Krakow, September 14, 2018
World Helicopter Championships in Poland.
The first helicopter championship was held in Germany in 1971. The championships are played irregularly, but the organizers try to maintain a three-year cycle. Poland has been awarded the FAI World Helicopter Championships twice. For the first time in 1981 in Piotrków Trybunalski, and for the second time in 2015 in Zielona Góra.
IV Helicopter World Championships. 1981.
In 1981, the 4th World Helicopter Championships were held in Piotrków Trybunalski. This event, like no other, was widely echoed throughout Poland. The main reason was that it was organized in an extraordinary period of history for Poland, between the signing of the August Agreements and the legalization of the Solidarity trade union (1980), and the introduction of martial law by the military junta of General Wojciech Jaruzelski. That is, during the sixteen months of breathing for an enslaved nation. It so happened that the strongest countries from both sides of the Iron Curtain took part in the competition. Then we talked among ourselves that it was the first bloodless meeting of the Warsaw Pact with the NATO pact in Poland. This competition was the first Air Show in Polish skies, although the name did not appear at the time. In any case, the great world came to the People's Republic of Poland.
A bit of history before the competition in Piotrków Trybunalski.
I 16-19 September 1971 Buckeburg (West Germany).
32 crews took off: 13 from Germany, 10 from the UK, 2 from the USA, 1 from Canada, 6 crews mixed with people from: Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Denmark, the Netherlands, Colombia, Luxembourg, West Germany, UK. There were 5 women among the players.
Helicopters: Brantly B-2 B, Hughes 269 A, Hughes 300, Hughes 500, Bell 47 G-2, Bell 206 A, Bell UH-1 D, Scout AH-1, Sioux AH, Alouette II, Bristol 171 Sycamore, Sikorsky S-58.
Competitions: 1 Punctuality Rally, 2 Slalom, 3 Simulated Rescue Action, 4 Precision Pilot, 5 Navigation Flight.
Results: the first three places were taken by crews from Germany, on the Alouette II, Bell 47 G-2 and Hughes 500 planes. The best female crew took 8th place.
II 23-29.07.1973 Middle Wallop (UK).
31 crews competed: Austria, Germany, USA, CCCP, UK.
Helicopters: Alouette II, Alouette III, Augusta-Bell 47 G-2, Skeeter, Wesser 1, Whirlwind 10, Hughes 300, Hughes 500, Brantly B-2 B, Enstrom F-28 A, Bell 206 B, Bell Jet Ranger, Mil Mi-1.
Competitions: 1 Punctuality Rally, 2 Navigation Flight, 3 Precision Maneuvers, 4 Simulated Rescue Action, 5 Free Piloting.
Results: 1st CCCP, Mil Mi-1, 2nd UK, Whirlwind 10, 3rd Austria, Alouette III. The best female crew took 14th place.
III July 30-05 August 1978 Vitebsk (CCCP).
34 crews competed: 11 from CCCP, 5 from Poland, 5 from the USA, 5 from Hungary, 4 from the UK, 4 from Germany. There were 11 female crews: 7 from CCCP, 3 from the USA, 1 from Poland.
Helicopters: Mil Mi-1, PZL Mi-2, Ka-26, Bolkow Bo-105, Bell UH-1, Bell Jet Ranger III, Hughes 500 D.
Competition: 1 Precision flight, 2 "Visit" navigation flight, 3 "Triangle" navigation flight, 4 Slalom, 5 Free flight. The last competition was assessed separately.
Results: the first three places were taken by the CCCP crews on the Mi-1 (1, 3) and Mi-2 (2) helicopters. Karl Zimmerman (West Germany) won the 5th competition on the Bo-105.
It was the first helicopter championship in which Polish crews took part. The Poles did quite well. The 14th place was taken by Stanisław Kacperek, 16th by L. Malinowski, 18th by K. Kaczanowski, 23 by A. Przydatek, 24th by J. Lewandowski. Everyone on PZL Mi-2 helicopters. As a team, Poland took 4th place.
IV Helicopter World Championships.
Originally, the competition was to be held in Krakow. However, the proximity of the metallurgical plant named after Lenin in Nowa Huta with the "heated" freedom of the workers made the communists decide to move the professions to a more "quiet" place. Świdnik, also strongly anti-communist, was taken into account. Logistics prevailed after Piotrków Trybunalski; center of Poland and good communication. There was already the so-called Gierkówka route.
I must admit that the communists rose to the occasion and organized an event at a high level. They did not regret the funds. There was no shortage of extensive coverage on TV, radio and in the press. Foreign crews expressed a positive opinion about the organization of the event. They were openly impressed. They spoke positively about the conditions. They had comments on the slippage and that even after the briefing, there were still some ambiguities. In a word, the briefing left a lot to be desired. At least in the first days of the championship. The event was dominated by the Solidarity stamps, exchanged for Coca-Cola and bubble gum cans. However, close contacts were not established - it was not that time yet.
A team from the USA came to Poland with five helicopters on board the largest Lockheed C-5 A Galaxy transport plane, which landed at Okęcie Airport. The Americans even invited Poles, TV crews, journalists to explore the machine inside. However, entry to the cockpit itself was forbidden by ... a Polish intelligence officer. We still don't know why? He was afraid that we would see a gap between the Western technique and the only right one with the CCCP.
Stadium in Piotrków Trybunalski.
The opening ceremony, as well as the last competition and the closing ceremony were organized at the 30th anniversary of the People's Republic of Poland stadium at Żarskiego Street, now Roman Dmowski Street. The construction of the stadium at Nowa Street (later Żarskiego, now Romana Dmowskiego) in Piotrków Trybunalski began in 1967. It was the stadium of the Piotrcovia sports club. The construction of the stadium was not completed until 1974. The stadium could then seat 6,000 spectators. At the beginning of 1979, it was decided that the Central Harvest Festival would be here. Within six months, the stadium was expanded to a capacity of 19,000 spectators. It was then given the name of the 35th anniversary of the People's Republic of Poland. In 1981, the stadium was the arena of the 4th World Helicopter Championships. The stadium also hosted the final of the Polish Football Cup twice (June 22, 1983: Lechia Gdańsk - Piast Gliwice 2: 1 and 23 June 1991: GKS Katowice - Legia Warsaw 1: 0) and one meeting for the Polish Super Cup (July 22, 1988: Górnik Zabrze - Lech Poznań 2: 1). Already in 1999, the land development plan was changed. The area of the stadium has been allocated to a shopping center. In 2003, the football team of Piotrcovia was moved to Szczecin and the stadium was demolished. Its last stands were dismantled in 2005.
Airport in Piotrków Trybunalski.
The airport was thoroughly modernized before the event. The aeroclub building of the airport station was renovated. Its premises were adapted to the competition. A gastronomic pavilion was added, which later became a staff canteen, and is now a restaurant. The RUCH kiosk, the Pewex shop and the post office were opened. At that time, there was only one hangar at the airport. The one arched from the city side. Airplanes and gliders were removed from it, and camouflage netting was placed under the ceiling. The necessary equipment was installed: chairs and tables, and thus a briefing room, the so-called briefings, was created. The stator for helicopter competitors was located in the south-west part of the take-off area, parallel to Przemysłowa Street. In the north-eastern part of the airport, an exhibition of WSK PZL Świdnik products was organized, which was a co-organizer of the championship.
During the competition, the entire area of the airport was fenced with a net, which was normally placed along the roads in the fields in winter to prevent snow from blowing the road. Additional MO and ORMO patrols were set up to guard the facility all day and night. Przemysłowa Street at the airport is closed to road traffic. Only vehicles and people with passes were admitted. There is a small square on the northern side of the airport for the public.
The 4th Helicopter World Championships were held on August 14-23, 1981. The application was sent by 42 crews: 2 from France, 7 from CCCP, 8 from Poland, USA, 9 from Germany, UK.
Helicopters: Gazelle, Enstrom, Hughes 369 D, Squirrel, Bell UH-1, Bell 206 L, Bell OH-58, Alouette II, Robinson R-22, Bo-105, PZL Mi-2, Mil Mi-1 MU.
Championship program:
1 day - August 14, 1981 Friday - arrival of participants.
2nd day - August 15, 1981 Saturday - control of helicopters and flight test of the airport area.
3rd day - August 16, 1981 Sunday - opening of the championship and 1 competition - Rally and rescue operation.
4th day - August 17, 1981 Monday - 2nd competition - Precision maneuvers.
5th day - August 18, 1981 Tuesday - 3rd competition - Navigation flight.
6th day - August 19, 1981 Wednesday - 4th event - Slalom.
7th day - August 20, 1981 Thursday - 5th competition optional - Free pilot.
8th day - August 21, 1981 Friday - break, actually a reserve day.
9 day - August 22, 1981 Saturday - the end of the championship.
10 day - August 23, 1981 Sunday - departure (departure) of participants.
40 teams and 80 competitors were qualified. The competitions were held at the Piotrków Trybunalski Airport and at the XXXV anniversary stadium of the People's Republic of Poland in Piotrków Trybunalski. Ultimately, 39 teams took part in the competition, including 78 competitors from the USA, Germany, France, Great Britain, CCCP and Poland. The full 8-crew teams were represented by: USA and Poland (16 players each), 7-crew teams - CCCP, Germany and UK (14 players each), France 2 crews (4 players). There were male and female crews. There were four female. Three from CCCP and one from Poland. Each crew consisted of a pilot and a navigator.
Polish crews:
Mi-2 helicopter No. 51 - Zdzisław Treder, A. Sawicki.
Mi-2 helicopter No. 51 - R. Kasperek, K. Grzesiczak.
Mi-2 helicopter No. 52 - Zbigniew Domina, Andrzej Górnicki.
Mi-2 helicopter No. 52 - Teresa Ćwik-Maszczyńska, Anna Iwańska.
Mi-2 helicopter No. 53 - Kazimierz Jakubiszak, Jan Kwaśniak.
Mi-2 helicopter No. 53 - K. Wojnicz, J. Janukowicz.
Mi-2 helicopter No. 54 - Zbigniew Olszewski, Bogusław Kowalówczan.
Mi-2 helicopter No. 54 - Artur Szarawara, Henryk Moryc.
The director of the event was Col. pilot Alojzy Górny. There were 25 judges. The event was attended by 80 journalists, 28 of which were foreign, including 22 from the USA. The competitors' struggles were filmed on a special car boom.
The opening ceremony of the competition on August 16, 1981 was watched directly by 17,000 spectators from Poland and abroad. There were representatives of the FAI Rotorcraft Commission with its President Ralph P. Alex and Charles Marchetti, Joe Mashman and Sergey Sikorsky. Charles Marchetti is the creator of the entire Alouette helicopter family. Joe Mashman is a test pilot of the Bell plant, later he was president of the National Helicopter Club. He spent 18,000 hours in the air. Sergey Sikorsky is the son of the designer Igor Sikorski.
The ceremony began punctually at 10:00. The Air Force Representative Orchestra entered the stadium to the rhythm of the march. Then the team parade began. Each team was preceded by a girl in a national costume from the Piotrków Land, carrying a plaque with the name of the country. Standard bearers, carrying the national flags of their countries, marched on; Petit Prestont - France, Harald Fritsche - West Germany, Morten Meng - USA, Clive Samuels - UK, Walery Smirnow - CCCP, Zdzisław Treder - Poland. The opening speech was delivered by Włodzimierz Stefański, Voivode of Piotrków. On behalf of the government of the People's Republic of Poland, Major General Jan Raczkowski spoke. There were also speeches by foreign guests. The Orchestra's parade drill has completed its official opening. Then the aviation part began. Former modelers with tethered and free-flying models. Then there were the delayed opening parachute jumps from the PZL Mi-2 helicopter. Late acrobatics were performed by the aerobatic pilot Jerzy Makula on the Zlin 526 AFS plane. There was a launch of the Canon hot air balloon, which was piloted by Stefan Makne. The opening ceremony was like the start of the Olympics. She was uplifting and classy.
The first competition was held on Sunday afternoon. We managed to play the competition before the evening, because then there was a storm and downpour over Piotrków Trybunalski.
The first competition was August 16, 1981. Sunday.
Rally and rescue operation.
They won jointly by Donne JAWKES and Robert STOLWORTHY, USA, 200 points, Irvin STARROCK and Robert MULLER, USA, 200 points. All these airmen served on a daily basis at the base in Alabama, USA.
The competition lasted from 12:00 to 15:30. The crew took off from the airport and had to cover 70 km of the designated route, which had to be covered at an altitude of 150 m without stopping and snaking. The crews had to be at the finish line, at the stadium, at exactly the appointed time, plus or minus 60 seconds. Now it was to insert a bottle of champagne hanging on a rope into a 40 cm x 40 cm opening. The opening was located in a roof composed of two boards with dimensions of 2.0 m x 2.0 m. There were 3 minutes for this task. Some called this quest "Champagne Aid."
Second competition August 17, 1981. Monday.
Precise maneuvers. A helicopter flight on a specified 200 m track and a helicopter maneuver with 360-degree and 90-degree turns, maintaining a constant altitude of 2 to 3 m. At the end of the flight, precise landing at a specified point with a single approach.
Won ex aequo; ten crews that did not make a mistake and met the time limit, scoring 200 points.
After night storms and rain, it didn't rain anymore in the morning, but it cooled down and the wind was blowing, 7-8 m / s. At 9:00 am, a briefing took place at the airport, and during it, the starting places were drawn. And just like on the previous day, No. 1 went to the Polish crew. The start of the competition took place at 11:30. After the first practice starts, the crews suggested to the judges that the competition field should be turned 180 degrees (downwind the first stage), which was done. Eventually, the start was at 2:45 PM.
The precision maneuver took place in a square with sides of 50 m and a 20 m long inlet corridor placed at an angle of 45 degrees to the square. The flight was performed at a height of 0.5 m to 2.5 m. This height was controlled with the appropriate length of lines. The helicopter flew along a marked corridor 1 m wide: front, side, back and oblique. There was a time limit, 3 minutes 30 seconds. Penalty points were for: wrong height, wrong order of task execution, deviation of the helicopter from the correct position by more than 30 degrees, leaving the corridor, exceeding the time limit.
Third competition on August 18, 1981. Tuesday.
Navigation flight using only maps. Marking the ten points shown in the photos on the map. Mandatory turning points. Limited time.
They won; Konrad HANNES and Gothar OEHLER RFN.
It was a Polish day. It is true that the team from Germany won, but the Polish teams took places 2 to 7 and 9. Teresa Ćwik-Maszczyńska and Anna Iwańska were in second place. The players from CCCP fell tragically. The first crew was in 18th place. The weather was nice from the morning. The sun was shining. The sky was cloudless. There was a briefing at 9:00 am. Start at 10:30. Each flight took approximately 90 minutes. After the flight, the crews were isolated so that they would not pass on information to others. Initial results were at around 4pm. In the evening they were already official.
Fourth competition on August 19, 1981. Wednesday.
Slalom. Take off with an empty water container (bucket) attached to the end of a rope held by an operator leaning out of the door on the helicopter. You have to get the water from the barrel. Fly through 10 gates 1 meter wide in the correct order. Finally, put the bucket on the table. Limited flight time.
He won ex aequo; three crews from the USA, CCCP and Poland. 200 points each. Overall, the Polish crews did not do well. In this competition, as a team, we took the last place.
Briefing at 9:00 am. Start at 12:00. The slalom took place in a designated rectangle with dimensions of 200 m x 120 m. Inlet corridor 20 m and exit corridor 30 m. Flight time 4 minutes. At the end, a round table with a diameter of 1 m with a white center 20 cm diagonally. There were 12 gates in the rectangle, limited by 2 m high posts with a distance of 1 m. The gates were numbered in the sketch and had the direction of flight indicated. Bucket weighing 5 kg, suspended on a 5 m rope held by the operator. Before taking off, the water was poured into a bucket and all weighed. There was 1 penalty point for each loss of 50 grams of water.
The fifth competition on August 20, 1981. Thursday.
The fifth competition for the Rosemary Rose Cup was optional, individual. There was only the pilot on board. It was free acrobatics. The winner was Karl Zimmermann from West Germany on the Bolkow Bo-105 helicopter. It was then, for the first time in Poland, that you could see a loop and a barrel made on this helicopter. The only helicopter that can do it, anyway. Karl Zimmermann is the only pilot in Europe to do a regular loop. In 2015, he stated, "There are still two pilots in the US who can do it, and all in Russia." Another pilot said - "Now (2016) in Russia, every helicopter pilot knows how to make a loop - he only ends it underground."
The end.
It should be added that the closing ceremony of the competition, on August 22, 1981, was also held at the stadium. Both events were commented on by Tadeusz Sznuk, a pilot, journalist and announcer. There were also the authors of the scientific TV program "Sonda", Mr. Andrzej Kurek and Mr. Zdzisław Kamiński. They filmed the struggles of the crews and presented them in their next program.
The Americans became world champions, both individual and team. In general, the Americans made a great impression on everyone. They flew from Warsaw to Piotrków Trybunalski in a compact formation of helicopters. The accredited journalists recognized a Polish woman, Anna Iwańska, as the prettiest and nicest participant of the championship. In turn, the greatest bad luck was Bernd Wunderlich from West Germany, the then world champion in modeling, who crashed his championship model of the "Bell Jet Ranger" helicopter in Piotrków.
The American pilots won individually and as a team. However, the greatest number of medals from Piotrków was taken by representatives of West Germany - 1 zloty in free flight, 2 silver in the crew and team classification, and 2 bronze in the crew and free-flight classification. The only surprise was one medal of the CCCP team - silver in the free flight competition. But the bigger surprise was that the pilot from CCCP got it at all. His Mil Mi-1 was barely rocking in the sky. It was a gulf between the Bolkow Bo-105. I think the jury made a little scam so that "our brothers" would not leave without a medal and there would be no diplomatic and party conflict.
All helicopters participating in the competition were military, although some were painted in civilian colors. Former helicopters: Bell 205, Bell 206, Mil Mi-1, PZL Mi-2, Alouette II, AB-206 Jet Ranger III, Hughes-500D, Gazelle, Enstrom F-28, Bolkow Bo-105. In Piotrków Trybunalski, one of the two Mi-2 SP-SPT helicopters manufactured in Świdnik in 1978 for the Institute of Ecology of the Academy of Sciences was presented in pale orange colors. In total, the competitors had 30 helicopters.
General classification of Poles:
4th place Artur Szarawara, Henryk Moryc.
9th place Zbigniew Domina, Andrzej Górnicki.
11th place Zdzisław Treder, A. Sawicki.
12th place: K. Wojnicz, J. Janukowicz.
15th place Zbigniew Olszewski, Bogusław Kowalówczan.
20th place is R. Kasperek, K. Grzesiczak.
23rd place Teresa Ćwik-Maszczyńska, Anna Iwańska.
25th place Kazimierz Jakubiszak, Jan Kwaśniak.
Team classification.
1 USA, 2 Germany, 3 Poland, 4 CCCP, 5 UK.
XV Helicopter World Championships. 2015 year.
The 15th World Helicopter Championships were held in Zielona Góra. After 34 years, the event returned to Poland. The main organizers were the Zielona Góra Aero Club and the Helisport Association. The place of the event was Przylep Airport.
The event lasted from August 13, 2015 to August 16, 2015. It was connected with the Helicopter Picnic.
Nearly 60 teams were entered in the competition. Ultimately, 46 teams from 13 countries took part: including Germany, Austria, Ukraine, Belarus, Great Britain, Russia, China and Macao. Poland will put up four teams, including one female. Poland was represented by: Maria Muś and Magdalena Woch, brothers Marcin and Michał Szamborski, Maciej Węgrzecki and Jakub Malec as well as Jędrzej Wiler and Jacek Ciszewski.
Program of the 15th FAI Helicopter World Championships and "Helicopter Picnic":
Thursday, August 13, 9-18 hours - competition 1: Navigation.
Friday, August 14, 10-12: 30 - competition 2: Precision flying. 2:30 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. - competition 3: Fender rigging.
Saturday, August 15, Noon - opening of the picnic. 1 p.m. - 2 p.m. - helicopter shows (Slalom) - competition 4. 2 p.m. - 4 p.m. - helicopter demonstrations by invited participants (army, border guard, police). 16-18 - helicopter demonstrations (Freestyle) - competition 5. 18 - end of the picnic.
Sunday, August 16, 12 o'clock - opening of the picnic - gastronomic and recreational zone. 12-14 - helicopter shows (Parallel Racing) - competition 6. 14-16 - helicopter shows of invited participants (army, border guard, police). 4 pm - award ceremony. Time: 18 - end of the picnic.
The 5th and 6th competition were assessed separately and did not belong to the general classification. For the general classification, points from four competitions were taken into account - navigation, precision flying, fender rigging and slalom. Compared to 1981, they were a bit different and more difficult.
Despite the much larger number of crews, the time of the event was shorter. Two competitions were played on one day. The number of judges was much greater and several teams competed simultaneously.
As expected, the most valuable trophies were won by players from the Moscow state. Maxim Sotnikov and Oleg Puajukas won with 1 194.1 points. out of 1,200 possible. The next steps on the podium were taken by their compatriots Viktor Korotaev and Vladimir Ziablikov, as well as Aleksei Maiorov and Sergei Kostin.
The highest-ranked Poles, brothers Marcin and Michał Szamborski, took an excellent 8th place (1,150 points). Pilots Jędrzej Wiler and Jacek Ciszewski took 32nd place.
Of course, the players from the Moscow state won in the team classification. The Polish helicopter staff took an excellent 5th place.
Ski jumper Thomas Morgenstern from Austria started in the championship as one of the pilots. He took 21st position in the individual classification. Thomas won the junior ranking, i.e. pilots with a flight time of no more than 250 hours.
Competitions played.
Competition 1: Navigation. they won; Viktor Korotaev / Vladimir Ziablikov, Russia, 299.7 points.
Competition 2: "fender" precision flying. they won; Elena Zhuperina, Nikolay Rodionov, Russia, 300 points.
Competition 3: "precise flight". they won; Alexander Zhuperin / Nikolay Burov, Russia, 300 points.
Competition 4: "slalom". they won; Viktor Degtyar / Petr Vasiliev, Russia, 298.9 points.
Competition 5: additional "freestyle". The winner was Siegfried Schwarz Austria 180.0 points.
Competition 6: The parallel race was more of a show than a competition.
Written by Karol Placha Hetman