarctica. One survives.

Medwecki and Nowakowski M.N.5

The Medwecki and Nowakowski M.N.5 was an economical Polish trainer aircraft initially aimed at the club market, though there was also some military interest. It performed well but lacked a constructor after Samolot became insolvent in 1930, so only one was completed.

Działowski D.K.D.1

The Działowski D.K.D.1 was the first powered aircraft designed by Stanislaw Działowski. It was a low-power high-wing monoplane with a cabin for one passenger. After attending an aviation exhibition in Warsaw in 1927 it was badly damaged when the engine failed as it left and it did not fly again.

The Sido S.1 was a Polish two seat, parasol wing trainer aircraft, first flown in 1930.

Nowotny N-y 4bis Polish sports plane

The Nowotny N-y 4bis was a tandem two-seat light aircraft, built in Poland, as a step towards a very light, low-powered training aircraft for flying clubs. Its designer was killed in a glider soon after the first flight of his trainer and its development was abandoned.

The Gabriel Śląsk (Silesia) was a Polish light aircraft designed and built by an amateur in the mid-1930s. After two flights the Polish authorities banned further development.

ITS-8 Polish motor glider

The ITS-8 was a Polish twin-boom motor glider flown in 1936. Two prototypes were completed but production was prevented by the German invasion of Poland in 1939.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Cynk, Jerzy (1971). Polish Aircraft 1893-1939 . London: Putnam Publishing. p.  646-8. ISBN   0 370 00085 4.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "The M.I.P. Smyk". Flight . XLIII (1731): 152–4. 11 February 1943.
  3. ↑ Lumsden, Alec (1994). British Piston Aero-engines and their Aircraft. Shrewsbury: Airlife. p. 226. ISBN   1 85310294 6.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.