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The Pazmany PL-4A is a single-seat, single-engine sport aircraft developed in the United States
[Taylor 1989, p.717] and first flown in 1972.
[''Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1985–86'', p.608] It is marketed for
homebuilding from plans, and 686 sets had sold by 1985.
The PL-4A is a conventional, low-wing
cantilever
A cantilever is a rigid structural element that extends horizontally and is unsupported at one end. Typically it extends from a flat vertical surface such as a wall, to which it must be firmly attached. Like other structural elements, a cantilev ...
monoplane
A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple wings.
A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing con ...
with an enclosed cabin and fixed, tailwheel undercarriage.
[Markowski 1979, p.241] The design features a
T-tail
A T-tail is an empennage wikt:configuration, configuration in which the tailplane of an aircraft is mounted to the top of the vertical stabilizer, fin. The arrangement looks like the capital letter T, hence the name. The T-tail differs fr ...
, chosen to facilitate folding the wings.
["Pazmany's PL-4 Features 'T'-tail and VW engine" 1972, p.40] Construction throughout is of metal, using standard extruded sections for the longerons
and
pop rivets as the basic fastener. The standard powerplant is a
Volkswagen air-cooled engine
The Volkswagen air-cooled engine is an Air-cooled engine, air-cooled, gasoline-fuelled, boxer engine with four horizontally opposed cast-iron cylinder (engine), cylinders, cast aluminum alloy cylinder heads and pistons, magnesium-alloy crankca ...
of
[Markowski 1979, p.245]["Pazmany's PL-4 Features 'T'-tail and VW engine" 1972, p.43] Construction time is estimated to be around 1,000–1,500 hours.
[Pazmany 1973, p.39][Bayerl, Robby; Martin Berkemeier; et al: ''World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2011-12'', page 114. WDLA UK, Lancaster UK, 2011. ISSN 1368-485X]
The PL-4A won the "Outstanding New Design" and "Outstanding Contribution to Low-Cost Flying" awards at the 1972
EAA Fly-In.
[Markowski 1979, p.246][Dwiggins 1973, p.78] By 2000 more than 50 had been built and flown.
Variants
;Pazmany PL-4A: Standard single seater, normally powered by a
Volkswagen air-cooled engine
The Volkswagen air-cooled engine is an Air-cooled engine, air-cooled, gasoline-fuelled, boxer engine with four horizontally opposed cast-iron cylinder (engine), cylinders, cast aluminum alloy cylinder heads and pistons, magnesium-alloy crankca ...
with V-belt drive reduction.
[Tacke, Willi; Marino Boric; et al: ''World Directory of Light Aviation 2015-16'', page 121. Flying Pages Europe SARL, 2015. ]
;Denight 100 D2 Special: Modified PL4A design to seat two
side by side. Main differences are an increase in length by 17 in (450 mm) and in fuselage width by 12 in (305 mm), a more powerful 115 hp (86 kW)
Avco Lycoming O-235 flat-four
A flat-four engine, also known as a horizontally opposed-four engine or boxer engine, is a four-cylinder piston engine with two banks of cylinders lying on opposite sides of a common crankshaft. The most common type of flat-four engine is the box ...
engine and a conventional tail. Maximum take-off weight is 1,250 lb (567 kg).
[Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1984/5 p.571]
Specifications
References
Notes
Bibliography
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{{Pazmany aircraft
1970s United States sport aircraft
Homebuilt aircraft
PL-04
Single-engined tractor aircraft
Low-wing aircraft
Aircraft first flown in 1972