Histoire résumée | In 1938, the technical requirements were announced for an international competition using a single type of glider on which pilots from different countries would compete in the Olympics of 1940 at Helsinki. Antoni KOCJAN designed the Orlik III for the contest, which was a development of the Orlik II.
The prototype Orlik III made its first flight in January 1939 at the airport in Warsaw. Few changes were made to the external shape from the Orlik II, however, it had to meet a number of technical requirements. Because of the proximity of Helsinki to water, the fuselage and wings had to be sealed so that it would float if landing on water. The other essential requirements of the competition were a maximum span of 15 m, maximum weight of 168 lb, aerodynamic speed limiting dive brakes (max speed 200 km /h) and ease of construction. Between the 19th and 25th of February 1939, the Orlik III took part in the Olympic glider competition held at the Sezze Littorio airport in Italy, about 90 km from Rome. From the five international gliders tested in terms of structure and flight properties, the first place was won by the German DFS Meise-Olympia, and the second by the Orlik III.
On 04/05/1939, the prototype Olympic Orlik III was damaged during practice for an international event held in Lviv, but was re-built before the war. |