The areas around Bukowina and Białka Tatrzańska, nowadays known primarily to skiers, are associated with the earliest pioneering glider flights in Poland. The village of Czarna Góra near Białka Tatrzańska — its highest elevation is Gogolowa Grapa (903 m above sea level), also commonly known today as Litwinka — is the site of the first gliding competitions in the history of Polish aviation. It was there, from August 28 to September 13, 1923, that the 1st Glider Competition (as gliders were then called “ślizgowce”) was held, organized by the Poznań-based Polish Aviators’ Association in cooperation with the Aviation Section of the Mechanical Engineers’ Circle of Students at the Warsaw University of Technology.
Nine designs participated in this competition. Launches were conducted using bungee cords. The duration of flights made in this way was counted in minutes and seconds. The competition caused a sensation not only among local residents but also in Kraków, from where excursions arrived to watch the unpowered flights and the numerous crashes, which occurred frequently due to the imperfections of the pioneering designs.
A total of 18 flights were made during the competition. The winner was the “Akar” glider, designed by Adam Karpiński, then a student at the Warsaw University of Technology, and piloted by his brother, Tadeusz Karpiński, who later became a well-known Polish airline pilot. He held the longest flight of the competition, lasting 3 minutes and 6 seconds, as well as the longest cross-country flight covering a distance of 3 kilometers.
Model aircraft competitions organized by the Nowy Targ Aero Club are sometimes held at Czarna Góra today. Paraglider pilots also gladly use the slopes of Litwinka.
In 2003, a plinth with a memorial plaque commemorating the gliding competition was also erected on the hill. The plaque bears a quote from Julian Korsak: “Emboldened man took wings from the birds” and an inscription: “In tribute to the Polish pilot-designers for their courage in conquering the skies, their creative persistence in constructing the first gliders, and their contributions to Polish gliding, on the 80th anniversary of the national gliding competition held at Czarna Góra.”
