“With the Wind and Against the Wind – Civil Aviation” is the largest exhibition dedicated to civil aviation in Poland and one of the largest expositions of its kind in Europe. It occupies an impressive area of over 3,000 m² and presents a comprehensive history of Polish civil aviation – from its pioneering beginnings to modern achievements in air sports, aircraft design, and commercial aviation services. It was opened to the public on 24 August 2025 during the celebrations of Polish Aviation Day.
It is a comprehensive story of the people, machines, and institutions that shaped the aviation landscape in our country over more than a hundred years – often under challenging conditions, but with an unwavering passion for flight. Among the hundreds of carefully selected exhibits are original aircraft and glider designs, as well as unique
documents, personal memorabilia, awards, and models – many of which are being presented to the public for the very first time! The exhibition is housed in a modern hangar (built on the site of the historic hangar of the 2nd Aviation Regiment) designed with accessibility, functionality, and visitor comfort in mind for all audiences.
The exhibition also offers interactive experiences – in a dedicated flight simulator zone, visitors can test their piloting skills, experience takeoffs, landings, and aerobatics in a safe virtual environment. It is a perfect complement to the visit, especially for younger guests and those who want to get a taste of the thrill of flying.
The exhibition has been designed with a broad audience in mind – both aviation enthusiasts and those just discovering the world of flight. The exposition is housed in a spacious, modern hangar fully adapted for visitors with disabilities. We facilitate access through:
This space is dedicated to the pioneers of Polish aviation who, at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, dreamed of taking to the skies and made their first attempts at building flying machines. In addition to memorabilia associated with the legendary “peasant Icarus” – Jan Wnęk, who reportedly made hang glider flights from the roof of a village church, visitors will find both the results of design experiments and photographic and technical documentation from that enthusiastic era.
Among the most interesting exhibits are:
– one of the earliest flying devices built by a Pole in 1895. It was created under the influence of reports about Otto Lilienthal’s flight experiments. It enabled gliding jumps over a distance of 20-40 m and gave rise to the Polish word “lotnia” (hang glider).
– a reconstruction of the glider designed by Adam Karpiński in 1923, on which the first controlled gliding flights were made and which won the first gliding competition held in Poland, at Czarna Góra near Białka Tatrzańska.
– Jan Wnęk lived from 1828 to 1869 in the Małopolska village of Odporyszów. A self-taught artist, he carved 300-500 sculptures and reliefs from linden wood. He was not only a carpenter and sculptor but also a self-taught inventor, credited with building the first Polish “flying apparatus”.
The interwar period saw the dynamic development of air sports and aviation education in Poland. The Air and Chemical Defence League (LOPP) had an enormous impact on popularising aviation among the public. This space showcases the scale of achievements of Polish pilots and engineers who, together with civic activists engaged in patriotic causes and the building of a strong Polish State, co-created the interwar history of Polish Wings.
Here you will also see the most important memorabilia associated with the greatest Polish aviation triumphs: the trophy of the International Tourist Aircraft Competition Challenge, in which Poles triumphed twice – in 1932 and 1934 – permanently awarded to the Aeroclub of the Republic of Poland by the FAI (Fédération Aéronautique Internationale) in 1935, and the Gordon Bennett international balloon racing trophy, permanently awarded to the Aeroclub of the Republic of Poland by the FAI for victories by Polish crews in 1933, 1934, and 1935.
In this space, you can also experience a taste of soaring through the skies – thanks to an interactive glider flight simulator!
Among the most interesting exhibits are:
– built at the Experimental Aviation Workshops at Okęcie. It was an elegant and functional touring aircraft used both in civilian and military roles. Only two examples survive to this day. This model was flown by the Polish chocolate magnate – E. Wedel.
– a faithful reproduction built at the Museum of the most widely produced training aircraft in Poland before World War II. Unfortunately, no original example has survived to this day. The replica built by the Museum features an original PZ Inż. Junior 5800cc engine.
– these are icons of Polish interwar flight training. It was on these gliders that future military, sport, and civilian pilots took their first steps. Their uniqueness lies not only in their design but in the role they played in building the aviation passion of an entire generation of Poles.
This intimate space highlights the contribution of women to the development of Polish aviation and the difficult yet determined rebuilding of aviation infrastructure and personnel after World War II. It draws attention to the importance of local aeroclubs – particularly those from Małopolska. It presents the figures of outstanding Polish women pilots, including Wanda Modlibowska, Stefania Wojtulanis-Karpińska, Janina Lewandowska, and Maria Wardasówna.
Among the most interesting exhibits are:
– aircraft used for training and rebuilding aviation skills in the first postwar years. The DFS Weihe (known in Poland as “Ważka” / Dragonfly) was a German high-performance glider. After World War II, 12 examples were operated in Poland, along with 3 Grunau Moto-Baby aircraft nicknamed “Hulajnoga” (Scooter).
– a personal memento of one of the most outstanding prewar glider pilots and instructors, a world record holder and patron of the Poznań Aeroclub, which still bears her name to this day. In 1937, she became the first Polish woman to receive the FAI Silver Gliding Badge, and in 1939, she was awarded the Silver Cross of Merit for her contribution to Polish aviation.
– this unique collection belonged to Cavalry Captain Kazimierz Gaszyn – a pilot-observer and cavalryman who during World War I took part in the battles for Lwów, and later served as administrative director of the Polish Aviation Works.
The communist era was a time of intensive development of the domestic aviation industry and extraordinary amateur initiatives. The WSK “Okęcie”, “PZL-Mielec”, “PZL-Świdnik” factories and the Glider Experimental Works in Bielsko-Biała were thriving, and Poland was one of the few Eastern Bloc countries exporting gliders and light aircraft to the West – including to the USA, Canada, and Western Europe. Polish sport and recreational aviation – although operating under state supervision – enjoyed great public interest and achieved real successes on the international stage. In this space, visitors can see both official institutional designs and passionate projects built outside the system.
Among the most interesting exhibits are:
– the first helicopter designed and flown in Poland (built at the experimental workshops of the Main Institute of Aviation – whose activities at the time mainly concerned unconventional designs or solutions that were the first of their kind in Poland). The helicopter was completed in 1949, and its first successful flight took place on 4 April 1950. In 1952, it was publicly presented at Okęcie.
– the only examples of light aircraft built under home conditions! Prząśniczka was built by Jarosław Janowski in an apartment in a tenement building in Łódź – he used elements from MZ 250 motorcycle engines to build the power unit. Kukułka was created through the passion and determination of Eugeniusz Pieniążek, in a flat in a block of flats – he used it to escape from communist Poland to Sweden in 1971.
– IS-1 Sęp bis was the first Polish high-performance glider built after World War II at the Gliding Institute in Bielsko-Biała. Designed with international competition success in mind. IS-4 Jastrząb – an aerobatic glider capable of reaching speeds of up to 450 km/h! Pilots affectionately nicknamed it “the axe” due to its sink rate and glide ratio.
A zone combining a rest area, multimedia stations, and a presentation of Polish successes in aerobatics. Visitors can not only admire sporting trophies here but also interactively experience the thrill of aviation.
Among the most interesting exhibits are:
– a machine used by Polish aerobatics champions in international competitions. To this day, this model is used by, among others, the “Żelazny” aerobatic team of the Lubuskie Region Aeroclub. Developed in Czechoslovakia in the 1970s, it combines modern aerodynamics, a powerful 260 HP Lycoming engine, and a lightweight metal construction with fabric covering and titanium landing gear. Designed to withstand loads of up to +9G / -6G.
– the very aircraft on which Edward Makula won the World Gliding Championship in Argentina in 1963! Zefir 2A is a single-seat, high-performance open-class glider, a development of the 1957 design created at the Glider Experimental Works in Bielsko-Biała. It featured a recumbent pilot position, retractable landing gear, and innovative Fowler flaps. It went down in history as a symbol of Polish engineering thought of the 1960s.
– Wacław Wieczorek was a multiple world and European champion in precision and rally flying, and a three-time Polish champion. Krzysztof Wieczorek won championship titles three times: at the 16th World Precision Flying Championships in Denmark, the 17th World Championships in France, and the 19th World Championships in Poland, all under the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale.
Civil aviation also served practical functions – supporting agriculture, healthcare, and transportation.
Air ambulance services played an important role in delivering aid to hard-to-reach locations, transporting patients and medical teams. Special medical flights operated from both military and civilian airfields.
As early as the Second Polish Republic, the use of aircraft for crop spraying and seeding was tested – mainly with Lublin R.XIII aircraft – and reached its full development during the communist era, when Polish agricultural aviation secured major foreign contracts (cotton crop spraying in Sudan).
In this space, we showcase the less obvious but extremely important roles that aircraft and gliders fulfilled.
Among the most interesting exhibits are:
– built in 1919, it is the only surviving example of this type in the world! Painted in the colours of the first Polish private aircraft – with advertising for the E. Wedel chocolate factory – it was the first aircraft used for marketing purposes. These aircraft entered Polish aviation service in 1918, immediately after Poland regained independence, when 14 training aircraft of this type were captured in Małopolska.
– designed and built at the Central Aircraft Studies centre in Warsaw, based on the licence of the Soviet Po-2 aircraft. The air ambulance version, designed by engineer Tadeusz Sołtyk – CSS S-13, features an enclosed cabin accommodating a pilot, a doctor, and a patient on a stretcher placed on the fuselage framework. Between 1954 and 1955, 54 examples of this version were produced.
– the first Polish-designed specialist agricultural aircraft (with a pressurised and air-filtered cabin), designed at WSK PZL Warszawa Okęcie, used not only on state farms but also for cotton crop spraying in Sudan. The Kruk underwent many upgrades, including turbo versions with Pratt & Whitney and Walter M601D engines. Over 260 examples were built in total.
The finale of the exhibition reveals the modern face of civil aviation: from model aviation through hang gliding and parachuting, aerobatic and navigation flying, to the history of the national carrier – LOT Polish Airlines. On display are, among others, championship Polish gliders: Swift S-1, PW-5 Smyk, and SZD-24-4A Foka 4, on which Jan Wróblewski won the open class at the World Gliding Championships in South Cerney, Great Britain, in 1965, as well as SZD-43 Orion, on which Jan Wróblewski won the world championship in the standard class in 1972. Thanks to an interactive simulator, visitors can discover what it feels like to soar on a paraglider. In display cases, the uniforms of LOT Polish Airlines flight and cabin crew are proudly presented. Beside them, in a special “vortex”, flying models of various categories circle overhead.
Among the most interesting exhibits are:
– a Polish design that forms the foundation of glider aerobatics worldwide. Designed in the early 1990s, it was created for advanced aerobatics and Unlimited class competitions.
– a standard-class high-performance glider of wooden construction with sparless wings. Its production began in 1962 – 111 examples were built, many of which are still flying today.
– donated by the Warsaw University of Technology, this prototype won a competition in 1994 and was recognised by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) as the world-class glider for Olympic competitions.
– a restored versatile aircraft used in aeroclubs and successfully employed in precision, rally, and agricultural flying. One of the greatest export successes of the Polish aviation industry.
– presenting the development of the national carrier over the decades and the (often incredible!) stories of its cabin crew.
– the balloon basket in which Mirosław Kowalski, together with navigator Mikołaj Janc, made the first hot air balloon crossing of the Baltic Sea from Nosowo in Poland to Froslov in Sweden (202.5 km) on 30 September 2017.
The new permanent exhibition at the Polish Aviation Museum in Krakow is a fascinating journey through over 100 years of Polish civil aviation history – from its pioneering beginnings to modern achievements in air sports, aircraft design, and commercial aviation services. The exposition showcases our national aviation heritage, which is undoubtedly a source of pride. It is a story of the successes of Polish designers, pilots – both women and men – local aeroclubs, and the national carrier. It is the history of entire generations of enthusiasts, devotees, scientists, and patriots thanks to whom Polish civil aviation was able to live up to its dreams of greatness and developed against all odds – with the wind and against the wind!
The patrons and sponsors of the exhibition “With the Wind and Against the Wind – Civil Aviation” are:
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