__NOTOC__ The Pazmany PL-4A is a single-seat, single-engine sport aircraft developed in the United StatesTaylor 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 supported at only 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 canti ...

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 ...

with an enclosed cabin and fixed, tailwheel undercarriage.Markowski 1979, p.241 The design features a

T-tail A T-tail is an empennage configuration in which the tailplane is mounted to the top of the fin. The arrangement looks like the capital letter T, hence the name. The T-tail differs from the standard configuration in which the tailplane is ...

, 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 rivet A rivet is a permanent mechanical fastener. Before being installed, a rivet consists of a smooth cylindrical shaft with a head on one end. The end opposite to the head is called the ''tail''. On installation, the rivet is placed in a punched o ...

s as the basic fastener. The standard powerplant is a

Volkswagen air-cooled engine The Volkswagen air-cooled engine is an air-cooled, gasoline-fuelled, boxer engine with four horizontally opposed cast-iron cylinders, cast aluminum alloy cylinder heads and pistons, magnesium-alloy crankcase, and forged steel crankshaft and co ...

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.39Bayerl, 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 EAA AirVenture Oshkosh (formerly the EAA Annual Convention and Fly-In), or just Oshkosh, is an annual air show and gathering of aviation enthusiasts held each summer at Wittman Regional Airport and adjacent Pioneer Airport in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, ...

.Markowski 1979, p.246Dwiggins 1973, p.78 By 2000 more than 50 had been built and flown.

Variants

;Pazmany PL-4A: Standard single seater, normally powered by a

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 The Lycoming O-235 is a family of four-cylinder, air-cooled, horizontally opposed piston aircraft engines that produce , derived from the earlier O-233 engine.Textron Lycoming: ''Operator's Manual, Textron Lycoming Aircraft Engines, Series O-23 ...

flat-four A flat-four engine, also known as a horizontally opposed-four 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 boxer-four engine, ...

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

* * * * * * * * {{Pazmany aircraft 1970s United States sport aircraft Homebuilt aircraft PL-04 Single-engined tractor aircraft Low-wing aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1972