The Tatra T.101 is a two-seat

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 ...

general aviation aircraft that was built in 1937 by Tatra. Only one aircraft was built, but it set several records in the hands of Jan Ambruš. In 2008 a replica aircraft was constructed by brothers Ivo and Jiří Sklenář. It first flew in October 2009.

Design and development

Tatra started making aircraft in 1935, building the Avro 626 Avian and

Bücker Bü 131 Jungmann The Bücker Bü 131 ''Jungmann'' (freshman, young man)Commonly translated as young man, but often used to refer to a freshman, or a member of an organization in their first year, per Sarjeant, 1971, p.253. is a German 1930s basic training aircra ...

under licence. In 1937 the Tatra T.001 was the first aircraft designed and built by Tatra. The T.101 was a development of that aircraft, with an increased wingspan and a larger empennage than the T.001. Only one aircraft was built by Tatra,

msn MSN (meaning Microsoft Network) is a web portal and related collection of Internet services and apps for Windows and mobile devices, provided by Microsoft and launched on August 24, 1995, alongside the release of Windows 95. The Microsoft Net ...

01. It was registered OK-TAO.

Operational history

The Tatra T.101 gained a number of records. In 1937 a prize was offered for the longest flight by an aircraft of

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n origin. In 1938 Jan Ambruš and Vojtěch Matěna flew from

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Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

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, Sudan, a distance of . The aircraft achieved a height record of in the category for two-seat aircraft with an engine capacity of less than . This was later raised to .

Replica

After the

Velvet Revolution The Velvet Revolution ( cs, Sametová revoluce) or Gentle Revolution ( sk, Nežná revolúcia) was a non-violent transition of power in what was then Czechoslovakia, occurring from 17 November to 28 November 1989. Popular demonstrations agains ...

of 1989, citizens in the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

and

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gained new freedom. The celebration of heritage had been suppressed under communism and the restoration of historic aircraft was forbidden by the Communist authorities. Since the revolution, interest in heritage has grown, and a number of attempts to revive industrial heritage, including aviation heritage, have been successful. One of these projects was the re-creation of the Tatra T.101 by twins Ivo and Jiří Sklenář. In the early 2000s they started researching the aircraft and discovered that the blueprints had escaped destruction. They were discovered in the state archive at

Opava Opava (; german: Troppau, pl, Opawa) is a city in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 55,000 inhabitants. It lies on the river Opava (river), Opava. Opava is one of the historical centres of Silesia. It was a histori ...

. A Tatra HM-504 and a Tatra T100 engine were acquired with the assistance of Tatra and the Czech . These two engines were rebuilt and made into an airworthy T100 engine with the assistance of Tatra and the Czech National Technical Museum. The process was hampered by the non-availability of spare parts, particularly cylinder valves. A new two-bladed wooden propeller was one of the first items made for the aircraft. The replica used some modern manufacturing methods and materials, such as

TIG welding Gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW), also known as tungsten inert gas (TIG) welding, is an arc welding process that uses a non-consumable tungsten electrode to produce the weld. The weld area and electrode are protected from oxidation or other atmo ...

, carbon composites and

fibreglass Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass (Commonwealth English) is a common type of fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened into a sheet called a chopped strand mat, or woven into glass clo ...

. Deviations from the original design were made only where required by modern aeronautical regulations. The aircraft has modern

avionics Avionics (a blend word, blend of ''aviation'' and ''electronics'') are the Electronics, electronic systems used on aircraft. Avionic systems include communications, Air navigation, navigation, the display and management of multiple systems, ...

and a strobe light. The span wooden wings are a one-piece unit. They were built by Jan Tobek, an

ultralight aircraft Ultralight aviation (called microlight aviation in some countries) is the flying of lightweight, 1- or 2-seat fixed-wing aircraft. Some countries differentiate between weight-shift control and conventional three-axis control aircraft with ailer ...

maker. The wing is the largest wooden wing built in the Czech Republic since the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. The aircraft was assembled at

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in a hangar owned by

Evektor-Aerotechnik Evektor-Aerotechnik is a Czech aircraft manufacturer based in Kunovice, Czech Republic. The company produces range of light sport aircraft, training, advanced ultralight aircraft and electric aircraft. Evektor-Aerotechnik is also developin ...

and

Let Kunovice Aircraft Industries, a.s.,Contacts
" Let Kunovice. Retrieved on 19 May 2011. "Aircraft Industries, a.s. Na Záhonech 1177 ...

. The aircraft was completed on 29 September 2008. After ground testing, a series of flight tests was begun in October 2009, resulting in the issue of a

Certificate of Airworthiness A standard certificate of airworthiness is a permit for commercial passenger or cargo operation, issued for an aircraft by the civil aviation authority in the state/nation in which the aircraft is registered. For other aircraft such as crop-spraye ...

on 1 December 2009. The replica aircraft was given msn 02.

Specifications

References

External links