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

PZL PZL (''Państwowe Zakłady Lotnicze'' - State Aviation Works) was the main Polish aerospace manufacturer of the interwar period, and a brand of their aircraft. Based in Warsaw between 1928 and 1939, PZL introduced a variety of well-regarded air ...

"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 Glider may refer to: Aircraft and transport Aircraft * Glider (aircraft), heavier-than-air aircraft primarily intended for unpowered flight ** Glider (sailplane), a rigid-winged glider aircraft with an undercarriage, used in the sport of glidin ...

towing,

parachute A parachute is a device used to slow the motion of an object through an atmosphere by creating drag or, in a ram-air parachute, aerodynamic lift. A major application is to support people, for recreation or as a safety device for aviators, who ...

training, transport,

air ambulance Air medical services is a comprehensive term covering the use of air transportation, aeroplane or helicopter, to move patients to and from healthcare facilities and accident scenes. Personnel provide comprehensive prehospital and emergency and cri ...

, patrolling and

crop dusting Aerial application, or what is informally referred to as 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 sp ...

(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 tec ...

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 (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 carburated version of the engine, which would have been d ...

. It was flown on 27 July

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...

(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 ( en, Eaglet) 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 ...

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 I0-540 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-hardenable aluminium alloys. The term is a combination of '' Dürener'' and ''aluminium''. Its use as a tra ...

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 manufacture, while ...

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 takeoff or landing. For aircraft it is generally needed for both. It was also formerly called ''alighting gear'' by some manufacturers, such as the Glenn L. Martin ...

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 ( pl, Muzeum Lotnictwa Polskiego w Krakowie) 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 Ai ...

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...

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