GPM 0224 SZD-18 Czajka

SZD-18 Czajka was a Polish, prototype, one-seat, wooden training glider with a high wing configuration. The glider was developed by Tadeusz Grudzieński, but they were responsible for refining the project Szybowcowe Zakłady Doświadczalne (SZD) with headquarters in Bielsko-Biała. The prototype flight took place in 1957. The design did not enter serial production. The curb weight was only 126 kilograms.

The progenitor of the SZD-18 was created in connection with the competition announced by the League of Friends of the Soldiers for the design of the successor of the popular IS-3 ABC and was to become a new basic training glider in Polish flying clubs. The competition was won by Tadeusz Grudziński, and his design was sent to the SZD plant in Bielsko-Biała. After the project was refined by the team led by Eng. Władysław Okarmus was flown and the glider was designated SZD-18. The glider showed good flight characteristics, but due to changes in the training of glider pilots, the project was abandoned and the prototype was handed over to the Polish Aviation Museum in Krakow in 1966.