The PZL-Mielec M-18 ''Dromader'' (

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...

: "

Dromedary The dromedary (''Camelus dromedarius'' or ;), also known as the dromedary camel, Arabian camel, or one-humped camel, is a large even-toed ungulate, of the genus ''Camelus'', with one hump on its back. It is the tallest of the three species of ...

") is a single engine agricultural aircraft that is manufactured by PZL-Mielec in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

. The aircraft is used mainly as a cropduster or

firefighting Firefighting is the act of extinguishing or preventing the spread of unwanted fires from threatening human lives and destroying property and the environment. A person who engages in firefighting is known as a firefighter. Firefighters typically ...

machine.

Development

PZL-Mielec, then known as WSK-Mielec, began to design the Dromader in the mid 1970s, with help of

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aircraft manufacturer

Rockwell International Rockwell International was a major American manufacturing conglomerate involved in aircraft, the space industry, defense and commercial electronics, components in the automotive industry, printing presses, avionics and industrial products. R ...

. PZL-Mielec asked for Rockwell's help because of the political situation at the time: operating in an

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country, PZL wanted the aircraft to sell well worldwide, and the company realized that certification by the United States

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would be important in reaching that goal. Rockwell on the other hand wanted to fit Polish high-power radial engines into its agricultural planes. As a result of this cooperation the

Rockwell Thrush Commander The Ayres Thrush, formerly the Snow S-2,Macdonald, 1964. p.138. Aero Commander Ag Commander, and Rockwell Thrush Commander, is an American agricultural aircraft produced by Ayres Corporation and more recently by Thrush Aircraft. It is one of the ...

aircraft was fitted with the

PZL-3 The Ivchenko AI-26 is a seven-cylinder air-cooled radial engine used in early Soviet helicopters and later used in light utility aircraft. Design and development The AI-26 engine was designed by A.G Ivchenko in 1945 with the early designation M ...

engine, and the Polish designers created the higher payload M-18 Dromader by introducing the more powerful ASz-62 engine, making structural changes to the airframe, and increasing dimensions. The cooperation led to the Dromader sharing outer wing panels and part of the fuselage with the Thrush Commander. The first prototype of the aircraft flew on August 27, 1976. In September

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd go ...

, the aircraft was given certification to fly in Poland. Certifications from many countries around the world followed soon. Many aircraft of the M-18 type and its variations can still be seen around the world. They were sold to 24 countries, over 200 are used in the US. In 2008, fifteen were sold to China. In 2012, PZL-Mielec was still selling models M-18B and M-18BS, with 759 built in total.M-18 Dromader on PZL Mielec homepage
etrieved 24-1-2012 , the Dromader was sold by PZL-Mielec, but the production has been halted.Gruszczyński, Jerzy. ''W pierwszej lidze dostawców'', "Lotnictwo Aviation International" Nr. 9/2017, p. 35-36 (in Polish) The produced aircraft are still refurbished instead, with new engines (produced by WSK "PZL-Kalisz"). There are plans to acquire rights and renew the production in WZL-2 in

Bydgoszcz Bydgoszcz ( , , ; german: Bromberg) is a city in northern Poland, straddling the meeting of the River Vistula with its left-bank tributary, the Brda. With a city population of 339,053 as of December 2021 and an urban agglomeration with more ...

Variants

;M-18:original one-seat production version, available for special orders only. ;M-18A:two seater available from

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...

onwards. Allows a mechanic or chemical loader to be carried as a passenger to remote fields. ;M-18AS:two-cockpit trainer version ;M-18B:refined version of M-18A with increased capacity, flown in

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...

. ;M-18BS:two-cockpit trainer. ;M-18C:version with more powerful 895 kW (1,200 hp) Kalisz K-9 engine. Flown in

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...

but not produced. ;M-18/T45 Turbine Dromader:

turboprop A turboprop is a turbine engine that drives an aircraft propeller. A turboprop consists of an intake, reduction gearbox, compressor, combustor, turbine, and a propelling nozzle. Air enters the intake and is compressed by the compressor. Fuel ...

powered with Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-45 engine. First flew in

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and was given FAA certification in April

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal ente ...

PZL-Mielec M-21 Dromader Mini SP-YFK OTT 2013 03

;M-21 Dromader Mini:smaller variant (1100 kg of chemicals), flown in 1982, not produced. ; M-24 Dromader Super:bigger variant (2000 kg of chemicals), flown in 1987, not produced. ;M-25 Dromader Mikro:smaller variant (500 kg of chemicals), sketch only. ;AII AVA-303:The M-18 is being built in Iran as the AVA-303.

Operators

Military

Piknik Lotniczy PZL-M-18 Dromader (cropped)

; *

Croatian Air Force The Croatian Air Force ( hr, Hrvatsko ratno zrakoplovstvo or HRZ) is a branch of the Croatian Armed Forces whose primary task is to ensure the sovereignty of the airspace of the Republic of Croatia and to provide aviation support to other branc ...

- Former operator. ; * Hellenic Air Force ; * Montenegrin Air Force ; - Agricultural Aviation

Civil

The Dromader is in service with aerial agriculture and other companies in many countries, operating in a variety of roles. The former Yugoslav Airline, Jugoslovenski Aerotransport, used it for cropspraying.

Specifications (M18B Dromader)

References

*Jackson, Paul. ''Jane's All The World's Aircraft 2003–2004''. Coulsdon, UK: Jane's Information Group, 2003. . *Taylor, Michael J. H. ''Brassey's World Aircraft & Systems Directory 1999/2000''. London: Brassey's, 1999. .

External links

PZL-Mielec page

PZL M21 Dromader Mini
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pzl-Mielec M-18 Dromader M18 1970s Polish agricultural aircraft Single-engined tractor aircraft Low-wing aircraft Aerial firefighting aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1976