People of Polish Aviation - Jan Borowski

series People of Polish Aviation

Identified flying object

*The interview, conducted in 2017, comes from - JB Investments archives - all rights reserved.

Flying is in his blood. After his mother, a glider pilot, and his uncle, who didn't make it as his father was killed in the Battle of Britain. Although he didn't get his license himself until he was 45, it was he who owned Poland's first private new plane. Now he sells them to others - Jan Borowski is our country's largest distributor of new planes and helicopters, but he's really interested in the old ones.

- A strange feeling, to see the earth move away. But also very pleasant, because with her all the worries move away - Jan Borowski could talk for a long time about why it is worth having your own plane. - If I feel like lying by the sea in the morning, in one hour and twenty minutes I am in Jastarnia. I spend the day on the beach, on the way back to the plane I buy fried cod, ask them to wrap it thickly in paper for me, and it is still warm in Piaseczno," he says. - And by car I would drive there six-seven hours one way and get two fines on the way. My time is too expensive for me to spend it in the car," he adds. Yes, the reasons to get yourself a plane are many.

For your health

From the airport they always chased him away - It's because of those glasses, -5 diopters. I had all the other parameters for a cosmonaut, because I was windsurfing for a long time, and before that I competed in motocross," he says. So after studying at the Faculty of Power and Aeronautical Mechanical Engineering at Warsaw University of Technology, he became a researcher at the Institute of Aviation in the Department of Aircraft Engine Design. However, he changed to the automotive industry and in 1977 opened the first authorized Mercedes dealership in Poland. It was not until the 1990s, when it was recognized that not every pilot had to meet the criteria for a military pilot right away, that the regulations were changed and Jan Borowski was able to make a license. But before he became a pilot, he became an airplane owner. or actually a co-owner, because he still together with a certain amateur designer aviator bought in partnership one of the Ogar motor gliders that the aeroclub of the People's Republic of Poland was getting rid of. Since he couldn't fly it himself, he used to come to the hangar at Babice to sit in it. Sometimes he managed to persuade some pilot friend to fly together. For the first time, however, Jan Borowski took to the air while he was still a student. - Some of my classmates from the year were already gliders. And I, with my glasses, could not. I had a friend, an aeroclub pilot, who was married to the daughter of an Air Force colonel. And when you have such a father-in-law, you pass all types of aircraft in three-four years. No one could forbid him anything. So one day he says: "you know, Janek, I'm about to fly to Mielec in such a Yak 12, which is nearing the end of its life, it's its last hour of flying, then it goes to scram. Are you flying with me?". Well, and I flew. The weather was terrible, and the crack in the door was so big that you could see the ground not only through the windows. The instruments trembled so that you couldn't see the directions. But we arrived," he says. Now, to be able to fly, he undergoes a very thorough examination every year. - The real kind, not: "are you okay? Good. That's good," just top to bottom, looking for a hole in the whole. But I'm much better off because of it! - he assures. Jan Borowski has long since flown far more hours as a pilot than the statistical Polish military pilot by the time he retires.

For tradition

Jan Borowski is not the only one flying Jan Borowski. - The one on the right, in the plane, is my uncle, Jan Borowski, to whom my mother was engaged for seven years," he shows me a large black and white photo hanging on the wall of his office. - A non-commissioned officer was not allowed to marry at the time, so they had to wait with the wedding until Jan was promoted to officer. But he didn't make it, because he died in the Battle of Britain in 1940," he recounts. Earlier, in 39, in the same P-11C plane in which he can be seen in the photo, he shot down three German planes over Warsaw, including one Me-109. And even earlier, before the war, he persuaded his fiancée, Mr. Jan's mother, to study at a gliding school in Polichno. And to get a motorcycle license. He also taught her to shoot. - To the left of my uncle, with his hands folded behind his back, stands my father, please see what a handsome man," adds Jan Borowski. Family tradition dictated that the "widowed" fiancée of the deceased airman should be married to his brother. This is what happened. - His father was an important National Democracy activist, he was even its candidate for the presidential elections. He was a lawyer, published two newspapers, was a great speaker, played the piano, a cool guy. But I never met him. In July 45, after escaping from the camp in Rembertów, he was murdered near Minsk Mazowiecki by the encroachers," Jan says, and after a moment adds: - In my family all the men were killed, so my mother took great care of me.

Natalia Borowska never returned to flying. A single widow with two children (Mr. Jan has a sister) just after the war, she did not have it easy. - The mother struggled to survive. There was poverty at home, she often asked us if there was going to be soup or a second course tomorrow, because there was no chance for two courses," she says. For that there was always beefsteak on Sunday. Years later, Mr. Jan asked his mother how she got them. - It turned out that horsemeat. At that time horsemeat was the cheapest meat, easily available and very good. But we had a very emotional relationship with horses, and mother knew that I would not knowingly touch this meat. After all, before the war, all of Poland stood for horses; eating them was almost cannibalism to me," he says. With help, in addition to horse meat, came her mother's ability to shoot. Natalia began to compete in shooting competitions, in the 1950s she was even Polish champion. - I once asked her what she wanted shooting for. She said: "because it's easy like that, the diets are good, I took you to the spartakiads, you had food and fresh air".
For holidays they would go to a farmer near Olsztyn, buy eggs and milk, and get the rest themselves: fish, mushrooms, berries. And that's where his own love of airplanes began. - There was an airport nearby, we walked through the woods, and there a guy was flying a model airplane. It hung from a tree for him, so I quickly climbed it. I was delighted with the model, I remember exactly those wooden ribs, that taut paper, something beautiful! The guy barely picked it up for me," he recalls. After returning from his vacation, he enrolled in classes at the aviation model shop at the Youth House in the Palace of Culture and Science, then still named after Stalin. There he was made an engineer. He learned to saw, grind, sharpen a drill, construct models - Basic craft skills that every man should have, but almost none do, he comments. - When taking a mechanic to work, I always ask the question: have you ever taken apart and put together your motorcycle? Just like that, out of curiosity? If the answer is "no," then thank you, because it means that this is not his hobby. And that someone will come here to work, it's not enough," he adds.

For money

An 800-meter-long runway stretches in Konstancin near Warsaw, on the grounds of the former manor of the Warsaw University of Life Sciences. Jan Borowski invested more than 4 million zlotys in the construction of the air base, of which the runway is a part. The land on which the base was built in 2000 is a remnant of the Old Vistula River. When there is a danger of Warsaw's bridges breaking during floods, this is where the embankments are broken. - There was a moment, a few years ago, when I didn't miss much. I stood all night on the embankment and waited," he says. The planes that could, flew away, the rest stood in the hangar on meter-high platforms and waited with him.
Jan Borowski bought his first plane in 1993. His Husky was the first privately owned new aircraft in Poland. A year later, he decided to import them to Poland. - At first, selling one a year was a success, because there were years that I didn't manage to sell any. In 2006 I had already sold six, and in 2007 I sold 20 planes," he says. Today he has more than 20 types of aircraft and helicopters from the most reputable manufacturers. - At a certain level of business development, you can't afford the risk of a canceled flight and unproductive hours spent at the airport. Smaller aircraft have access not only to large communication airports, but also to hundreds of small airstrips located in Poland and Europe, he argues. The new ultralight planes (which differ from the slightly larger ones sold by Mr. Jan mainly in that, while cheaper and easier to fly, they have a shorter range and greater unreliability, because the design regulations that apply to them are less restrictive) cost about 100,000 euros. The larger ones, sold by Mr. Jan, are already an expense of several hundred thousand dollars. - Plus a hangar for a thousand zlotys a month and aviation gasoline. More expensive, but the plane flies in a straight line, so it smokes less," he calculates the maintenance costs. - My cessna burns 60 liters per hour, a liter costs about 6 zlotys, but I fly 50 minutes to Gizycko, which is for 50 liters. By car on this route I burn a similar amount and drive 3.5 hours he argues. On the other hand, insurance is much cheaper, because the plane will not be stolen by anyone.

The conversation is interrupted by a phone call. Jan Borowski answers and explains in English to the manufacturer that the new model doesn't appeal to his customer because of the design. - The interior is black, so a person feels like he's in a coffin in it, and that's a bit... discouraging," he explains. Jan Borowski's most important supplier is the Swiss manufacturer Pilatus Aircraft. Once a year he has to order an aircraft from them, which costs several million dollars, and pay a down payment of about 300,000 for it. He usually orders blind, without a firm customer yet, and has to specify all the parameters right away, including colors and layout. When the plane is ready after a few months, Mr. John has a week to pay the rest of its price. He recently ordered one for May. He already has four potential customers, but it's unclear if any will decide, and a deposit had to be paid. - What if the customer decides against it? - I ask. - I have had such cases. Once, for example, someone withdrew at the last minute. He called, apologized and thanked me. I turned all white. I remember exactly how I sit in the hotel room and think what to do. I have to redeem this plane by the end of the year, and it's November. And after 15 minutes the phone rings. "Good morning, my name is Sebastian C., I'm the owner of a large furniture company. I heard that you have an airplane to sell," he says. - An aircraft already defined (parameters, color, interior design) is cheaper. The price of such a ready-made one has to be lowered a bit, but for that it is available for taking right away, not in six months," he adds.

For history

- What do I spend my money on? I'm already telling you. I travel a lot around the world, have been to various exhibitions and air shows. And this top shelf is not new luxury aircraft at all, but old restored machines with history, sometimes even from before the First World War. The best prices are obtained by flying fighters used in World War II. And there are no such ones in Poland. Everything was destroyed or lost. Under communism, airplanes were not a valued commodity, because someone could flee to the West in them. Those produced in Poland at the time had small fuel tanks so that no one could fly too far away," he says. Flying around Poland, he once stumbled upon an old, weather-beaten, shabby biesa at the airport in Torun. There were 310 of these unique planes (because they were not only of Polish design and manufacture, but also with a Polish engine) built in Poland, and only a few have survived to this day. - Stasiek, my son, then a teenager, says: "dad, why don't we buy this plane?". Why not, I think to myself. I ask at the airport if they have the number for the owner. "Sure we do, he's in arrears with our parking fee!". So I call him. Will he sell? He will sell! - recounts Jan Borowski. The airplane then had to be taken apart, loaded onto a rented truck and taken to a friend's workshop, since he himself at the time still had nowhere to keep it. They restored it for two years. Eventually it started flying. They founded the Polish Sky Monuments Foundation, which is today certified as a public benefit organization. - We are restoring the planes on which the Polish army flew to flying condition, not museum condition," he stresses. The restored Beagle so pleased his friend that he wanted one just like it. - I tried to discourage him from doing it, I explained that it was years of work, that you have to buy two of them to put one together, but he insisted anyway. Well, so I made him this plane. Unfortunately, it had one flaw: it was better than mine. But I've already fixed that," he smiles.

As they finished with the Bies, Stasiek tracked down an old Yak 11 (a training fighter used by the Polish Armed Forces in the 1940s and 1950s) standing near the school in Orneta, where there was a very active military airfield after the war. The airfield was decommissioned, and the plane was left as a monument in front of the local mechanical engineering school. - You can imagine what a plane standing under the school looks like: everyone wants to unscrew something from it, the cabin is a veritable bomb funnel. We spent two years harassing the school's principal to give us this plane. And for six years we have been working to resurrect it. And it's almost ready," he assures. In order to resurrect such an aircraft, you first have to strip it down to the bare fuselage structure. Paint it, replace corroded parts, make up a lot of missing parts. And then laboriously reassemble it all, often using parts of different origin; this takes years. - The foundation employs three people, to whom I pay a salary out of my own pocket. This is my spending structure: not on banquets and women, but on planes.

For sport

- Since there are GPS systems and you don't have to calculate everything with your finger on the map, flying is very easy - dispelling my doubts about the level of difficulty of such a hobby. On the other hand, those concerning safety, he dispels with the help of an English proverb: - "There are old pilots and bold pilots. But never both." Flying requires great divisibility of attention and the ability to cope with stress: in difficult moments you can't brace yourself, you need to make quick decisions, he stresses. He himself had a few emergencies, such as when his engine went out in the air five minutes before landing and he had to plant the plane in a cornfield. Fortunately, the field was German, so big, and the corn was young, so low. But none of these situations discouraged him from flying. - In the air, there are no turns, no other road users. There is only you and the Lord God. Machines very rarely fail, the problem is usually human stupidity," he says.

His children followed in his footsteps. His daughter started by helping out as a PR manager, and is now involved in brokering the possibility of the Polish government buying Bell Viper attack helicopters, according to Mr. Jan - the best on the market. Her half-brother, Stasiek, is completing a pilot's course and runs a service company operating under JB Investments. - Since he was a little boy, I dressed him in these planes, and planted him in the cabins," recalls Mr. Jan. - When he was 18, three months before his high school graduation, he lost his mother. He was left alone, he only had me and that high school diploma in a moment. It was a real challenge," says Jan Borowski. - All these planes are a sucker. To raise children as people, that's success.

Text: Olga Wiechnik. Courtesy of Success magazine, in which it originally appeared.
Archive of JB Investments Ltd. (all rights reserved)
Photos: Marcin Zawadzki