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24-815: Polish manufacturer PZL-Mielec used the Progress ZMKB AI-25TL engine in the PZL M-15 Belphegor cropduster. Both the largest plane in the world, the Antonov An-225 Mriya and the largest helicopter, the Mil Mi-26 , are powered by Progress/Lotarev engines. The bureau is administered by the Ukrainian Defense Industry and the Ministry of Industrial Policy. The Company has been involved for 60 years in

48-623: A factory in Mielec , designated PZL WP-2 ( Wytwórnia Płatowców 2 ; "Airframe Factory no. 2"). Production there began just before the outbreak of World War II . In March 1939, the plant began manufacturing its first aircraft — PZL.37 Łoś bombers, assembled from components delivered from the PZL WP-1 factory in Warsaw. There were 700 workers at that time. During World War II, Mielec was occupied by Nazi Germany , starting 13 September 1939. During

72-638: A fuselage was similar to the Po-2. The plane, named S-1 (for Stankiewicz), was very simple. It was flown on 15 November 1945, by the Soviet pilot Piotr Kondratyenko. It was the second Polish-designed plane, that flew after the war (the first was LWD Szpak ). Further aircraft were not produced. The prototype crashed on 14 May 1946 in Warsaw in a bad weather, however its pilot, who was Stankiewicz himself, survived. Wooden construction braced high-wing ( parasol wing ) monoplane , conventional in layout. Fuselage built of

96-458: A short time in 1970-1975, it bore a name WSK Delta-Mielec. In 1975, it returned to a traditional name Wytwórnia Sprzętu Komunikacyjnego "PZL-Mielec" ( WSK "PZL-Mielec" ), in an honor of the PZL brand. In the 1950s, there were 2600 workers; at its peak the number was 18,000. From 1950, the factory developed significantly, and became the largest Polish aircraft producer. It was a licensed producer of

120-598: A trainer and liaison plane was approved by the Polish military Aviation Command, and Stankiewicz completed documentation in an aircraft factory PZL-Mielec in Mielec (the factory was destroyed by the Germans and at that time existed as repair works only). There, a prototype was built, utilizing parts of the Soviet Polikarpov Po-2 , like an engine with a propeller, wheels and seats, also a construction of

144-406: Is a Polish aerospace manufacturer based in Mielec . It is the largest aerospace manufacturer in postwar Poland. In 2007, it was acquired by Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation , which retained the brand name. Between 1948 and 2014, the company manufactured approximately 15,600 aircraft. In 1938-1939, Państwowe Zakłady Lotnicze ("State Aviation Works"; PZL), Poland's largest aviation company, built

168-742: The PZL M-20 Mewa utility aircraft (licensed Piper PA-34 Seneca ), but a small number was built only. Partly based on the M-20, the factory developed a successful light trainer PZL M-26 Iskierka of 1988; however, only seven were built. The factory produced also non-aviation items, like fire engines (1948), refrigerators (1954–1966), Mikrus MR-300 microcar (1956–1960, 1728 built), refrigerator car bodies (1962–1974), TV broadcast cars (from 1965), fuel injection equipment (from 1964), Leyland -licence diesel engines (from 1967), Melex electric utility vehicles and golf carts (from 1970, mostly for export to

192-548: The Polish military press, suggesting that the price was very low (56.1 million PLN), due to pro-American lobbying . It was also pointed out that the Polish military agreed in December 2008 to purchase 12 unnecessary M-28B aircraft from the new factory owners, for a price two or three times higher than their real value and export price. *An existing company, but not currently producing any vehicles PZL S-1 The PZL S-1

216-463: The Soviet tradition, design is kept separate from production. Many of the bureau's designs were or are produced at Motor Sich , located at Zaporizhzhia International Airport . PZL-Mielec 50°18′36″N 21°27′40″E  /  50.31000°N 21.46111°E  / 50.31000; 21.46111 PZL Mielec ( Polskie Zakłady Lotnicze - Polish Aviation Works), formerly WSK-Mielec ( Wytwórnia Sprzętu Komunikacyjnego ) and WSK "PZL-Mielec"

240-629: The Soviet-designed jet fighters MiG-15 (produced as Lim-1), MiG-15bis (Lim-2), MiG-17 (Lim-5), and their Polish-developed variants (the SBLim-1 and SBLim-2 trainers and the Lim-6 attack aircraft). The first Lim-1s were manufactured from Soviet parts in 1952, and full-scale production started in 1953. About 1500 Lims were built by 1964. In 1957-1960, there were also produced 250 Polish-designed TS-8 Bies piston-engined trainers. From 1963, there

264-604: The Soviets, but also used in Poland, and exported to other countries. Among them there were 7880 agricultural An-2R, 1640 transport-passenger An-2TP, 1344 transport An-2T, 816 passenger An-2P, 154 An-2M floatplanes, 52 An-2TD military paratroop transports, 44 executive An-2P Lux. From 1984, PZL Mielec became an exclusive producer of the Soviet Antonov An-28 STOL transport airrcaft, of which 180 were built. It

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288-542: The USA, later separated as own brand). In 1993, a division Wytwórnia Aparatury Wtryskowej "PZL Mielec" ( Fuel Injection Equipment Factory "PZL–Mielec" ) was separated as a limited liability company . On 19 October 1998, a state-owned factory WSK "PZL-Mielec" was converted into a state-owned company Polskie Zakłady Lotnicze Mielec Sp. z o.o. ( Polish Aviation Works ), in short: PZL Mielec (not to be confused with pre-war PZL - Państwowe Zakłady Lotnicze ). In May 1999, it

312-615: The company have been developing bypass gas turbine engines. Under the direction of Volodymyr Lotarev, the organization developed the first operational Soviet high-bypass turbofans, the Lotarev D-36 in 1971. This organization is now known as Ivchenko-Progress ZMKB and is based in Ukraine. Their engines are being operated successfully by numerous airlines around the world, including Volga-Dnepr , Antonov Airlines, Enimex , and Polet . In January 2015, Diamond Aircraft of Austria announced

336-460: The design of engines to power aircraft and helicopters of various types, and also designs drives and special equipment for industrial applications. Three notable designers have led the development during this time: Initially General Oleksandr Ivchenko designed piston engines. These engines were denoted AI. Work on their first turbine engine, the TS-12, began in 1953. Since the beginning of the 1960s

360-414: The designation CSS-13, and 180 were built by 1950 (they were also produced by PZL Warszawa-Okęcie). In 1950, also a small series of pre-war Polish Salamandra gliders was built. In 1949, the factory was renamed, like all Polish aerospace industry at that time, as Wytwórnia Sprzętu Komunikacyjnego – zakład nr 1 ( Communication Equipment Factory, No. 1 plant ), in short WSK-1 Mielec or just WSK-Mielec. For

384-588: The first flight of the Diamond DA50 -JP7 powered by a 465 hp AI-450S turboprop engine developed by Ukraine's Motor Sich JSC and Ivchenko-Progress. However, Diamond ended up getting EASA certification on its DA50 RG model with a Continental CD-300 engine in September 2020, and FAA certification in July 2023. Turkish strategic drone Akinci is powered by these engines and flies up to 40,000 feet. True to

408-471: The occupation, the factory became a part of Heinkel , among others producing tailfins of Heinkel He 111 bombers, and repairing Junkers Ju 52 aircraft. There were 5,500 workers in 1944. In July 1944, the withdrawing Germans took away all the machines and equipment. Mielec was seized by the Soviet Army on 6 August 1944. At first, the factory was used by the Soviets as a repair works. On 22 July 1945, it

432-587: Was a Polish trainer and liaison aircraft of 1945, which remained a prototype . It was the second aircraft built in Poland after World War II . The aircraft was designed by engineer Eugeniusz Stankiewicz, being a teacher in the Aviation School in Zamość . Works started in late 1944, soon after the liberation of eastern Poland, when central and western parts were still occupied by the Germans . The design of

456-525: Was built (this was the second aircraft built in Poland after the war). The factory in Mielec produced aircraft mostly under license, or designed in other Polish bureaus. In 1948, the factory built a small series of 10 utility aircraft LWD Szpak -4T, designed in the LWD (it was the first Polish post-war series-built aircraft). In the same year, the company started producing licensed Polikarpov Po-2 biplanes under

480-696: Was certified according to JAR -21. After a fall of export to Eastern Bloc countries, production volume decreased, and there remained 1200-1400 workers. On 16 March 2007, PZL Mielec was acquired by the Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation , then a unit of United Technologies Corporation (UTX), now a unit of Lockheed Martin . From 2009, it manufactures fuselage sections of the parent firm's UH-60M Black Hawk helicopter, and from 2010 it serves as an additional final assembly line for S-70i Black Hawk helicopters. The circumstances of this transaction and its aftermath were heavily criticized by

504-609: Was cooperation in design work. In 1973, with Soviet aid, Mielec designed the only jet agricultural aircraft in the world, the WSK-Mielec M-15 Belphegor , which was built between 1976 and 1981 for the Soviets. On the other hand, the factory started cooperation with American firms, and the result was the very successful agricultural aircraft M-18 Dromader , first flown in 1976, and produced and developed until now (as of 2012). Over 759 were produced, most exported to Western countries. WSK-Mielec also started production of

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528-443: Was handed back to Polish control. The factory in Mielec was renamed to Państwowe Zakłady Lotnicze (PZL) - Zakład nr 1 ( State Aviation Works, No.1 plant ), and turned into a state-owned factory. At first, it undertook aircraft repair works, and produced mostly non-aviation items, such as bus bodies, scales, etc. The first aircraft constructed in Mielec was a simple trainer PZL S-1 , flown on 15 November 1945, of which only one unit

552-580: Was produced Polish-designed jet trainer TS-11 Iskra , being a basic trainer in Polish military aviation. Its successor, designed with a part of PZL Mielec, the PZL I-22 Iryda , appeared to be a failure for different reasons, mostly due to a lack of proper funding, and as such only a small series was built. The most numerous aircraft built in Mielec was the licensed Soviet Antonov An-2 utility biplane, produced from 1960 in different variants. 11,954 of these aircraft were manufactured by 2002, mostly for

576-496: Was subsequently developed in Mielec, and in a modernized variant PZL M-28 Skytruck/Bryza, with western avionics, was offered for the Polish Army, Polish Navy and services abroad, with some success, also as a maritime patrol aircraft. Apart from license production, several aircraft were designed at Mielec in the 1950s and 1960s, but they did not enter production (e.g PZL S-4 Kania , PZL M-2 , PZL M-4 Tarpan ). More profitable

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