Radom air base back to service
On 7 December 2022, the Sily Powietrzne RP (Polish Air Force) held a ceremony at Radom/Sadkow air base (42.Baza Lotnictwa Szkolnego, 42nd Training Aviation Base) for the return of the first group of PZL-130TC-II Orlik training aircraft and PZL M-28B Skytruck transport aircraft from Dêblin air base.
The aircraft, operated by the 4. Skrzydło Lotnictwa Szkolnego (4.SLSz, 4th Flying Training Wing), were based for almost three years at Dêblin air base due to reconstruction work at Radom. The infrastructure of the airport has been altered to allow the reception of three million passengers per year and with the possibility of expanding the capacity to nine million passengers. The first passenger flights are scheduled for April 2023.
There were some rumours that the Flying Training Wing would not return, but the Polish Ministry of Defence (MoD) clearly stated that after the rework at Radom/Sadkow was completed the aircraft would definitely return.
The 4.SLSz operates 28 PZL-130TC-IIs and 8 M-28B, where the Orliks are used for the basic and advanced (1st stage) training. After this phase, future fighter pilots will go on to the 48. Eskadra Lotnicza (48.el), also part of the Flying Training Wing, where they continue their training on the Leonardo M-346 Bielik. The M-28s are used for training future transport aircraft pilots.
Photo via Polish Air Force