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PZL. 1060 Kometa

PZL. 1060 "Kometa"

Role High Altitude Fighter/Interceptor
National Origin The Republic Of Poland
First Flight December 3 1969
Retired June 23 1973
Status Retired by the governing body of Poland following the aircraft's second and only fatal crash
Number Built 3
Developed into PZL. X-1098
PZL. X-104

PZL. 1060 "Kometa" (Comet) was a high altitude stealth aircraft designed by State Aviation Works (Państwowe Zakłady Lotnicze.) Development on the aircraft began amid rising tensions between Moscow and Warsaw. The Polish government wished for an aircraft capable of being "untouchable" by modern anti-aircraft systems employed by the Soviet Union and her allies. The aircraft was described by one of her test pilots as "A dream to fly low to the ground, but a b*tch to fly up high" Only 3 aircraft were built, but only 2 remain today. One aircraft was lost in a crash resulting in the deaths of 2 test pilots, the grounding of all PZL. 1060 aircraft, and later termination of the project by the Sejm. Official inquires suggest that a loss of control at 20,546 meters (or 67,408 feet) resulted in the aircraft breaking apart. The head of the Kometa Project was aware of the stability issues at high altitudes but decided to ignore them and press on. This is largely attributed to budget cuts and time constraints. All 3 PZL. 1060 Flew a total of 67 times between the years of 1969 to 1973 before the project was terminated. Research from the project assisted in the development of other aircraft including the PZL. 1098 "Kasztan" (Chestnut) and the PZL. 104 "Nietoperz" (Bat)