PWS-101 "Rekin", the glider of Tadeusz Góra

Apart from the aviation, there comes also a little bit of history and geography. Continuing the line of gliders, I'm in a way honored to introduce a very special sailplane of a significant meaning in the history of Polish aviation. PWS-101, reg. marks SP-1004, was a glider that Tadeusz Góra, a polish pilot, flew in 1938 from Bezmiechowa (located in the mountain range of Bieszczady) to Soleczniki Małe (near Vilnius), covering the distance of about 360 miles (580 km). Back in the day, it was a remarkable accomplishment and the flight distance record was set, while Tadeusz Góra, as the first pilot in history, was awarded the Lilienthal Gliding Medal.

Being unable to determine how the glider of Góra actually looked like, I decided to go for the replica, SP-1005, a model of which is to be found at Bezmiechowa itself. By the way, Bezmiechowa is also where my plushie has settled :)

Wingspan measured approximately 24 inches, and the length is about 10 inches.

 Facing the beautiful landscape from the top of the mountain of Bezmiechowa

The gliding field at Bezmiechowa

In the picture with the, well, 'original replica'

SZD-22C Mucha Standard

Introducing another glider of Polish construction, SZD-22C Mucha Standard (a "Fly"). It was a pleasure to work on an aircraft that's not white anymore; plus, I have to admit that there is something about yellow and red aircraft that I truly enjoy, somewhat inspired by the movie "Stuart Little 2" I watched a lot of times way back in my childhood.Glider measures about 24 inches of wingspan and about 12 of length. What turned out challenging was the wingtip, a separate thin slat at the end of the wing, and the red leading edge of the wing.

Velocity Aircraft

Cuddly Airplanes fleet has been expanded with an uncommon kind of an aircraft - a canard, Velocity Aircraft (type SE). New type for me meant new challenges, and there indeed were a couple.

One of them was the shape of the fuselage, which I carefully studied and sketched from different perspectives before I begun to sew. I have undertaken two failed attempts until I got the right shape.

Another difficulty was the turboprop engine, which the entire fuselage ends with, creating a cone-like shape. Since the craft is quite big itself, the prop blades needed to be proportionally big, and I couldn't simplify their shape anymore. That's why Velocity has three blades of a slightly twisted shape, resembling the one of a real blade. 

What I enjoy about Velocity? From a visual point of view, I like the winglets which are significantly big due to lacking vertical stabilizer. Shape of the wings, on the other hand, caused the wing joint to be very long, which resulted in a thickened airfoil. That was a bit challenging when putting all pieces together, but brought back a wonderful effect. 

Velocity measures about 60 cm of wingspan. 

SZD-30 "Pirat"

Let me introduce another glider of a Polish construction: a single-seat SZD 'Pirat" (a Pirate) type 'A', registration marks: SP-2880. 

What makes it perhaps the most challenging aircraft I've made so far? First thing is all the details, including some really tiny writings, as well as a lot of colorful elements including the ailerons, the nose, the vertical and horizontal stabilizers, and the fuselage. However, what turned out to be even more challenging were the wings. They have a symmetrical bend somewhere in the middle, and then the outer halves are slightly uplifted, significantly enough to be noticed and gently enough for it to be difficult to obtain the right angle. 

But I made it!

SZD-50 "Puchacz"

SZD-50 glider, called 'Puchacz' (an eagle-owl), is a two-seat sailplane of the Polish construction dedicated for training flying.

It is the first glider in Fanciful Sewings aircraft fleet, and the first aircraft to have an airfoil imitating the real one.

Wing view 

 Top view

The original sailplane (picture of my own)

Scheibe Falke 25 D-KMAX

The airplane fleet is expanding. 

I have recently moved away from the airliners and focused on the general aviation aircraft instead. 

Let me introduce D-KMAX (whom I call K-Max), a Scheibe Falke SF-25 motorglider. Originating from Germany, it now belongs to one of Polish airports and conquers not only Poland itself, but a lot of other European countries as well. 

The motorglider resembles an airplane rather than a glider, though its long wings produce enough lift for Falke to be effectively flown as an engineless sailplane. To be honest, Falke's unusual wing profile was what inspired me to sew it in the first place, for I could immediately picture the wing design in my head. I badly wanted to test it and the results turned out just as good as I'd hoped. 

The new techniques introduced in the design of K-Max include the wing profile (the wings I now work on are not flat anymore, but they actually more or less keep the airfoil of a real one), a rotatable spinner (yes, it does rotate!), and the landing gear supported by a thick wire. 

The small guy and the big guy. If you look closely, the plushie is standing on the aircraft's right wing.

Alaska Airlines Bombardier Q400

Airplane time!

Next airplane has landed in my collection. It's a short-haul Bombardier Q400 of Alaska Airlines.

No innovations here, except for the engines - it's the first turboprop, and I already know I don't like working with the prop's blades.

The airplane is about 10 inches in length.

Waterproof fabric markers come handy in situations such as these - Alaska Airlines has one of the toughest logos to embroider. That's why I drew it, instead of embroidering.

An original airplane at the airport in Yakima, WA. 

The Small Guy and the Big Guy

Airbus A330-300, Delta Arlines

After a long break from sewing, I'm back with something different. Well, not quite, but temporarily I gave up the "How to Sew Your Dragon" project since DreamWorks overwhelms us with too many new species being introduces to the movies and series. 

Instead, I decided to develop the Airplanes project. I had made two airplanes before, but recently I thought of expanding my aircraft fleet having come up with some really cool solutions and techniques that needed to be implemented. 

And so, on New Year's Eve, an Airbus A330-300 of Delta Airlines, registration N820NW, was finished.

The sketches and the final outcome.

What's new about this airplane is, most importantly, the wings. I used foam sheets to make them stiff inside. Previous airplanes have their wings stuffed, and however nice and soft it is, foam wings make the wings thinner and thus the airplane looking way more realistic.

It is also my first airplane to have winglets.

 I used a silver, glossy fabric to make engine and wing edges, so that they look metallic.

All the writings are hand-embroidered. 

An original A330-300 of Delta Airlines