A training aircraft developed in 1932 by engineers Stanislaw Wigura, Leszek Duleba, Stanislaw Rogalski and Jerzy Drzewiecki from the Aviation Section of the Mechanical Engineering Students’ Association at the Warsaw University of Technology, to replace the obsolete Morane AR35EP2 and Hanriot H.28 machines. Its concept was based on the French Morane MS.180 and MS.230. It was a two-seat high-wing monoplane of mixed construction (fuselage welded from steel tubes, wooden wings), with open cockpits in tandem arrangement. The prototype, powered by a Cirrus Hermes II engine with upright cylinders, was first flown in December 1932.
Two prototypes and a pre-production series of five units were built. After wing modifications, serial production began at the Experimental Aviation Workshops (DWL) at Okecie in 1934. The limited production capacity of DWL could not meet the demand from military and civil aviation, so in 1934 licensed production was launched at the Podlasie Aircraft Factory (PWS) in Biala Podlaska. DWL produced 79 units, while PWS built 467 under licence. The PWS-built aircraft were heavier and had inferior performance compared to those produced by DWL.
The RWD-8 was the most widely produced Polish aircraft of the interwar period. Production ended at the turn of 1938/1939. RWD-8s were used by aero clubs, LOPP pilot schools, Air Military Training camps, and the military air force for training and liaison duties. At aero clubs they were used for pilot training and practice, cross-country flights, parachute dropping and glider towing. They were distinguished by very good flying characteristics and easy handling.
RWD-8s were used as liaison aircraft during the Defensive War in September 1939, and many of them were destroyed at that time, including some shot down by friendly fire from Polish forces. Many RWD-8 aircraft were evacuated to Romania and Hungary, where they continued to be used in the post-war period. Several units were captured by the Germans, two of which were repaired and used by them. No original RWD-8 has survived to this day.
The presented replica of the RWD-8 aircraft was built in the workshops of the Polish Aviation Museum. Its construction was completed in 2025.
| Wingspan | 11.0 m |
| Length | 8.0 m |
| Height | 2.3 m |
| Wing area | 19.5 m2 |
| Empty weight | 480 kg |
| Takeoff weight | 755 kg |
| Maximum speed | 175 km/h |
| Ceiling | 5,000 m |
| Range | 500 km |
| Powerplant | Air-cooled, 4-cylinder inline PZInz. “Junior” engine with takeoff power of 120 hp. |
