Specifications | Cockpit | More Photographs
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The primary training glider at Deeside Gliding Club is the Puchacz SZD-50-3 or "Puchacz" sailplane.
The Puchacz was designed by PZL Bielsko of Poland. It is intended for primary, intermediate, and aerobatic flight training. It shares the responsive handling characteristics of other sailplanes stressed for upright and inverted aerobatic maneuvers, making it a popular sailplane with club pilots. "Puchacz" is the Polish word for "male owl", and is roughly pronounced as "poo-hotch". But most people call it "pook-hatch" - or simply "pooch".
The Puchacz features nicely finished fiberglass construction, a quiet and fairly comfortable tandem cockpit, and good handling qualities. This combination of characteristics has established the Puchacz as one of the world's favourite two-place sailplanes. It meets both OSTIV and JAR-22 Utility Category certification requirements. It is also approved for extended aerobatics including inverted flight and rolling manoeuvers. It is solidly built of fiberglass epoxy composite and protected by a durable polyurethane.
The Puchacz is among the easiest two-seater sailplanes to assemble. A single pin secures the wings in place. Rigging the tailplane is also easy, with a spring-loaded locking pin automatically securing the assembly. Connection of all flight controls is fully automatic.
Like other ex-Eastern Block gliders, the emphasis is on solid reliability without any frills. The cockpit is spacious for its size mainly due to the complete lack of interior trim, with all control connections and rods clearly exposed. This is in contrast to typical German gliders which are finished internally like a modern car. However, for club flying the Puchacz is rather more affordable.
The Puchacz has adjustable front rudder pedals and an adjustable rear seat to accommodate a wide range of pilot sizes. The one piece side-opening canopy provides good visibility for both pilots, although the rear seat has a limited rearwards view (two small cutaway windows were added to the prototype to overcome concerns over restricted rearwards vision). The front instruments are arranged so they can be viewed from the rear seat, but an optional rear instrument panel is usually fitted.
A key reason for the popularity of the Puchacz is its excellent handling qualities, both on the ground and in flight. Unlike many other trainers it will readily enter a full spin and is therefore more suited to teaching the full flight envelope.