Błażyński Polon

Reports of the first German glider contest, flown on the Wasserkuppe in the late summer of 1920, generated considerable interest in Poland leading to the First Polish Glider Contest, held at Czarna Góra between 30 August and 13 September 1923. The contest was not a great success, limited by novice designers and pilots and a poor site. The clear winner was the SL 1 Akar which managed a 186 s flight and the Polon was its only serious competitor, with an early 98 s flight before being written off in a spectator-related accident.^[1]

Compared with the Akar the Polon was lighter and aerodynamically cleaner. It also had a high aspect ratio (12.1) wing^[1] compared with most 1923 gliders apart from that of the German Darmstadt Konsul (16.7).^[2] This wing, essentially rectangular in plan apart from rounded tips and widened ailerons,^[3] was built around twin spars^[4] and fabric covered. It was shoulder mounted to the upper fuselage longerons, with lift wires between the spars and the lower fuselage longerons.

The Polon had a rectangular section fuselage built around four longerons. The forward part was plywood-covered and the rear fabric-covered, with a wire-braced ply and fabric-covered empennage.^[1] The fin was triangular and mounted a generous rhombic rudder, leaving a gap below in which the elevator could work. The tailplane very small, essentially just a mounting for a large area, roughly semi-circular, balanced rudder.^[3]

The Polon had a narrow-track undercarriage, its mainwheels close to the fuselage bottom and sides on a cross-axle with shock absorbers mounted within the fuselage.^[1]