Report from Aviation Women’s Day

To emphasize the uniqueness of Aviation Women’s Day, all women participating in the event were presented with flowers and wishes for happiness and prosperity — extended personally by Director Tomasz Kosecki. This kind gesture brought many smiles to the faces of our guests. We hope that every woman who visited us on those days felt truly special.

On the second day of the Women’s Day celebrations, everyone who came to our museum had the opportunity to listen to inspiring stories about the work of women in various branches of aviation — from military aviation, through commercial aviation, to experiences in gliding and parachuting. Katarzyna Pietrzak from the Poznań Aero Club presented the history of the aero club’s patroness, Wanda Modlibowska. Then Capt. Pilot Paulina Szkudlarz offered a perspective on working in military aviation, while LOT Polish Airlines Captains Katarzyna Gojny and Gabriela Drożdż spoke about their experience in civil aviation. Gabriela Hałoń and Daria Bebak from the Kraków Aero Club shared the story of their first steps in aviation, and to conclude, Pilot Senior Constable Barbara Wilk shared her experiences from serving in police aviation.

Meetings with women in aviation were not the only attractions we offered to our Saturday visitors. For those interested, we organized an additional guided tour of the “Women in Polish Aviation” exhibition. Young people and families took part in an aviation-themed field game dedicated to women in aviation. Educational workshops were prepared for the youngest, and all guests could take a photo in our aero photo booth, dressed as a pilot. The Aviation Women’s Day celebrations concluded with a rousing concert by the Kraków Old Town Orchestra conducted by Wiesław Olejniczak.

Adela Dankowska — glider pilot, airplane pilot, parachutist, Class I gliding instructor, member of the National Team. She set 15 world records and 43 Polish records, many of which stand to this day.
Successively a member of the Warsaw, Poznań, and Leszno Aero Clubs. Graduate of the Warsaw University of Life Sciences. From 1959 to 1995, she served as instructor and head of training at the Gliding Center in Leszno. Member of the Sejm (10th term).

Hanna Badura, Class I glider pilot and Class II gliding instructor. In a “Bocian” glider, she set a world record in an out-and-return flight of 373 km in the two-seater class and a Polish record on a 100 km course at a speed of 100 km/h. She participated in many gliding competitions with excellent results. She was one of the few to have achievements qualifying for diamonds in the Gliding Badge while still holding the Silver Badge. Member of the National Team and the Bielsko-Biała Aero Club. Glider pilot. She actively flew from 1958 to 1984.

Barbara Grześkowiak-Bocian, glider pilot, Class II gliding instructor. Parachutist — 14 jumps. She participated in regional and inter-club gliding competitions. Member of the Warsaw (1956–1957) and Poznań Aero Clubs (1953–1955, from 1958). President of the Aviation Seniors Club from 2003 to the present day. Former Vice-President of the National Council of Aviation Seniors. Co-organizer of the Polish Female Pilots Rallies named after Irena Kostka in Poznań and Leszno.

Mirosława Sznejder-Rachwał, glider pilot, Class I airplane pilot, member of the Airplane National Team, member of the Kraków Aviation Seniors Club. Vice-champion of Poland at the 19th Polish Rally-Navigation Airplane Championships. In 1985, “Skrzydlata Polska” (Winged Poland) magazine placed her on the list of the best pilots of the 40-year period. Graduate of the AGH University of Science and Technology in Kraków. She flew gliders: “Czapla,” “Mucha 100,” “Mucha Standard,” “Pirat,” “Bocian,” “Foka,” “Cobra 15,” “Puchacz,” and airplanes: Yak-18, PZL-101 “Gawron,” Yak-12M, PZL-104 Wilga, Zlín 526F, Zlín 42M, Antonov An-2, Zlín 142.

Jolanta Przybylak, pilot, glider pilot, and parachutist. After completing a parachute course in 1969, she became the first female parachutist from Toruń to earn the Gold Parachute Badge. She is a Class II glider pilot with a license and holds the Silver Gliding Badge. She passed the medical tests qualifying her for the aviation school in Dęblin, but in 1968 the school did not admit women. Class III airplane pilot. She collects memorabilia related to aviation history. She co-organized the exhibition “Polish Female Aviators in the Century,” which opened in 2018 at the District Museum in Toruń. In 2019, the exhibition was presented at the Polish Aviation Museum in Kraków. She organizes the Polish Female Aviators Rallies named after Irena Kostka.