Arkadiusz Nowak

Mar 9

Thank you for your time, would you mind introducing yourself and telling us about your aviation background.

First of all, let me introduce our pilots' team.

Our leader Mieczyslaw Machnik
His family house was located under the base leg to RWY 29 in Krosno, PL. As a young kid, he kept watching the landings of shining silver airplanes TS-8 Bies which were used that time for pre-military training. When he grew up, he built a hang glide all by himself. He recalls having campfires, eating canned food, hanging out with girls and sleeping in tents best. "That was such a good time", he said. Then he started flying gliders and working as an instructor. He got an airplane license while he was training on AN-2 big bi-plane. He liked flying with skydivers the most. Currently, he spent 2500h in airplanes. He has been a member of the Cellfast Flying Team since 2016.

Left wingman Arkadiusz Nowak.
I spent my childhood years in the Military Air Base in Radom, PL where my father had been flying in the Jet Aerobatic Team called White and Red Sparks (TS-11 Iskra aircrafts) in the same position as mine. I used to stand under the Airport Pilots' House and watch their training in my leisure time. My aviation career has started from gliders and then moved to airplanes in a regional aeroclub located in Krosno, PL. I recall towing gliders (PZL-104 Wilga) by the SP-FWW callsign best, as it goes... "double whisky ready for take-off". I also got a skydiving license on an AN-2 biplane. Formation flying used to be my dream and when I met the next pilot Daniel Debosz, who had the same idea, we started to talk about creating the Flying Team and finally we managed to achieve that.
Right wingman Daniel Debosz.
One day, while he was standing by his house, he saw a paraglider pilot flying over. In the next two days, he started the course for becoming a pilot. "From the beginning I felt comfortable while flying in the air", he said. "I have made the correct maneuvers and I have been landing in the spot". Then, he started training flying on airplanes and bought his own aircraft (Tulak), which had a smoke installation system. This airplane was used for openings of regional airshows on the aeroclub site. Along with Arek, he started talking with a regional company Cellfast about sponsoring and creating the Flying Team. This idea was brought to life and right now Daniel is the CEO of the Cellfast Flying Team.

Closing pilot Jakub Sliwinski.
Shortly after getting a pilot license, he started training in another flying formation in Warsaw. Because of that, he could gain an airshow background experience. He knows the Cellfast FT colleagues from airshows where they started to cooperate and made the biggest civil flying formation composed of six airplanes. He has been travelling a lot using the Piper and AT-3 airplanes and exploring most of the European countries like: Switzerland, Italy, Portugal, France, and the UK. As he recalls, he became a part of the team earlier but firstly he was piloting another airplane.

Could you tell us a little bit about the Cellfast Flying Team? The history? How many people are there in the team? Where are you based?

The Cellfast company is a sponsor of the Cellfats Flying Team. The owner is an aviation enthusiast and a pilot as well. He has been flying in the same aeroclub as the Team's pilots. They simply started talking with him about making something from the already existing potential on-site. This was based on the three Socata Rallye Moranes owned by the Cellfast. The idea was about making a good advertising campaign for the company and making a few pilots' dreams come true. So, we mounted a smoke system, we bought flying suits, branded airplanes, we have been training a lot and that has been going on for 7 years. It is worth mentioning that the company is still investing in the Team. Currently, there are five airplanes and a new base with a beautiful hangar, bar and hotel rooms. Our base is in Krosno, which is a Polish subcarpathian region.

Not many teams use Socata Morane for their displays (perhaps you are the only team in the world to use it) could you tell us more about your aircraft? What's it like to fly/display?

Socata Morane is a very safe airplane. Regularly, those planes are equipped with slots, big flaps, and a massive aerofoil. Engines reach up to 180hp, so they may create a lot of power. These planes are able to operate from grass-mountain aerodromes, which are very common in this specific region. I can truly say that they had STOL performances.
They are also very good in performing hanging formations, because those airplanes are stick, controllable, they offer a good view from the inside, and they have an appropriate acceleration and slowing system, which is the key aspect in the formation flying. Each airplane has four seats so they are convenient for traveling too. They can be used for other operations as well.

Any demo team in Europe you like?

Of course, we like all of them. We met many teams on airshows in Poland.
Greetings to our friends!

Where can we see the Cellfast Flying Team perform this year?

It's too soon to say that for sure but we can tell that there are 7 airshows planned for this year on our calendar and we hope it is not the end. During our best time, we were invited to 16 airshows.

What are your plans for the future? Do you plan to expand the team or maybe start performing outside of Poland?

We are open to get invitations from all European countries. There's no reason for focusing only on Poland, as airplanes lay down under EASA rules, our licenses too, so we can fly in any location, where the organizer will invite our Team. We are still waiting.

Any airshow in Europe you would like to display at?

We are more attracted to aviation picnics with a grass runway and historical aircrafts. However, we were at a big military airshow like the Radom Airshow in Poland and this format suits us too. We are able to show something uncommon, which is precision flying by keeping really short distances from each other on non-typical airshow airplanes.

Could you briefly talk us through your display sequence? How long does it last and what type of formations/manoeuvres do you fly?

In our displays, there is a lot of precision flying with maneuvers in compact and tight formations. We show a few configurations, such as a diamond, a trail, stairs in turnings, a rearrangement, dispersions and also some special figures after which people don't believe it is possible to make them on this type of aircraft.

When do you start practising for the airshow season and how often do you practice?

Starting from the early spring season, we try to practice once a week. However, during winter, we also fly from time to time to maintain habits.

Despite looking the same each aircraft is powered by different engines. Is that not a problem during your display?

Currently, all aircrafts possess the same power engines.

When you not perform as a display pilot, what do you do? What does your week look like?

Every Team member works close to the aviation profession:

Arek - Safety Department in the biggest aircraft producer in Poland

Daniel - the CEO of the Cellfast Flying Team

Mieczysław - CAMO Manager

Kuba - Commercial Pilot.

After work when there are no planned trainings, we hang out, ride motorcycles, sail through regional lakes and we also focus on our private life as each of us has families and home.

Do you have a website or social media where fans can reach you?