PZL M-2


PZL M-2 was a Polish trainer aircraft prototype of 1958, a low-wing monoplane with a fixed gear, designed at WSK-Mielec, that did not enter production.

Design and development

The M-2 was designed as a trainer aircraft for the Polish Aero Club by the newly created construction bureau of the WSK Mielec factory. The aircraft's main designer was Stanisław Jachyra. The first prototype was flown on 26 June 1958 with the second prototype flying on 13 September that year.
The aircraft was of relatively modern, all-metal construction. Its major drawback was its engine, an imported Praga Doris flat-six piston engine, which caused vibration and was not suitable for aerobatics. This limited the potential use of the aircraft. It was proposed to substitute the Polish designed and built Narkiewicz WN-6 flat-six engine, but this was still under development and was never perfected. Due to these problems with the powerplant, the development of the aircraft was delayed, and in the meantime, the Polish Aero Club changed its preferences to aircraft with a tricycle landing gear and withdrew its interest in the M-2. As a result, the M-2 did not enter production and further works were abandoned. A development of the M-2 was the PZL M-4 Tarpan, with a retractable tricycle landing gear.

Description

Metal construction low-wing monoplane, conventional in layout, metal covered. Semi-monocoque fuselage. Trapezoid wings, two-spar, fitted with flaps. Crew of two, sitting in tandem, under a common canopy, with double controls. Fixed conventional landing gear. Flat engine in front, two-blade tractor propeller, 2.3 m diameter. Fuel tanks in wings - 120 l.

Survivors

The first prototype is stored in the Polish Aviation Museum in Kraków, the second prototype is preserved as a monument in Radomyśl Wielki near Mielec.

Specifications