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The aircraft was designed in response to a Polish Air Force requirement for a modern piston engined trainer with tricycle landing gear to replace Junak 3 and Yak-11 aircraft. The main designer was Tadeusz Soltyk - hence a designation letters TS. Work started in 1953, the first prototype was flown on July 23, 1955. In 1957 it beat three international records in its class. The second prototype was showed on a Paris Air Show in 1957.
In 1957 the first experimental series of 10 aircraft was produced in WSK-Okecie (designated as TS-8 BI). A slightly improved main variant (designated as TS-8 BII) was produced from 1958 to 1960 in WSK Mielec. The last 10 machines were built with better avionics (TS-8 BIII). Total of 250 TS-8 were produced (229 in TS-8 BII variant).
The TS-8s started to be withdrawn from the Polish Air Force in the mid-1960s, replaced by jet trainers PZL TS-11 Iskra. Over 100 aircraft were given to the civilian aviation ( aeroclub s) then. Most TS-8s were withdrawn from civilian aviation by 1978. Two TS-8s were used in Indonesia.
The TS-8 had good handling and performance, a noisy engine one of its few flaws. It was the first really modern aircraft designed in Poland after the war, also using a Polish engine.
All-metal trainer plane, conventional in layout, with low-wings. 7 cylinder Radial enginebiplane The radial engine is a configuration of internal combustion engine, commonly used in aircraft, in which the cylinders are arranged pointing out from a central crankshaft like the spokes on a wheel. The cylinders are connected to the crankshaft wit with two-blade propeller. Tricycle retractable landing gear. The plane had no armament, except for the experimental series TS-8 BI, which had one 12.7mm machine gun and two small bomb pylons.
Comparable Aircraft:
Yak-18 - Yak-52The Yakovlev Yak-52 first flew in 1976 and is still being produced in Romania, by Aerostar. The Yak-52 was designed originally as an aerobatic trainer for students in the Soviet DOSSAF training organization. That organization trained both civilian sport p - T-34 MentorThe Beechcraft T-34 Mentor was a military trainer aircraft derived from the Beechcraft Bonanza. The signature V-tail of the Bonanza was replaced with conventional tail control surfaces. The four-passenger cabin was replaced with a two-seater tandem cockpiDesignation Sequence:
TS-7The Junak LWD Junak WSK Junak is a Polish trainer aircraft, used from 1952 to 1961 by the Polish Air Force and to 1972 by a Polish civilian aviation. Development The aircraft was designed in response to a Polish Air Force requirement of 1946 for a trainer -TS-8 -
TS-9The Junak LWD Junak WSK Junak is a Polish trainer aircraft, used from 1952 to 1961 by the Polish Air Force and to 1972 by a Polish civilian aviation. Development The aircraft was designed in response to a Polish Air Force requirement of 1946 for a trainer - TS-11 - TS-15| List of Aircraft | Aircraft Manufacturers | Aircraft Engines | Aircraft Engine Manufacturers Airlines | Air Forces | Aircraft Weapons | Missiles | Timeline of aviation |