Book Review of
PZL TS-11 Iskra bis DF
Authors: Dariusz Katnas & Artur Juszczak
Mushroom Model Publications (MMP)
Single No. 39
ISBN: 978-83-66549-55-5
By Ray Mehlberger
Copyright: 2021
MSRP: $11.90
Single No. 39
ISBN: 978-83-66549-55-5
By Ray Mehlberger
Copyright: 2021
MSRP: $11.90
HISTORY:
The PZL TS-11 Iskra (English: Spark) is a Polish jet trainer, developed and manufactured by aircraft company PZL-Mielec. It was used by the air forces of Poland and India. It is notable as being the first domestically-developed jet aircraft to be produced by Poland, its service for over 50 years as the principal training aircraft of the Polish Air Force, and at the time of its retirement was the oldest jet-propelled aircraft still in service in Poland.
As a part of efforts to preserve Poland's ability to independently develop aircraft in an era of political and economic subservience to the neighboring Soviet Union, during the 1950s, Polish engineers at the Poland's Aviation Institute (IL) commenced early work upon the design of what would become the first jet aircraft to be developed in Poland.
Following the death of Joseph Stalin, work on the initiative could be performed more openly and government officials became supportive of such a venture. The fledgling design was heavily influenced by the requirements specified by the Polish Air Force, who had formalised a requirement for a jet-propelled aircraft for training purposes.
On 5 February 1960, the first prototype conducted its maiden flight, powered by an imported British Armstrong Siddeley Viper turbojet engine.During 1963, deliveries of the first production model of the type, designated as the TS-11 Iskra bis A, commenced to the Polish Air Force. During the 1960s, the Iskra competed to be selected as the standard jet trainer throughout the Warsaw Pact.
However, it was not selected to fulfil this significant role, the rival Czechoslovakian Aero L-29 Delfín having been chosen instead, which went on to be built in greater numbers for a wide number of export customers. Production of the TS-11 came to an end during 1987, however the type remained in service with the Polish Air Force and the Indian Air Force into the 21st century.
From 1969 onwards, a handful of TS-11s have been used by the Polish Air Forces' Biało-Czerwone Iskry aerobatics display team, who performed their last display on 22 August 2021. It has also been used for aerial reconnaissance purposes. During the aircraft's later years of service, several examples have been sold onto private owners.
SPECIFICATIONS:
Crew: 2
Length: 11.15 m (36 ft 7 in)
Wingspan: 10.06 m (33 ft 0 in)
Height: 3.5 m (11 ft 6 in)
Wing area: 17.5 m2 (188 sq ft)
Airfoil: root: NACA 64-209; tip: NACA 64-009[20]
Empty weight: 2,560 kg (5,644 lb)
Gross weight: 3,734 kg (8,232 lb) [21]
Max takeoff weight: 3,840 kg (8,466 lb)
Powerplant: 1 × WSK SO-3 turbojet engine, 9.81 kN (2,210 lbf) thrust
Maximum speed: 720 km/h (450 mph, 390 kn) at 5,000 m (16,404 ft)
Cruise speed: 600 km/h (370 mph, 320 kn)
Stall speed: 140 km/h (87 mph, 76 kn)
Never exceed speed: 750 km/h (470 mph, 400 kn)
Range: 1,250 km (780 mi, 670 nmi)
Service ceiling: 11,000 m (36,000 ft)
Rate of climb: 14.8 m/s (2,910 ft/min)
Wing loading: 213 kg/m2 (44 lb/sq ft)
Thrust/weight: 0.30
Armament: 1x 23 mm NS-23 or NR-23 cannon in the nose, 4 underwing pylons, up to 400 kg (880 lb) of bombs or unguided S-5 rocket pods Mars-4 (8 rockets) or Zeus-1 (12,7mm) gun packs.
THE BOOK:
Mushroom Model Publications (MMP) is based in the UK. This book was printed by their associate Stratus in Poland.
The book is soft-cover of 24 pages in 8 ¼” x 11 34” page format
The cover is a bright-yellow background with a color illustration of a PZL TS-11 Iskra on it.
It is an above view that wraps around the spine of the book with half of it on the back cover.
The Iskra is overall white, with red wing and elevator tips, forward ends of the air intakes and nose tip. It has a black anti-glare panel in front of the windshield.
There are 34 black and white photos and 9 color ones in the book. A line-drawing 6-view profiles illustration in 1/72nd scale, with illustrations of the bulkheads inside the fuselage and their locations.
Another 6-view line drawing in 1/48th scale with the bulkhead illustrations.
Line drawings of the wings and their interiors, the joystick, foot-pedals and landing gear. Including 2 black and white photos of the landing gear.
Twenty-three photos are of the walk-around type, showing various features inside and out of the aircraft. Four are of the ejection seat and two color ones are of the dashboard.
The book ends with a color 4-view profile of the Iskra in the cover art scheme. It further shows it to have a red nose tip, a logo of a black panther’s head with its nose on a circle, followed by a blue shield with Polish AF checkerboard insignia on it, surrounded by white feathers, a white eagle in flight over the checkerboard, a black oval at the top with white no. 61 on it, a darker-blue section with white L’PSzB on it over white 1958, over a yellow ribbon with black Per Aspera Ad Astra on it, on the sides of its nose.
It has a large black serial no. 1708 on the fuselage sides under the windshield, a red rudder tip, Polish AF checkerboard insignias on the fuselage sides, rudder sides, top and bottom of the wings.
This is a neat book about this aircraft. It will be of interest to modelers planning on building a model of an Iskra and to aviation enthusiasts alike.
I sincerely wish to thank Casemate Publishers for this review sample. Casemate is the N. American distributor of MMP books and all their titles can be viewed on Casemate’s website at:
The PZL TS-11 Iskra (English: Spark) is a Polish jet trainer, developed and manufactured by aircraft company PZL-Mielec. It was used by the air forces of Poland and India. It is notable as being the first domestically-developed jet aircraft to be produced by Poland, its service for over 50 years as the principal training aircraft of the Polish Air Force, and at the time of its retirement was the oldest jet-propelled aircraft still in service in Poland.
As a part of efforts to preserve Poland's ability to independently develop aircraft in an era of political and economic subservience to the neighboring Soviet Union, during the 1950s, Polish engineers at the Poland's Aviation Institute (IL) commenced early work upon the design of what would become the first jet aircraft to be developed in Poland.
Following the death of Joseph Stalin, work on the initiative could be performed more openly and government officials became supportive of such a venture. The fledgling design was heavily influenced by the requirements specified by the Polish Air Force, who had formalised a requirement for a jet-propelled aircraft for training purposes.
On 5 February 1960, the first prototype conducted its maiden flight, powered by an imported British Armstrong Siddeley Viper turbojet engine.During 1963, deliveries of the first production model of the type, designated as the TS-11 Iskra bis A, commenced to the Polish Air Force. During the 1960s, the Iskra competed to be selected as the standard jet trainer throughout the Warsaw Pact.
However, it was not selected to fulfil this significant role, the rival Czechoslovakian Aero L-29 Delfín having been chosen instead, which went on to be built in greater numbers for a wide number of export customers. Production of the TS-11 came to an end during 1987, however the type remained in service with the Polish Air Force and the Indian Air Force into the 21st century.
From 1969 onwards, a handful of TS-11s have been used by the Polish Air Forces' Biało-Czerwone Iskry aerobatics display team, who performed their last display on 22 August 2021. It has also been used for aerial reconnaissance purposes. During the aircraft's later years of service, several examples have been sold onto private owners.
SPECIFICATIONS:
Crew: 2
Length: 11.15 m (36 ft 7 in)
Wingspan: 10.06 m (33 ft 0 in)
Height: 3.5 m (11 ft 6 in)
Wing area: 17.5 m2 (188 sq ft)
Airfoil: root: NACA 64-209; tip: NACA 64-009[20]
Empty weight: 2,560 kg (5,644 lb)
Gross weight: 3,734 kg (8,232 lb) [21]
Max takeoff weight: 3,840 kg (8,466 lb)
Powerplant: 1 × WSK SO-3 turbojet engine, 9.81 kN (2,210 lbf) thrust
Maximum speed: 720 km/h (450 mph, 390 kn) at 5,000 m (16,404 ft)
Cruise speed: 600 km/h (370 mph, 320 kn)
Stall speed: 140 km/h (87 mph, 76 kn)
Never exceed speed: 750 km/h (470 mph, 400 kn)
Range: 1,250 km (780 mi, 670 nmi)
Service ceiling: 11,000 m (36,000 ft)
Rate of climb: 14.8 m/s (2,910 ft/min)
Wing loading: 213 kg/m2 (44 lb/sq ft)
Thrust/weight: 0.30
Armament: 1x 23 mm NS-23 or NR-23 cannon in the nose, 4 underwing pylons, up to 400 kg (880 lb) of bombs or unguided S-5 rocket pods Mars-4 (8 rockets) or Zeus-1 (12,7mm) gun packs.
THE BOOK:
Mushroom Model Publications (MMP) is based in the UK. This book was printed by their associate Stratus in Poland.
The book is soft-cover of 24 pages in 8 ¼” x 11 34” page format
The cover is a bright-yellow background with a color illustration of a PZL TS-11 Iskra on it.
It is an above view that wraps around the spine of the book with half of it on the back cover.
The Iskra is overall white, with red wing and elevator tips, forward ends of the air intakes and nose tip. It has a black anti-glare panel in front of the windshield.
There are 34 black and white photos and 9 color ones in the book. A line-drawing 6-view profiles illustration in 1/72nd scale, with illustrations of the bulkheads inside the fuselage and their locations.
Another 6-view line drawing in 1/48th scale with the bulkhead illustrations.
Line drawings of the wings and their interiors, the joystick, foot-pedals and landing gear. Including 2 black and white photos of the landing gear.
Twenty-three photos are of the walk-around type, showing various features inside and out of the aircraft. Four are of the ejection seat and two color ones are of the dashboard.
The book ends with a color 4-view profile of the Iskra in the cover art scheme. It further shows it to have a red nose tip, a logo of a black panther’s head with its nose on a circle, followed by a blue shield with Polish AF checkerboard insignia on it, surrounded by white feathers, a white eagle in flight over the checkerboard, a black oval at the top with white no. 61 on it, a darker-blue section with white L’PSzB on it over white 1958, over a yellow ribbon with black Per Aspera Ad Astra on it, on the sides of its nose.
It has a large black serial no. 1708 on the fuselage sides under the windshield, a red rudder tip, Polish AF checkerboard insignias on the fuselage sides, rudder sides, top and bottom of the wings.
This is a neat book about this aircraft. It will be of interest to modelers planning on building a model of an Iskra and to aviation enthusiasts alike.
I sincerely wish to thank Casemate Publishers for this review sample. Casemate is the N. American distributor of MMP books and all their titles can be viewed on Casemate’s website at:
Highly Recommended.