The PZL-105 Flaming (''flamingo'') is a Polish short-takeoff-and-landing (STOL) utility aircraft designed by

PZL PZL, may refer to: Places * PZL, an IATA airport code for Phinda Airfield in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa * PZL, a location code for the Złotów County, Greater Poland Voivodeship, Poland, in the system of the vehicle registration plates of Polan ...

"Warszawa-Okęcie". It remained a prototype.

Development

The PZL-105 was designed as a successor to the successful utility aircraft

PZL-104 Wilga PZL-104 Wilga ('' golden oriole'') is a Polish short-takeoff-and-landing (STOL) civil aviation utility aircraft designed and originally manufactured by PZL Warszawa-Okęcie, and later by European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS), who ...

, being more modern and economical and offering increased transport capacity. The design was initially called Wilga 88. It retained the high-wing layout of the PZL-104 and the upward-opening side doors, but it was a completely new aircraft. Compared with the Wilga, it has a six-seat cabin instead of four seats and the wings are supported by single struts instead of a cantilever design. The plane was intended for a variety of purposes, like glider towing,

parachute A parachute is a device designed to slow an object's descent through an atmosphere by creating Drag (physics), drag or aerodynamic Lift (force), lift. It is primarily used to safely support people exiting aircraft at height, but also serves va ...

training, transport,

air ambulance Air medical services are the use of aircraft, including both fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters to provide various kinds of urgent medical care, especially prehospital, emergency and critical care to patients during aeromedical evacuation an ...

, patrolling and

crop dusting Aerial application, or crop dusting, involves spraying crops with crop protection products from an agricultural aircraft. Planting certain types of seed are also included in aerial application. The specific spreading of fertilizer is also known a ...

(with 500 kg of chemicals). Also, a

seaplane A seaplane is a powered fixed-wing aircraft capable of takeoff, taking off and water landing, landing (alighting) on water.Gunston, "The Cambridge Aerospace Dictionary", 2009. Seaplanes are usually divided into two categories based on their tech ...

variant was intended. The first prototype, powered by a 265 kW (360 hp) Russian M-14P radial engine, was first flown on 9 November

1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...

(markings SP-PRC). An intended designation of a serial variant was PZL-105M. The second prototype, designated PZL-105L, was fitted with a flat engine 298 kW (400 hp)

Lycoming IO-720 The Lycoming IO-720 engine is a large displacement, horizontally opposed, eight-cylinder aircraft engine featuring four cylinders per side, manufactured by Lycoming Engines. There is no carbureted version of the engine, which would have bee ...

. It was flown on 27 July

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

(markings SP-PRD). There was also made one prototype for static trials. Problems with funding at the outbreak of the 1980s and 1990s, connected with a change of political system in Poland, and the priority of the

PZL-130 Orlik The PZL 130 Orlik () is a Polish turboprop, single engine, two seat trainer aircraft. Development and design The Orlik was designed by PZL Warszawa-Okecie as a trainer for the Polish Air Force, intended as a replacement for its PZL-110 Kolibe ...

trainer program, had caused the Flaming program to be suspended, and production of the type has yet to have started. The company developed a new variant of the PZL-104, the Wilga 2000 with

Lycoming IO-540 The Lycoming O-540 is a family of air-cooled six-cylinder, horizontally opposed fixed-wing aircraft and helicopter engines of displacement, manufactured by Lycoming Engines. The engine is a six-cylinder version of the four-cylinder Lycoming O-3 ...

flat engine instead.

Design

Metal construction braced high-wing monoplane, conventional in layout,

duralumin Duralumin (also called duraluminum, duraluminium, duralum, dural(l)ium, or dural) is a trade name for one of the earliest types of age hardening, age-hardenable aluminium–copper alloys. The term is a combination of ''Düren'' and ''aluminium'' ...

covered. Semi-

monocoque Monocoque ( ), also called structural skin, is a structural system in which loads are supported by an object's external skin, in a manner similar to an egg shell. The word ''monocoque'' is a French term for "single shell". First used for boats, ...

fuselage. Rectangular single-spar wings, fitted with Fowler flaps and slotted

flaperon A flaperon (a portmanteau of '' flap'' and ''aileron'') on an aircraft's wing is a type of control surface that combines the functions of both flaps and ailerons. Some smaller kitplanes have flaperons for reasons of simplicity of manufactur ...

s. Six-seat cabin with three rows of seats, with large side doors opening upwards. Conventional fixed

landing gear Landing gear is the undercarriage of an aircraft or spacecraft that is used for taxiing, takeoff or landing. For aircraft, it is generally needed for all three of these. It was also formerly called ''alighting gear'' by some manufacturers, s ...

with tail wheel, the main gear is made of composite spring legs. Two-blade or three-blade (PZL-105L) metal propeller. Fuel tanks in wings (270 L).

Surviving aircraft

The first prototype and the second prototype airframe (lacking engine) are in a collection of the

Polish Aviation Museum The Polish Aviation Museum () is a large museum of historic aircraft and aircraft engines in Kraków, Poland. It is located at the site of the no-longer functional Kraków-Rakowice-Czyżyny Airport. This airfield, established by Austr ...

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

Specifications (PZL-105M)

References

External links

Photos at Lotnictwo.net
{{PZL aircraft 1980s Polish civil utility aircraft PZL aircraft Single-engined tractor aircraft High-wing aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1989 Aircraft with fixed conventional landing gear Single-engined piston aircraft