On August 25, 2024, at the Polish Aviation Museum in Kraków, we celebrated the 90th anniversary of two momentous Polish victories in international tourist aircraft and balloon competitions. Visitors enjoyed a wealth of attractions including: flight simulators, a military equipment exhibition, science experiment shows, a hydrogen-powered racing car and a jet-propelled rocket, an aviation field game…
There were also attractions in the sky! We invite you to read the event report.
Honorary patronage over the event was taken by:
Minister of National Defence, Vice-Premier Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz,
Voivode of Małopolska Krzysztof Jan Klęczar,
Marshal of the Małopolska Region Łukasz Smółka,
the Aero Club of Poland.
The patron of the event is Kraków Airport.
The event was sponsored by: Krakodlew S.A. and the Military Property Agency.
This year, Polish Aviation Day was combined with the 90th anniversary of the victory of the Polish crew — pilot Jerzy Bajan and mechanic Gustaw Pokrzywka — flying the RWD-9 aircraft in the prestigious international aviation competition Challenge 1934. We also celebrated the 90th anniversary of the victory of Franciszek Hynek and Władysław Pomaski in the 22nd Gordon Bennett Cup — the oldest and most renowned balloon competition in the world. For this reason, this year’s Polish Aviation Day had a special significance — we prepared a range of educational and cultural attractions.
Although this year’s edition of the celebration lasted only one day, the programme was very rich. There was something for everyone — enthusiasts of military technology, painting, motoring (vintage and sports), model building, gliding, and even fans of space technology!
Holy Mass, Roll Call, aircraft flyovers, paratroopers…
On August 25, as befitting a Sunday, the celebrations began with a Holy Mass for the intention of Aviators and the staff of our Museum, concelebrated by Fr Dr Łukasz Piórkowski, Director of the John Paul II Family Home Museum in Wadowice, and Fr Sebastian Kozyra, Director of the John Paul II Institute of Intercultural Dialogue in Kraków.
This year, we were honoured by the presence of the following guests at Polish Aviation Day:
After the Holy Mass, the Roll Call of the Fallen took place, which began with the playing of the national anthem and the raising of the state flag.
The gathered guests were welcomed by Tomasz Kosecki, Director of the Polish Aviation Museum, who in his speech drew attention to the circumstances in which our pilots achieved their successes 90 years ago:
To understand how important the aviation victories of 1934 were for Poles, we must use our imagination to transport ourselves to the early 1930s and realise what was happening at that time. Poland as an independent state had only existed for a dozen or so years, and in defence of our sovereignty we had to fight a victorious war against the Bolsheviks. A global economic crisis was raging. Germany was challenging the provisions of the Treaty of Versailles, and Hitler was coming to power. Despite such a complicated political and economic situation, we were able to build aircraft and win international competitions, to set records. This was an enormous source of pride for the Poles living at the time, and from today’s perspective, something incredible. That is why I would like us today, 90 years after those successes, to ask ourselves the question: How was it possible that we were able to build aircraft and engines? What motivated Poles to act? Should we not, while celebrating these successes today, consider what future generations of Poles will write about us? Will we give them reason to be proud? — said Director Tomasz Kosecki during his address.
Next, a congratulatory letter from Ms Iwona Gibas, Member of the Board of the Małopolska Region, was read by Ms Monika Gubała, Director of the Department of Culture and National Heritage of the Marshal’s Office of the Małopolska Region.
A ceremony was also held to honour members of the Kraków Aviation Seniors Club with Guardian of National Remembrance Sites Medals. The decorations were presented by Marcin Tatara, Plenipotentiary of the Voivode of Małopolska for the Integration of Veteran Communities and Repressed Persons. The following were honoured:
After the presentation of decorations, Second Lieutenant Bartosz Gąsior of the 6th Command Battalion read the commemorative roll call of remembrance, and the honour guard under the command of Lieutenant Sebastian Zięba fired an honour salvo.
Colour guards with wreath-laying at the Memorial Wall of the Polish Aviation Museum were also provided by the Kraków Aviation Seniors Club and the Kraków Aero Club. The honour guard and flag detail were provided by the 6th Command Battalion, and musical accompaniment was provided by the Representative Orchestra of the Polish Air Force.
It was worth looking up at the sky!
This year, thanks to favourable weather conditions, visitors could also admire attractions in the sky! The Museum’s flying exhibits took to the air: An-2 “Wiedeńczyk“, Yak-18 and Piper Cub, and in addition, other aircraft performed flyovers, including such gems as a replica of the RWD-5 and the M-26 Iskierka. There were also paratroopers, who performed masterful landings to the applause of the event participants.
At around 1:00 PM, a concert and parade drill display by the Representative Orchestra of the Air Force took place in front of the Main Hangar. Shortly afterwards, a vernissage of the painting exhibition Volare by Bogumił Książek, part of the Flights series for which the author received the Witold Wojtkiewicz Award in 2024, was held in the Museum’s Main Building.
Remembering aviation victories on a world-class scale
To mark the anniversary of two Polish aviation victories from 1934, during the Polish Aviation Day celebrations at the Polish Aviation Museum in Kraków, exhibitions and a panel discussion were held: Heroes of Polish Wings. The Victorious Crews of the Challenge 1934 Competition and the Gordon Bennett Cup 1933–35.
The history of the Challenge competition was fascinatingly recounted by Zygmunt Szeremeta — a member of the Kraków Aviation Seniors Club and author of numerous publications on aviation topics — and Jarosław Dobrzyński, curator of the Collections Department at the Polish Aviation Museum, while the Gordon Bennett Cup was discussed by: Dr hab. Krzysztof Mroczkowski, Deputy Director of the Polish Aviation Museum for Research, and Jacek Bogdański and Przemysław Mościcki — the pilots of POL-1 – Team Poland One, representing Poland in the 67th edition of the Gordon Bennett Cup.
Jacek Bogdański is an experienced Polish balloon pilot who, together with Mateusz Rękas, won the Gordon Bennett Cup in 2018. Przemysław Mościcki recently joined the select group of gas balloon pilots, making his debut in last year’s Gordon Bennett Cup competition in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Additionally, the Museum opened a section that is normally inaccessible to the public — on the first floor of the Main Building, visitors could see, among other things, the original Gordon Bennett Cup on loan from the Aero Club of Poland, as well as stained-glass replicas of historic Polish balloons that won the Gordon Bennett Cup, created by Sławomir Intek from the Intek-Art Stained Glass Workshop in Toruń.
An additional attraction was to have been evening balloon shows; unfortunately, due to very gusty wind, they could not be fully carried out. However, participants of Polish Aviation Day were able to watch a demonstration of inflating a balloon envelope, and those who wished could have their photo taken in a balloon basket.
Reaching for the clouds, reaching for the stars! — accompanying attractions
Polish Aviation Day is not only an event commemorating the successes of Polish aviators — it is also a source of inspiration and an opportunity to meet contemporary innovators in the field of aviation and astronautics. Student research groups from the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Robotics at AGH University presented not only a jet-propelled rocket, but also a robot dog and a self-built racing car!
Members of AGH Project Hydrive introduced event participants to eco-friendly hydrogen technologies used to power vehicles, while drone enthusiasts could talk to innovators from the AGH Drone Engineering team.
Experts from the Kraków Airport Aviation Education Centre explained how a modern civilian airport operates, what the passenger journey looks like, and who we can thank for smooth check-ins for holiday (and not only) flights.
The kids had the most fun!
Families with children are especially welcome at Polish Aviation Day every year. Many attractions were prepared with them in mind! Event partners such as the Małopolska Science Centre Cogiteon, the Institute of National Remembrance, Kraina Bzików and the Home Army Museum prepared numerous workshops, educational games and science experiment shows. In the Polish Aviation Museum’s tent, visitors could take part in aviation knowledge quizzes and paper aeroplane folding workshops. At the Kraina Bzików stand, colourful face painting took place. Many people also participated in an aviation field game prepared by our Museum in cooperation with the Małopolska Science Centre Cogiteon, during which participants collected successive parts of an aeroplane to assemble by hand.
The VR simulators were also very popular: an F-16 fighter jet flight simulator and a Boeing 737 assembly and construction simulator.
Polish Aviation Day 2025 — mark it in your calendar
Since 2021, the Polish Aviation Museum in Kraków has been organising Polish Aviation Day celebrations, which aim to bring the worldwide achievements of Polish aviators and the aviation traditions of Małopolska closer to participants.
Polish Aviation Day reminds us that we Poles also have reason to be proud in the field of aviation, and this is not only about the spectacular victory of Franciszek Żwirko and Stanisław Wigura in the International Tourist Aircraft Competition Challenge 1932, but also about the achievements of our engineers, designers, balloonists, glider pilots, experimental pilots… This is a magnificent legacy, these are stories of courage, innovation, breaking new ground — stories that should inspire future generations — says Tomasz Kosecki, Director of the Polish Aviation Museum in Kraków.
We already invite you to next year’s Polish Aviation Day 2025 celebrations!
Media patronage over the event was taken by: TVP Historia, TVP3 Kraków, Radio Kraków, Polska Zbrojna. Historia, Dziennik Polski, Gazeta Krakowska, Kraków.naszemiasto.pl, LoveKrakow.pl, Gość Niedzielny, Głos Seniora, Przegląd Lotniczy, dlapilota.pl, aviation24.pl, MILMAG
We encourage you to read about the temporary exhibitions whose vernissages took place during Polish Aviation Day:
We invite you to view the photo report from Polish Aviation Day 2024:
