PWS-54

PWS-54
Role	Passenger and mail plane
Manufacturer	PWS
Designer	Zbysław Ciołkosz
First flight	1933
Introduction	1933
Status	prototype
Primary user	LOT Polish Airlines
Number built	1

The PWS-54 was a Polish single-engine passenger and mail plane for three passengers; one alone was built in 1932 in the PWS factory.

The aircraft was designed by Zbysław Ciołkosz for an order of the Ministry of Communication for a fast plane with higher performance than the PWS-24 airliner, for carrying mail or four passengers. Much attention was given to aerodynamics and the PWS-54 was 40 km/h (25 mph) faster than PWS-24, which used the same engine. A prototype, built in 1932, was first flown in early 1933 at Biała Podlaska.

The PWS-54 was evaluated by LOT Polish Airlines from 1933 but after few years it was withdrawn from use and returned to the factory. The design was not quite successful; the main fault was too small a payload, which limited either its capacity or range. It was intended to carry four passengers but at this weight the range was too small (311 mi; 270 nmi (500 km)) to be useful, so it was completed with only three passenger seats. However, because of not too good handling it was not used to carry passengers at all but only for cargo and mail transport. It also had quite long landing run despite air brakes in landing gear covers. A modernized PWS-24bis with a more powerful engine offered the same performance.

The PWS-57 was a high wing cantilever monoplane of mixed construction with an enclosed cockpit and single engine. Its fuselage was steel framed and fabric covered. Its one-piece wing, tapered with elliptical tips in plan, was built around two wooden box spars and covered with stressed plywood. The tail unit, like the fuselage, was steel framed and ply covered, with split, balanced elevators. Fin and tailplane were externally braced together.

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