PZL M-28
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| PZL M-28 Skytruck / Bryza |
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|---|---|
 Polish Navy PZL M-28B Bryza 1R |
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| Type | STOL transport and patrol aircraft |
| Manufacturer | PZL Mielec |
| Designed by | Antonov/PZL Mielec |
| Maiden flight | 22 July 1984 (PZL An-28) 24 July 1993 (PZL M-28 Skytruck) |
| Primary users | Polish Air Force Polish Navy Vietnamese Air Force Royal Nepalese Army Air Service |
| Number built | 176+ (including PZL An-28) |
| Developed from | Antonov An-28 |
The PZL M-28 Skytruck is a Polish STOL light cargo and passenger plane, produced by PZL Mielec, as a development of licence-built Antonov An-28. Early licence-built planes were designated PZL An-28. It has also maritime patrol and reconnaissance variants. In the Polish Navy they are named Bryza ("sea breeze").
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[edit] Design and development
The Antonov An-28 was the winner of a competition against the Beriev Be-30 for a new light passenger and utility transport for Aeroflot's short haul routes, conceived to replace highly successful An-2 biplane. The An-28 is substantially derived from the earlier An-14. Commonality with the An-14 includes the high wing layout, twin fins and rudders, but it differs in having a new and far larger fuselage, plus turboprop engines. The original powerplant was the TVD-850, but production versions are powered by the more powerful TVD-10B, with three-blade propellers.
The An-28 made its first flight as the An-14M in September 1969 in the Ukraine. A subsequent preproduction aircraft first flew in April 1975. Production of the An-28 was then transferred to Poland's PZL Mielec in 1978, although it was not until July 22, 1984 that the first Polish-built production aircraft flew. The An-28's Soviet type certificate was awarded in April 1986.
PZL Mielec has become the sole source for production An-28s. Basic variant, not differing from the Soviet one, was designated PZL An-28 and powered with PZL-10S (licence-built TVD-10B) engines. They were built mostly for the USSR, until it broke up. The plane was next developed by the PZL-Mielec into a westernised version powered by 820kW (1100shp) Pratt & Whitney PT6A-65B turboprops with five-blade Hartzell propellers, plus some western (BendixKing) avionics (a distinguishing feature are exhaust pipes, sticking out on sides of engine nacelles). Designated the PZL M-28 Skytruck, first flight was on 24 July 1993 and it is in limited production, mostly for export (39 produced by 2006). The type received Polish certification in March 1996, and US FAR Part 23 certificate on 19 March 2004.
Apart from the Skytruck, PZL-Mielec developed a family of militarized light transport and maritime reconnaissance planes for the Polish Air Force and Polish Navy in the 1990s, with original PZL-10S engines, named PZL M-28B in the Air Force and Bryza in the Navy. From 2000, newly produced M-28Bs started to be equipped with five-blade propellers as well.
[edit] Description
It is a twin-engined high-wing strutted monoplane of all-metal structure, with twin vertical fins and a robust tricycle non-retractable landing gear, featuring a steerable nose wheel to provide for operation from short, unprepared runways where hot or high altitude conditions may exist. The M-28 is best suited for passenger and/or cargo transportation.
- Short takeoff & landing (STOL) capability
- Perfect flight handling at low airspeeds
- High useful load, mission versatility
- Unpaved airstrip operating capability
- Easy access through rear cargo door, fitted with a hoist for cargo loading and relocation inside the cabin
- High-wing arrangement for protection of engines and propellers against damage when operating from unpaved airstrips
- Easy and quick conversion of the cabin interior configuration
- Low operating cost
- PT6 engines of inverted configuration for efficient protection against foreign object ingression owing to inertial separators installed inside air inlet ducts.
While of conventional design, one notable feature of the An-28 is that it will not stall, due to its automatic slats. An engine failure that would usually induce the wing to drop 30° is combated by an automatic spoiler forward of the aileron that opens on the opposite wing, restricting wing drop to 12° in five seconds.
[edit] Operational history
176 An-28s and M-28s in all variants were built in Poland by 2006. Most numerous users are former Soviet civil aviation and the Polish Air Force and Navy (about 25 as of 2006), less numerous are used by the Polish civil aviation and in the USA, Nepal, Colombia, Venezuela, Vietnam and Indonesia.
[edit] Variants
[edit] Airframe Variants
- PZL An-28
- Original variant build under Antonov licence, with PZL-10S (licence TV-10B) engines.
- PZL M-28 Skytruck
- Development variant with redesigned hull and wings, new Pratt & Whitney Canada engines, new (western) avionics, 5-blade rotors, and some other minor changes.
- PZL M-28B Bryza
- Militarized variants used by Polish Air Force and Polish Navy, similar to Skytruck, but with PZL-10S engines.
- PZL M-28+ Skytruck Plus
- Prototype of new lengthened variant with more internal space, not in production.
[edit] Variants in use by Polish Military
- PZL An-28TD
- Basic transport variant. Used mainly for transport and paratroop training (2 built).
- PZL M-28B
- Several similar improved transport variants featuring avionics and airframe upgrades: Bryza 1TD (2 built), M-28B (3 built), M-28B Salon (1 built), M-28B TDII, TDIII and TDIV (2 built of each).
- PZL M-28B Bryza 1R
- Maritime patrol and reconnaissance variant (equipped with: 360° Search and Surveillance Radar ASR-400, Link-11 datalink). Used mainly for sea border patrolling, search and rescue operations and protection of the national economical sea zone (7 built).
- PZL M-28B Bryza 1E
- Maritime ecological reconnaissance and patrol variant (2 built).
- PZL M-28B Bryza 1RM bis
- Maritime patrol and reconnaissance variant with submarine detection capability, of 2004 (equipped with: 360° Search and Surveillance Radar ARS-800-2, ejection of single-use hydro-acoustic sonobuoys, Thermal Imaging System (FLIR), magnetic anomaly detector, Link-11 datalink). Used mainly for sea border patrolling, search and rescue operations and protection of the national economical sea zone (1 built as of 2006).
- PZL M-28 05 Skytruck
- Maritime patrol and SAR variant for the Polish Border Guard, of 2006 (equipped with Search and Surveillance Radar ARS-400M and FLIR system) (1 built as of 2006).
[edit] Operators
[edit] Specifications (PZL M-28)
General characteristics
- Crew: 2
- Capacity: 18 passengers, 12 airborne troops
- Payload: 3,083 kg (6,782 lb)
- Length: 13.1 m (42 ft 11½ in)
- Wingspan: 22.06 m (72 ft 5 in)
- Height: 4.9 m (16 ft 1 in)
- Wing area: 39.7 m² (427.51 ft²)
- Empty weight: 3,917 kg (8,635 lb)
- Max takeoff weight: 7,000 kg (15,432 lb)
- Powerplant: 2× Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-65B turboprops, 820 kW (1,100 shp) each
Performance
- Maximum speed: 350 km/h (189 kt)
- Cruise speed: 350 km/h (189 kt)
- Range: 1,365 km (737 nm) with max fuel and 1,000 kg (2,205 lb) payload
[edit] References
- Wójcik, Sławomir. Bryzy z Mielca, cz.I in: nowa Technika Wojskowa 7-8/2006
[edit] External links
Webs
Films
[edit] See also
Related development
Comparable aircraft
- de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter
- IAI Arava
- Dornier Do 228
- Harbin Y-12
- CASA C-212
- Shorts SC.7 Skyvan
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