The History of Polish Aerobatics
For a country that spent much of the twentieth century having its aviation infrastructure destroyed and rebuilt, Poland has an improbably continuous aerobatic tradition. Most of the explanation is the aeroclub system.
The interwar foundation
Polish aviation in the 1920s and 30s was ambitious out of proportion to the size of the economy, with a domestic aircraft industry, a strong military flying tradition and international competition success. That period established something that outlasted it: a culture in which flying was a national sport rather than purely a military or commercial activity.
The aeroclub system
The single most important structural fact in Polish aerobatics is the aeroclub. A dense network of regional clubs, each with airfields, instructors and aircraft, made flying reachable for people who could not possibly have afforded it privately. Gliding came first for most pilots, powered flying afterwards, and aerobatics for the ones who wanted it. Several generations of Polish champions came up through exactly that pipeline, and it is still how most Polish aerobatic pilots start.
Our own training runs under the Declared Training Organisation of Aeroklub Radomski, which is that same structure doing the same job it has done for decades.
Home-built competition machinery
Poland designed and built its own aerobatic and sporting aircraft rather than importing them, and Polish types were competitive internationally. That mattered beyond national pride: designing competition aircraft domestically kept engineering knowledge close to the pilots using it, and produced a generation of people who understood aerobatic aeroplanes as machines rather than as equipment that arrived in a crate.
The modern era
Today Polish pilots compete across the FAI category ladder, the national championship and the Polish Cup run every season, and Polish crews appear at European and world championships. The equipment is now largely imported, Extras and Sukhois among it, but the pipeline that produces the pilots is recognisably the same aeroclub system.
Where we sit in it
Maciej Kulaszewski is FAI Intermediate World Champion 2022, a multiple Polish champion, five-time UK champion and German champion, and in 2026 took both the Polish National Championship in the Advanced class and the Polish Cup, flying SP-EKS. His students have taken the Polish Intermediate title in 2026 and 2025 and the UK Intermediate title in 2022.
The part that connects to the history above is the last one. A tradition survives by producing the next set of pilots, and the aeroclub system was built to do exactly that and what training the next generation still means.
A footnote about the emblem
SP-EKS carries the badge of No. 303 Squadron, the Polish fighter squadron that flew in the Battle of Britain. There is a separate piece about why, but it belongs in this article too: the reason a modern competition aeroplane carries a 1940 squadron badge is that in Polish aviation the two things are not felt to be separate.
Frequently asked questions
Why does Poland have a strong aerobatic tradition?
Largely because of the aeroclub system: a dense network of regional clubs with airfields, instructors and aircraft that made flying reachable for people who could not have afforded it privately. Most Polish aerobatic pilots still come up through it.
What is an aeroklub?
A regional flying club, part of a national network, typically offering gliding, powered flying and often aerobatics, with its own airfield and instructors. Training organisations frequently operate under an aeroclub.
Do Polish pilots compete internationally?
Yes, across the FAI category ladder, including European and world championships, alongside a domestic calendar with a national championship and the Polish Cup.
Who is the current Polish champion in the Advanced class?
Maciej Kulaszewski won the Polish National Championship in the Advanced class in 2026 and the Polish Cup the same year, both flying the Extra 300L SP-EKS.
Fly it yourself
Aerobatic flights in the Extra 300L SP-EKS from Radom-Piastów (EPRP), 100 km from Warsaw. From 2,222 PLN, no licence or experience required. Gift vouchers are issued as a PDF after payment confirmation and stay valid for 12 months.