1933 – Stanisław Skarżyński, Conqueror of the Atlantic. Event Report

The meeting began at 10:00 in the Museum’s conference room. Director Tomasz Kosecki welcomed all guests. He was accompanied by Col. Pilot Sławomir Byliniak, Commander of the 8th Air Transport Base, which bears the patronage of Stanisław Skarżyński. Some of the exhibits on display — a collection of memorabilia of the Polish pilot — came from the Tradition Room at the 8th Base and were loaned to the Polish Aviation Museum until 30 June. During the first part of the event, attendees could learn about the important role of Skarżyński in the history of aviation and his enormous contribution to the development of this field.

A special guest at the event was Stefan Skarzyński, a relative of Stanisław Skarżyński, who shared stories and anecdotes from the pilot’s life. This moving speech touched many an aviation enthusiast’s heart. Marek Kiełpiński, curator and Head of the Club at the 8th Air Transport Base, who on a daily basis leads groups “from nursery school to university students” around the Tradition Room. The 8th Air Transport Base was named after Col. Stanisław Skarżyński in 1985.

Also from the 8th Base, Capt. Karol Bałdyga and Senior Warrant Officer Fabian Śmitkowski came to visit us. They showed how to honour Skarżyński’s memory in an unusual way — with a bicycle trip to Skarżyński’s grave. And since this grave is located all the way in the Netherlands, the trip lasted a full 11 days. On site, they took part in ceremonies and led a roll call, which was met with a very positive response from, among others, local media, the mayor and veterans of aviation who were present. As a keepsake, they collected soil from Skarżyński’s grave and delivered it to the aviators’ chapel in Jaworzno.

An important part of the programme was also the presentation and film about the RWD-5bis replica. Andrzej Sarata and Michał Urbańczyk from the Experimental Aviation Association EAA 991 spoke about the entire process of rebuilding the replica of the aircraft in which Skarżyński flew across the Atlantic.

The exhibition opening began at 11:30. The exhibition “1933 — Stanisław Skarżyński, Conqueror of the Atlantic” was organised by Ewa Cuber-Strutyńska, Museum Curator, Chief Inventorist and Head of the Museum Collections Inventory Department. The project is closely linked stylistically to last year’s exhibition “Challenge Successes 1932–1934” and together they form a coherent narrative about Polish aviators from the interwar period and their aviation achievements. The guided tour was led by Jarosław Dobrzyński.

The second part of the lectures focused on transatlantic flights, their history and contemporary pilots flying across the Atlantic. Dr Krzysztof Mroczkowski spoke passionately about the first attempts to fly across the Atlantic, while special guests — pilots Piotr Wilk and Tomasz Wojtowicz — recounted their adventurous and emotional flights across the ocean: Wojtowicz in a Cessna 152, and Wilk in a Robinson R44 helicopter.

The second part of the lectures focused on transatlantic flights, their history and contemporary pilots flying across the Atlantic. Dr Krzysztof Mroczkowski spoke passionately about the first attempts to fly across the Atlantic, while special guests — pilots Piotr Wilk and Tomasz Wojtowicz — recounted their adventurous and emotional flights across the ocean: Wojtowicz in a Cessna 152, and Wilk in a Robinson R44 helicopter. The entire event attracted great interest among both aviation enthusiasts and those interested in the history of Poland. The 90th anniversary of Skarżyński’s transatlantic flight was an excellent occasion to recall Polish glory and to honour one of the most important figures in the history of Polish aviation.