The PZL M-17 "Duduś Kudłacz" (initially EM-5A) was a Polish twin-boom pusher
general aviation
General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations with the exception of commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services ...
and trainer aircraft of 1977, which remained a prototype.
Design and development
The aircraft was an amateur design of a team of students of
Warsaw University of Technology
The Warsaw University of Technology ( pl, Politechnika Warszawska, lit=Varsovian Polytechnic) is one of the leading institutes of technology in Poland and one of the largest in Central Europe. It employs 2,453 teaching faculty, with 357 professor ...
(Politechnika Warszawska) led by
Edward Margański. It had an unorthodox layout of a
pusher with twin booms and very streamlined fuselage. A crew of two sat side by side, and had double controls. A tricycle landing gear was retractable.
The plane was designed in 1969–1971. At the design stage it was designated EM-5A (EM for Margański) and nicknamed Duduś Kudłacz (''Hairy Duduś''). The aircraft factory
PZL-Mielec
PZL Mielec (''Polskie Zakłady Lotnicze'' - Polish Aviation Works), formerly WSK-Mielec (''Wytwórnia Sprzętu Komunikacyjnego'') and WSK "PZL-Mielec" is a Polish aerospace manufacturer based in Mielec. It is the largest aerospace manufacturer i ...
in
Mielec
Mielec ( yi, מעליץ-Melitz) is the largest city and seat of Mielec County. Mielec is located in south-eastern Poland (Lesser Poland), in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship (Województwo Podkarpackie). The population of Mielec in December 2021 was ...
got interested in the design and took over its development, under a designation PZL M-17. The design was modified there with help of Margański, plastic and duralumin construction was changed to riveted duralumin, and a less powerful engine.
The only prototype was flown on 7 July 1977 by S. Wasil. It was not produced in series. In 1979 the prototype was given to
Rzeszów University of Technology
Rzeszów University of Technology, also known as Rzeszów Polytechnic ( pl, Politechnika Rzeszowska im. Ignacego Łukasiewicza, PRz) or Ignacy Łukasiewicz University of Technology, is a state-run institution of higher education in Rzeszów, Pola ...
. A shortcoming of a streamlined fuselage was a cramped cockpit, the crewmen were half-laying in a similar way, as in
gliders.
The plane was a mid-wing monoplane. It had a two-blade wooden propeller and a 310-liter fuel tank .
Specifications
See also
References
PZL M-17at Poser site
External links
{{PZL aircraft
1970s Polish civil utility aircraft
M17
Warsaw University of Technology