Přikryl-Blecha PB-6 Racek (airworthy, full-scale replica of PB-6 “OK-BPI”, OK-KUU 56), waiting for departure from the 29th edition of Aviatická pouť air show, Pardubice, May 2019.
The aviation adventure of two Czech pioneers, Jaroslav Přikryl and František Blecha, began in 1909, when they started building fliyng models of aircraft.
In 1919, within the structures of the Ardea company, they started to develop their first aircraft, known as the PB-1. This aeroplane was first presented to the public in October 1921, during the 2nd International Aviation Exhibition in Prague. The PB-1 was a single-seat, high-wing monoplane and, according to available sources, did not perform its maiden flight.
After the exhibition, the aircraft was stored away for the winter. Unfortunately, the PB-1 later burned down along with the workshop in which it was kept.
In the following years, Přikryl and Blecha continued their aviation developments. Between 1922 and 1931, they built three aircraft, designated the PB-2, PB-4 and PB-5, as well as one glider, known as the PB-3.
Although the PB aeroplanes were favourably received by test pilots, they never progressed beyond the prototype stage. Both the PB-4 and PB-5 participated in a national competition for a new training aircraft for aero clubs, but lost to designs from larger domestic aviation companies.
In 1934, Přikryl and Blecha introduced a new design, a two-seat, high-wing aeroplane designated the PB-6 Racek (seagull). Similar in design to its two predecessors, the aircraft was powered by a Czech-made Orion LL-30 engine, generating approximately 33 hp.
In August of that year, the PB-6 was presented to the Czechoslovak Ministry of Defence. Regrettably, due to a fuel system failure, the aircraft caught fire in midair. The test pilot managed to land the burning aeroplane and escaped uninjured. However, the PB-6 was completely destroyed.
The PB-6 was the last aircraft designed and developed by Jaroslav Přikryl and František Blecha. They never built another aeroplane. The brief story of the PB aircraft ended in flames, much as it had begun.
The full-scale, airworthy replica of the PB-6, presented in our Photo of the Week series, was built in the 2000s by Václav Vondrášek. The aircraft performed its maiden flight in 2007 and now forms part of the collection of Letecké muzeum Metoděje Vlacha (Metoděj Vlach Aviation Museum) in Mladá Boleslav.
The replica is equipped with a 60 hp Continental A65 engine from 1942 and preserves the original livery and markings of the PB-6 “OK-BPI” (although the aircraft is registered as OK-KUU 56 in the ultralight category).
