PZL-101 Gawron
Encyclopedia
The PZL-101 Gawron (Rook
) is a Polish
agricultural
and utility aircraft designed and built by WSK-Okęcie
(later PZL "Warszawa-Okęcie").
, manufactured in Poland under licence from 1956
. The main goal was to create an agricultural aircraft
with increased useful load. Works were carried out by a team led by Stanisław Lassota. Behind two crew seats there was installed a container for 500 kg of chemicals, with a "hump" above a fuselage. Because a center of gravity moved rearwards, the plane was fitted with new, swept wings, with significant vertical end plates to improve air flow. Later, in most of the aircraft they were removed, because they increased side surface, making landing very tricky in crosswind. Main landing gear was also shifted rearwards, comparing with Yak-12. An equipment was simplified and lightened to increase useful load more, eg. a right door was removed.
The first prototype flew on April 14, 1958, and the production of the PZL-101 started in 1960
. From 1962 the PZL-101A variant was produced, with improved equipment, pilot's seat raised and a right-side door added. From 1965
a further improved PZL-101B was produced. Visible changes were: lack of "hump" above the fuselage and a bigger air intake below engine. Apart from agricultural planes, there were made four-seater utility planes and air ambulance
s. Until production end in 1968
, 325 planes were manufactured, including 215 agricultural ones, 78 utility ones and 32 air ambulances.
, Libya
, Egypt
). They were mostly replaced in this role in the late 1970s by the PZL-106 Kruk and PZL-Mielec M-18 Dromader
. Air ambulances were used in the Polish civilian aviation. Utility Gawrons were used in aero clubs
in the country, also for glider
towing and parachute
training (with removed right doors). In 2006 there remained 40 Gawrons in the Polish registry, including 4 private owned.
134 PZL-101s were exported, mainly to Hungary
and Bulgaria
, in lesser numbers to eight other countries.
On 30 March 2007 EADS PZL "Warszawa-Okęcie" S.A.
announced that will not longer support their tasks related with flight certificates for Jak-12A
, Jak-12M
and PZL-101 Gawron. Between 31 March and 28 June 2007 Polish Civil Aviation Office
was temporary certificate holder. Since 28 June PZL-101s can be used only as experimental aircraft
class.
, conventional in layout. Fuselage of a steel frame, covered with duralumin
(front) and canvas (tail). Two-spar wings, canvas covered, fitted with slotted flaps
, slats
and vertical edge plates. Two-seat or four-seat cabin. Conventional fixed landing gear
with a tail wheel. In an agricultural variant there was 800-litre container in a fuselage (for 500 kg of chemicals), behind front seats, with exchangeable sets of equipment for spraying or cropdusting.
Single radial engine
9-cylinder AI-14R (cruise power 161 kW/220 hp, take-off power 191 kW/260 hp). Two-blade propeller. Two fuel tanks in wings, 90 l each.
PZL-101A
PZL-101B
Rook (bird)
The Rook is a member of the Corvidae family in the passerine order of birds. Named by Carl Linnaeus in 1758, the species name frugilegus is Latin for "food-gathering"....
) is a Polish
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
agricultural
Agricultural aircraft
An agricultural aircraft is an aircraft that has been built or converted for agricultural use - usually aerial application of pesticides or fertilizer ; in these roles they are referred to as "crop dusters" or "top dressers"...
and utility aircraft designed and built by WSK-Okęcie
PZL
PZL was the main Polish aerospace manufacturer of the interwar period, based in Warsaw, functioning in 1928-1939...
(later PZL "Warszawa-Okęcie").
Design and development
The PZL-101 was a development of the Jakowlew Jak-12MYakovlev Yak-12
The Yakovlev Yak-12 is a light multirole STOL aircraft used by the Soviet Air Force, Soviet civilian aviation and other countries from 1947 onwards.-Design and development:...
, manufactured in Poland under licence from 1956
1956 in aviation
This is a list of aviation-related events from 1956:-February:* February 18 – An engine fire breaks out on a Scottish Airlines Avro York just after takeoff from Malta International Airport, Luqa, Malta...
. The main goal was to create an agricultural aircraft
Agricultural aircraft
An agricultural aircraft is an aircraft that has been built or converted for agricultural use - usually aerial application of pesticides or fertilizer ; in these roles they are referred to as "crop dusters" or "top dressers"...
with increased useful load. Works were carried out by a team led by Stanisław Lassota. Behind two crew seats there was installed a container for 500 kg of chemicals, with a "hump" above a fuselage. Because a center of gravity moved rearwards, the plane was fitted with new, swept wings, with significant vertical end plates to improve air flow. Later, in most of the aircraft they were removed, because they increased side surface, making landing very tricky in crosswind. Main landing gear was also shifted rearwards, comparing with Yak-12. An equipment was simplified and lightened to increase useful load more, eg. a right door was removed.
The first prototype flew on April 14, 1958, and the production of the PZL-101 started in 1960
1960 in aviation
This is a list of aviation-related events from 1960:-January:* January 1 – Fiji Airways is reconstituted, becoming equally owned by BOAC, Qantas, and Tasman Empire Airways....
. From 1962 the PZL-101A variant was produced, with improved equipment, pilot's seat raised and a right-side door added. From 1965
1965 in aviation
This is a list of aviation-related events from 1965:-January:* January 2 - Denis Healey, the United Kingdoms Secretary of Defence, cancels the nation's fighter and military transport programmes and orders the purchase of the US-built F-4 Phantom and C-130 Hercules in their place.* January 26 -...
a further improved PZL-101B was produced. Visible changes were: lack of "hump" above the fuselage and a bigger air intake below engine. Apart from agricultural planes, there were made four-seater utility planes and air ambulance
Air ambulance
An air ambulance is an aircraft used for emergency medical assistance in situations where either a traditional ambulance cannot reach the scene easily or quickly enough, or the patient needs to be transported over a distance or terrain that makes air transportation the most practical transport....
s. Until production end in 1968
1968 in aviation
This is a list of aviation-related events from 1968:- Events :* In the 1968 White Paper on Defence, the British Labour government announces that the Royal Navys aircraft carrier force will be phased out as soon as the United Kingdom has completed its withdrawal from Malaysia, Singapore, and the...
, 325 planes were manufactured, including 215 agricultural ones, 78 utility ones and 32 air ambulances.
Operational history
The main user of the PZL-101 was the Polish civilian aviation. Polish agricultural planes were used in Poland and in services abroad (AustriaAustria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, Libya
Libya
Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....
, Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
). They were mostly replaced in this role in the late 1970s by the PZL-106 Kruk and PZL-Mielec M-18 Dromader
PZL-Mielec M-18 Dromader
|-See also:-References:*Jackson, Paul. Jane's All The World's Aircraft 2003–2004. Coulsdon, UK: Jane's Information Group, 2003. ISBN 0-7106-2537-5....
. Air ambulances were used in the Polish civilian aviation. Utility Gawrons were used in aero clubs
Polish Aero Club
Aeroklub Polski is the Polish central association of persons practising air sports or recreational flying. It was founded in 1921 and is a member of the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale. It has a headquarters in Warsaw....
in the country, also for glider
Glider (sailplane)
A glider or sailplane is a type of glider aircraft used in the sport of gliding. Some gliders, known as motor gliders are used for gliding and soaring as well, but have engines which can, in some cases, be used for take-off or for extending a flight...
towing and parachute
Parachute
A parachute is a device used to slow the motion of an object through an atmosphere by creating drag, or in the case of ram-air parachutes, aerodynamic lift. Parachutes are usually made out of light, strong cloth, originally silk, now most commonly nylon...
training (with removed right doors). In 2006 there remained 40 Gawrons in the Polish registry, including 4 private owned.
134 PZL-101s were exported, mainly to Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
and Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
, in lesser numbers to eight other countries.
On 30 March 2007 EADS PZL "Warszawa-Okęcie" S.A.
PZL
PZL was the main Polish aerospace manufacturer of the interwar period, based in Warsaw, functioning in 1928-1939...
announced that will not longer support their tasks related with flight certificates for Jak-12A
Yakovlev Yak-12
The Yakovlev Yak-12 is a light multirole STOL aircraft used by the Soviet Air Force, Soviet civilian aviation and other countries from 1947 onwards.-Design and development:...
, Jak-12M
Yakovlev Yak-12
The Yakovlev Yak-12 is a light multirole STOL aircraft used by the Soviet Air Force, Soviet civilian aviation and other countries from 1947 onwards.-Design and development:...
and PZL-101 Gawron. Between 31 March and 28 June 2007 Polish Civil Aviation Office
Civil Aviation Office
The Civil Aviation Office of the Republic of Poland , abbreviated as ULC or CAO, as a civil aviation authority, is an agency of the Polish government under the Ministry of Infrastructure responsible for implementing policies on civil aviation to assure safe, economic and efficient air travel.CAO is...
was temporary certificate holder. Since 28 June PZL-101s can be used only as experimental aircraft
Experimental aircraft
An experimental aircraft is an aircraft that has not yet been fully proven in flight. Often, this implies that new aerospace technologies are being tested on the aircraft, though the label is more broad....
class.
Description
Metal construction braced high-wing monoplaneMonoplane
A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with one main set of wing surfaces, in contrast to a biplane or triplane. Since the late 1930s it has been the most common form for a fixed wing aircraft.-Types of monoplane:...
, conventional in layout. Fuselage of a steel frame, covered with duralumin
Duralumin
Duralumin is the trade name of one of the earliest types of age-hardenable aluminium alloys. The main alloying constituents are copper, manganese, and magnesium. A commonly used modern equivalent of this alloy type is AA2024, which contains 4.4% copper, 1.5% magnesium, 0.6% manganese and 93.5%...
(front) and canvas (tail). Two-spar wings, canvas covered, fitted with slotted flaps
Flap (aircraft)
Flaps are normally hinged surfaces mounted on the trailing edges of the wings of a fixed-wing aircraft to reduce the speed an aircraft can be safely flown at and to increase the angle of descent for landing without increasing air speed. They shorten takeoff and landing distances as well as...
, slats
Leading edge slats
Slats are aerodynamic surfaces on the leading edge of the wings of fixed-wing aircraft which, when deployed, allow the wing to operate at a higher angle of attack. A higher coefficient of lift is produced as a result of angle of attack and speed, so by deploying slats an aircraft can fly at slower...
and vertical edge plates. Two-seat or four-seat cabin. Conventional fixed landing gear
Landing Gear
Landing Gear is Devin the Dude's fifth studio album. It was released on October 7, 2008. It was his first studio album since signing with the label Razor & Tie. It features a high-profile guest appearance from Snoop Dogg. As of October 30, 2008, the album has sold 18,906 copies.-Track...
with a tail wheel. In an agricultural variant there was 800-litre container in a fuselage (for 500 kg of chemicals), behind front seats, with exchangeable sets of equipment for spraying or cropdusting.
Single radial engine
Radial engine
The radial engine is a reciprocating type internal combustion engine configuration in which the cylinders point outward from a central crankshaft like the spokes on a wheel...
9-cylinder AI-14R (cruise power 161 kW/220 hp, take-off power 191 kW/260 hp). Two-blade propeller. Two fuel tanks in wings, 90 l each.
Variants
PZL-101- First production series built between 1960 and 1962.
PZL-101A
- Version with improved equipment and a right-side door added, built between 1962 and 1965.
PZL-101B
- Improved version lacking of "hump" above the fuselage and with bigger air intake below engine, built between 1965 and 1968.