The PZL M-24 Dromader Super ( Super Dromedary) is a single engine

agricultural aircraft An agricultural aircraft is an aircraft that has been built or converted for agricultural use – usually aerial application of pesticides (crop dusting) or fertilizer (aerial topdressing); in these roles they are referred to as "crop duster ...

, developed in the 1980s by the

WSK-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 ...

(later PZL-Mielec) from the

PZL-Mielec M-18 Dromader The PZL-Mielec M-18 ''Dromader'' (Polish: "Dromedary") is a single engine agricultural aircraft that is manufactured by PZL-Mielec in Poland. The aircraft is used mainly as a cropduster or firefighting machine. Development PZL-Mielec, then known ...

. It did not progress beyond the prototyping stage.

Development

The plane was developed as a bigger and more capable variant of the successful agricultural plane

. Some components of the M-18 were used it its construction, but it is generally bigger and stronger, with a more powerful engine. The wings were fitted with a new central section of a larger span. The first prototype of the M-24 flew on July 20, 1987, and was powered with a

Shvetsov ASh-62 The Shvetsov ASh-62 (Russian: АШ-62, designated M-62 before 1941) is a nine-cylinder, air-cooled, radial aircraft engine produced in the Soviet Union. A version of this engine is produced in Poland as the ASz-62 and the People's Republic of Ch ...

IR radial engine. The second prototype, designated M-24B, was powered by the Polish-designed PZL-Kalisz K-9AA radial engine and first flew in

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Australian ...

. The third prototype, M-24T, was powered by the Pratt & Whitney PT6A-45AG

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 ...

engine. Four prototypes were built, but the type did not enter production. The experience with the M-24 was utilised in creating the M-18B variant of the M-18, powered with the PZL K-9 engine, first flown in 1993.

Design

The aircraft is a metal low-wing cantilever

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 planes. A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing confi ...

, conventional in layout. It has a

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, covered with

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 ...

. The wings are composed of three parts, fitted with flaps and

slats Super Low Altitude Test Satellite (SLATS) or Tsubame was a JAXA satellite intended to demonstrate operations in very low Earth orbit (VLEO, below 200 km), using ion engines to counteract aerodynamic drag from the Earth's atmosphere which i ...

. There is a two-seat cabin (pilot and optional passenger or mechanic, in tandem), placed high. The single

radial engine The radial engine is a reciprocating type internal combustion engine configuration in which the cylinders "radiate" outward from a central crankcase like the spokes of a wheel. It resembles a stylized star when viewed from the front, and is ca ...

has a four blade propeller. Behind the engine is an internal tank for chemicals or water. A fuel tank holds . The plane has exchangeable sets of equipment for spraying,

cropdusting 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 ...

or fire extinguishing. It has 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 a tail wheel.

Specifications (M-24B)

References

External links

M-24 SP-PFB photos

PZL M21 Dromader Mini
{{PZL aircraft

M24 M24, M.24 or M-24 may refer to: Military * HMS ''M24'', a Royal Navy M15 class monitor * HMS ''M24'', Royal Swedish Navy ship, (see List of mine warfare vessels of the Royal Swedish Navy) * M24 Chaffee, an American light tank * M24 mine, an Ameri ...

1980s Polish agricultural aircraft Single-engined tractor aircraft Low-wing aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1987

Development

Design

Specifications (M-24B)

See also

References

Further reading

External links