Even before the end of World War II, in October 1944 in Lublin, the Design and Studies Bureau of the Ministry of Communications, Posts and Telegraphs was established, with A. Sulkowski as its director, who later became the director of the Aviation Experimental Workshops. Engineer Tadeusz Soltyk was appointed head of the design bureau. The Bureau’s first project was the Szpak (Starling) — a very simple four-seat braced low-wing liaison and executive aircraft of wooden construction. The design was ready by the end of October 1944.
After the liberation of Lodz, the design bureau moved to one of the bent furniture factories located in that city, which significantly increased the bureau’s capabilities. It changed its name to the Aviation Experimental Workshops (LWD). Due to greater production capabilities, the decision was made to abandon work on the Szpak-1 and undertake design work on an aircraft of more complex construction. In February 1945, the design of a four-seat braced low-wing aircraft of wooden construction began; it was given the designation Szpak-2. Some of the equipment and metal components for the new design came from wrecks of German aircraft and a crashed Po-2.
The first Polish post-war aircraft, the Szpak-2, registered SP-AAA, made its maiden flight on 28 October 1945. Unfortunately, the flight ended with undercarriage damage, as it was made from steel tubes salvaged from wrecked and burned-out aircraft, which significantly reduced its strength. The official maiden flight of the repaired Szpak-2 took place on 10 November 1945 at the Lublinek airfield in Lodz, in the presence of the Minister of Communications, the Director of the Civil Aviation Department and other representatives of the authorities of the time. Once again, Antoni Szymanski was at the controls.
The following year, the aircraft was transferred to the Aviation Technical Institute in Warsaw, where the Szpak-2 was subjected to tests. These showed that although the aircraft had correct handling characteristics and easily recovered from spins, its cockpit was too cramped and unsuitable for parachute use. Until 1948, the Szpak-2 served as an executive aircraft for government officials and as a factory aircraft for transporting former German aviation scrap, which was used at the LWD. The Szpak-2 also participated in numerous air shows, and in 1948 a flight to Romania and back was made in it.
In 1948, this first Polish post-war aircraft was donated to the collection of the Museum of Technology, from where it was transferred to the Aviation Museum in Kraków.
| Wingspan | 11.32 m |
| Length | 8.05 m |
| Takeoff weight | 950 kg |
| Maximum speed | 200 km/h |
| Ceiling | 4400 m |
| Range | 670 km |
| Armament | – |
| Engine | seven-cylinder air-cooled radial Bramo Sh 14A4 with a power output of 160 hp |
