Zlín Z 42

Zlin 42, 142 and 242 series
Moravan Zlin 242L
Role Sport, personal and trainer aircraft
Manufacturer Moravan Otrokovice
First flight 17 October 1967
Introduction 1970
Variants Zlín Z 43

The Zlin Z 42 is a single-engine two-seat Czechoslovakian trainer aircraft manufactured by Moravan Otrokovice. A developed version, the Z 142, is the most popular aircraft variant in the manufacturer's aircraft line.

Design and development

Zlin Z42 M, tail number SP-AKE (nr 0170).

The aircraft were built by Moravan Aviation, founded in 1934 by Tomáš Baťa in the Czech Republic.

As a follow-on and replacement for the successful Zlin Trener series of tandem aerobatic trainers, Moravan developed a new family of light aircraft, featuring a side-by-side seat layout, and comprising a two-seat trainer, the Zlín Z 42 and a four-seat trainer/tourer aircraft, the Zlín Z 43. The Z 42 first flew on 17 October 1967,[1] achieving airworthiness certification on 7 September 1970.[2]

The aircraft fuselage center section is of welded steel tube, covered with sheet metal and fiberglass panels. The tailcone is of monocoque construction. The empennage is of sheet metal. The two-spar wings are of all-metal construction. The tricycle landing gear is fixed, with a steerable nosewheel. Designed for aerobatics instruction, it was certified to +6.0 and -4.0 limit maneuvering load factors, and was equipped with full inverted fuel and oil systems, permitting extended inverted flight. The Z 42 is powered by a Walter inverted six-cylinder engine rated at 134 kW (180 hp).

The revised Zlín Z 42M flew in November 1972, with a revised tail taken from the Z 43, and a Constant speed propeller replacing the variable pitch propeller (where the propeller pitch is controlled by the pilot) of the original Z 42. When early Z 42s were refitted with the new propeller, they were redesignated Z 42 MU.[2]

Zlin Z-142

Development continued, with the Zlin Z 142, featuring a slightly enlarged two-seat airframe based on that of the Z 42 and the more powerful (157 kW (210 hp)) Walter (now LOM) M 337 fuel-injected inverted six-cylinder, supercharged air-cooled engine of the Z 43 replacing the unsupercharged M 137 engine of the Z 42. The prototype Z-142 first flew on 29 December 1978.[3]

In the late 1980s, further development work was initiated. The inverted inline engine was replaced with a four-cylinder horizontally-opposed Lycoming IO-360 engine. This variant is designated the Z 242, and is immediately distinguishable by its relatively wide cowling which houses the flat-four engine.

Operational history

Two Z-142s were used by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in bombing sorties on the Sri Lankan airforce bases in Sri Lanka in 2007.[4] In October 2008 the Zlins were also used in an attack on a military base of the Sri Lanka Army, and a power station on the outskirts of the city of Colombo, Sri Lanka.[5][6]

Variants

Zlin Z 42
Zlin Z 42M
Zlin Z 142
A ZLIN Z-242L
Zlin Z 242
200 hp (149 kW) [7]

Operators

Civil

The aircraft is popular with flying training organizations. One of the largest fleet operators is Sault College of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada, which operates eleven 242Ls.[8]

 Hong Kong

Military

Map with military Zlín Z 42 operators in blue
 Algeria
 Bolivia
 Bulgaria
 Cuba
 Croatia
 Czech Republic
 Egypt
 Macedonia
 Mexico
 Peru
 Slovenia
 Yemen
 Hungary
Separatist organizations

Specifications (Z42)

Data from Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1971-72 [20]

General characteristics

Performance

References

  1. J W R Taylor 1971, p.32.
  2. 1 2 J W R Taylor 1980, p,43.
  3. J W R Taylor 1980, p,44.
  4. London, Bruce (May 2007). "Flying Tigers rule the air". The Australian. Retrieved 2008-10-29.
  5. 1 2 Athas, Iqbal (October 2008). "Tigers bomb army base, power station". CNN. Retrieved 2008-10-29.
  6. 1 2 TamilNet (October 2008). "Tigers launch airstrike in Mannaar, Colombo". Retrieved 2008-10-29.
  7. "Intro to Aerobatics Taught in Zlin Z-242". Flying Magazine. Vol. 126 no. 11. November 1999. p. 69.
  8. Transport Canada (September 2011). "Canadian Civil Aircraft Register". Archived from the original on April 9, 2010. Retrieved 12 September 2011.
  9. "GFS fleet". gfs.gov.hk. Retrieved 12 March 2013.
  10. "Des avions... made in Algeria". Aeronautique.ma. Retrieved 17 January 2016.
  11. "Military Aviation". Air-Britain News. Air-Britain. July 2016. p. 1145. ISSN 0950-7442.
  12. Hatch Flight International 29 November–5 December 1989, p. 45.
  13. Flight International 16–22 November 2004, p. 53.
  14. "Hrvatski vojni piloti na češkim avionima" [Croatian military pilots in Czech planes] (in Croatian). Nacional (weekly). 3 April 2006. Archived from the original on 7 July 2012. Retrieved 7 July 2012.
  15. Flight International 16–22 November 2004, p. 54.
  16. Flight International 16–22 November 2004, p. 73.
  17. 1 2 3 Jackson 2003, p. 114.
  18. "Zlin Z-242" Archived September 21, 2011, at the Wayback Machine.. Ministry of Defence: Slovenian Armed Forces. Retrieved 9 January 2012.
  19. "Hungary purchases light aircraft from Zlin". janes.com. Retrieved 17 January 2017.
  20. J W R Taylor 1971, pp.32-33.
  21. ""EASA TYPE-CERTIFICATE DATA SHEET: EASA.A.027: Z 42 Series". European Aviation Safety Agency, Issue 7, 25 April 2016. Retrieved 25 March 2017.
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