Poland

Subsequent trials were conducted with a different type of aircraft: the Breguet XIV, which had better stability and payload capacity than the Potez. Two Breguet XIV aircraft, serial numbers 10.11 and 10.69, were adapted by installing tanks holding 100 kg, and later 200 kg. These and subsequent devices were built at the Technical Bureau of the Military Gas Institute in Warsaw. In 1927, in the Włocławek Forest District, a Farman Goliath bomber was used with a dusting device installed inside the fuselage. Esturmit (or esternit) – a mixture of calcium arsenate and copper sulphate imported from Germany – was sprayed against the pine processionary moth. That same year, Breguet aircraft were used to protect sugar beet crops; the spraying device with a 250 kg powder tank was designed by Col. Wojnicz-Sianożęcki.

Since military aircraft had to be restored to their military functions after treatments, it was not possible to optimally adapt them for agricultural aviation work. No private enterprise in Poland undertook to design appropriate equipment, although the benefits of using aviation in agriculture and forestry were recognised. An interesting example of experiments using aircraft for the benefit of agriculture was the work of Dr Eng. Jadwiga Pitulanka. This pilot of the Kraków Aero Club conducted in-flight research on the airborne transport of small insects, which was intended to enable monitoring of the appearance and migration of crop pests.

Between 1951 and 1955, six Lisunov Li-2 passenger aircraft belonging to PLL LOT (a Soviet-licensed version of the American Douglas DC-3, also used as a military transport) were adapted to carry 2 tonnes of chemicals and used for forest dusting. Scheduled airliners participated in the spring forest pest control campaign and were then returned to passenger service. In addition to passenger Li-2s, PLL LOT also purchased and operated 20 CSS-13 aircraft in 1952–57 and 14 Piper Cubs in 1952–53 for this purpose. Besides forest protection, the aircraft also took part in the fight against the “Colorado beetle” – the potato beetle, whose appearance in Poland was portrayed as a “crime of American aviators” who had supposedly deliberately dropped the pest onto GDR territory, from where it “made its way” to Poland. PLL LOT carried out agricultural aviation work until 1955. The mid-1950s saw the transfer of agricultural aviation services to sports aviation. Initially this was the Liga Lotnicza (Aviation League), and from 1956 the Aeroklub PRL, which possessed a network of airfields, pilots and technical facilities for aircraft maintenance. Various units were established within the Aeroklub structure, the last in 1968: the Przedsiębiorstwo Usług Lotniczych (PUL – Aviation Services Enterprise).

The first foreign contract was signed in 1956 for forest dusting in Bulgaria using 5 CSS-13 aircraft. The next contract that launched the development of export services, signed in 1967, was for cotton crop protection in Egypt and Sudan. This contract was carried out by a team from WSK Mielec in cooperation with PUL. In 1972, the Zakład Usług Agrolotniczych (ZUA – Agricultural Aviation Services Plant), part of WSK PZL Warszawa-Okęcie, took over agricultural aviation services from the Aeroklub along with equipment and crews. In 1975, the Zakład Eksploatacji Usług Śmigłowcowych (ZEUŚ – Helicopter Services Operation Plant) was established at WSK Świdnik for helicopter services. These enterprises held the status of main service provider and carried out domestic services independently, while foreign contracts could be concluded through the foreign trade company PHZ PEZETEL. Simultaneously, the scientific and training infrastructure was developing. Research and training of agricultural aviation personnel was conducted by the Experimental and Training Centre of the Institute of Aviation “Agrolot” in Kętrzyn, later taken over by ZUA. Pupils of the Agricultural Mechanisation Technical School in Karolewo and students of the Agricultural and Technical Academy in Olsztyn were trained there for agricultural pilot qualifications. In Kętrzyn, the ART also conducted certification tests of agricultural equipment for all aviation manufacturers.

Initially, these were licensed designs and their modifications, such as the multi-purpose An-2R produced at WSK PZL Mielec, or the PZL-101 Gawron from WSK PZL Warszawa Okęcie. As demand for agricultural aviation services grew, the design, testing and production of new domestic aircraft began. At WSK PZL Świdnik, production of the Mi-1 (SM-1) and later the Mi-2 helicopter commenced, both having agricultural versions. In the 1970s and 80s, a family of specialist 2nd generation agricultural aircraft was created: the PZL-106 Kruk and PZL M-18 Dromader. Production of the world’s first jet-powered agricultural aircraft, the M-15 Belphegor, was also launched.

At the engine factories WSK PZL-Kalisz and WSK PZL-Rzeszów, piston and turbine engines were produced, while the WSK plants in Wrocław and Warszawa-Praga manufactured assemblies and onboard equipment for these aircraft. Exports developed. In total, approximately 15,000 aeroplanes and helicopters in agricultural versions were produced in Poland. Most of them were exported, and around 400 operated in Polish service enterprises. The scale of agricultural aircraft and helicopter production in Poland is evidenced by the fact that at the turn of the 1970s and ’80s, PZL-Mielec (producer of the An-2R, M-15 and M-18, and their derivatives) was the world’s largest manufacturer of utility aircraft. more: list of countries where Polish agricultural aircraft were exported

Polish agricultural aviators worked in 20 countries around the world, in areas as diverse as Africa, Asia and Europe (Iran, Scandinavia). The Polish organisational model, in which service activities were closely linked with design, research, production of specialist equipment and crew training, proved to be the key to success. For crews, organisers and technicians, foreign operations represented a complex challenge. Different climatic conditions, variety of tasks and logistical problems were a demanding test of Polish specialists’ training, organisational skills and adaptability. Contracts in distant countries involved bold long-distance flights over seas and mountains, often at the limits of the agricultural aircraft’s capabilities.

Working in countries exotic to Poles also required the ability to communicate with people of different cultures, political and legal systems. The long-term presence of Polish agricultural aviation in distant countries proves that these challenges were met superbly. On foreign markets there was no central planning, but competition with other companies providing agricultural aviation services. Poles carried out operations on the largest scale in Africa, where for many years there were permanent technical bases with airfields at Benha (Egypt) and Hassaheisa (Sudan). The bases provided extensive facilities for agricultural aviators, with chemical stores, workshops and hangar shelters. In addition to aircraft, hundreds of ground vehicles were shipped to Africa, serving to support the aeroplanes, transport personnel and cargo. more: export of services and equipment

The liquidation of State Agricultural Farms (PGR), the abandonment of forest fertilisation drastically reduced the domestic market. New “players” appeared on the world market. Competition came primarily from Balkan companies, and local African firms also emerged. These companies offered lower prices that were below the profitability threshold for Polish enterprises. Local firms often utilised aircraft ceded by the Poles.

The last contracts for agricultural services expired at the end of the first decade of the 21st century. Only Świdnik-based Heliseco – the successor to ZEUŚ – still carries out firefighting operations on the Iberian Peninsula (using Sokół helicopters). Polish service enterprises significantly reduced the number of aircraft and personnel. Aircraft production was terminated. Thus the “golden era” in the history of Polish agricultural aviation came to a close.

The most spectacular aerial firefighting operation took place on 26 August 1994 near Kuźnia Raciborska in Silesia, where 22 Dromaders were deployed to fight a catastrophic forest fire. An-2 aeroplanes and Mi-2 helicopters with suspended bambi bucket tanks, which can be filled directly from water reservoirs, are also used for firefighting. Polish agricultural aviators carried out forest fire protection services also in Spain, Portugal and Chile. Forestry services continue to be performed – spraying substances to combat pest invasions and dropping meat containing rabies vaccine for foxes.

Insect spraying is also carried out in urban areas, as unlike the substances used in the past, modern agents are completely safe. The traditions of the Polish agricultural aviation industry are maintained by PZL Mielec, which in the first decade of the 21st century, despite production having long since ended, still had the PZL M-18 Dromader in its commercial offer. In the future, there may be a renaissance of agricultural aviation if the character of farming in Poland changes. More large-acreage farms could mean increased demand for agricultural aviation services. The future will show whether new Polish agricultural aviation designs will also emerge.

The difficult conditions and pace of work caused accidents in which equipment was damaged and people even lost their lives. Approximately 70 fatalities were recorded during service operations at home and abroad. They are commemorated on the Memorial Wall at the MLP (eastern end of the taxiway). A plaque placed there, dedicated to victims of aviation accidents, bears the names, years and countries in which agricultural aviators perished. The ceremonial opening of the exhibition and unveiling of the memorial plaque took place in September 2011, with the participation of attendees of the 3rd Agricultural Aviators’ Congress, which brought together all those associated with the design, research, production, supervision, trade and operation of agricultural aircraft.

The next, 4th Agricultural Aviators’ Congress was held at the National Museum of Agriculture and Food Industry in Szreniawa on 8–9 November 2014. The main attraction of the congress was the opening of a renovated agricultural aviation exhibition, featuring agricultural aeroplanes and helicopters: CSS-13, WSK An-2R, PZL-101 Gawron, WSK Mi-2R, PZL-104 Wilga 35, PZL-106BR Kruk, PZL M-15 Belphegor, PZL M-18 Dromader, Let L-200D Morava, as well as agricultural aviation equipment, documents and photographs. more: list of accident victims