PWS-18
| PWS-18 | |
|---|---|
| Role | Trainer aircraft |
| Manufacturer | PWS |
| Retired | 1939 |
| Primary user | Polish military aviation |
| Produced | 1935-1936 |
| Number built | 40 |
| Developed from | Avro Tutor |
The PWS-18 was a Polish trainer aircraft, used from 1937 to 1939 by the Polish Air Force, a modified licence variant of the British Avro Tutor.
Development
In 1934, the Polish government, looking for an intermediate military trainer, bought two Avro Tutor trainer aircraft together with a licence to produce the aircraft. Production was ordered in the PWS (Podlaska Wytwórnia Samolotów - Podlasie Aircraft Factory). In 1935, Antoni Uszacki of the PWS modified the design, fitting it with a Wright Whirlwind engine, produced under licence in Poland. The new engine cowling was much longer than the previous Townend ring type, with a carburetor air intake below it. The wing construction was changed from metal to wooden, better fitted to PWS capabilities, and the rectangular wing tips were rounded. Also some other details were changed, such as a tailskid instead of a tailwheel.
A series of 40 aircraft was built in 1935-1936 (1936-1937 according to some references). They were assigned military numbers 80-1 to 80-40. They were not produced in larger numbers because a successful indigenous Polish advanced trainer, the PWS-26, using the same engine, was designed and entered production.
Operational history
PWS-18s were used in the Polish military aviation, among others in Airforce Training Center in Dęblin, an NCO school for minors in Bydgoszcz and in training escadres of air regiments. None survived World War II.
Operators
Specifications
General characteristics
- Crew: 1, instructor
- Capacity: 1, student
- Length: 8 m (26 ft 2⅞ in)
- Wingspan: 10.98 m (36 ft ⅛in)
- Height: 2.92 m (9 ft 6⅞ in)
- Wing area: 29.40 m² (316 ft²)
- Empty weight: 926 kg (2,037 lb)
- Loaded weight: 1,220 kg (2,684 lb)
- Powerplant: 1 × Avia Wright Whirlwind J-5B air-cooled 9-cylinder radial, 240 hp / 220 hp nominal (176 kW / 162 kW nominal)
Performance
- Maximum speed: 196 km/h (106 knots, 122 mph)
- Range: 465 km (251 nm, 289 mi)
- Service ceiling: 4,900 m (16,000 ft)
- Rate of climb: 5 m/s (980 ft/min)
- Wing loading: 41.5 kg/m² (8.49 lb/ft²)
- Power/mass: 0.144 kW/kg (0.0894 hp/lb)
Armament
- 1 x 7.92 mm machinegun, pilot's or observer's (optional),
- 2 x 12-kg bombs (optional)
See also
- Related development
- Aircraft of comparable role, configuration and era
References
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to PWS. |
Notes
Bibliography
- Domański, Jerzy. "Samolot szkolno-treningowy PWS-18" (in Polish) Żołnierz Polski, nr 5/1991.
- Glass, Andrzej and Cieślak, Krzysztof. "Samoloty i szybowce do 1939 roku" (in Polish) Barwa w lotnictwie polskim nr. 1. Warszawa, Poland: WKiŁ, 1985. ISBN 83-206-0456-7