Aeroplane: PZL-101 Gawron

Poland
agricultural plane

This derivative of the Soviet 4-seat Vak-12M multi-purpose aircraft, licence-built by WSK-Okęcie was built following the needs of agricultural and forestry services. Major construction changes included 550-litre chemical hopper replacing the rear seats, slightly swept (4Q) wings with prominent endplates, aft moved landing gear and increased incidence tailplane of greater area.

The prototype was flown in 1958 and production aircraft followed in 1960. Until 1970, when production ended, 326 aircraft (including 215 "agro" planes, 79 tourers and 32 ambulances) were manufactured. 134 of them (mostly in the agricultural version) were exported principal users being Hungary, Bulgaria and India.

Its reliability enabled the development in Poland of agricultural aviation and starting the agricultural service abroad. Since 1967 the PZL-101 operating in Poland had been ferried to Egypt and Sudan, although since 1976 they were replaced with the safer and more efficient PZL-106 Kruk (Raven) "agro" low-wing monoplane. The Gawron’s agricultural and ambulance service was ended in 1983. Nowadays the PZL-101 aircraft is flown in Poland only by aero clubs.

The Gawron is a fabric-covered, all-metal, high-wing monoplane with fixed undercarriage. Two-spar braced wing with fixed leading-edge slats houses two 80-litre fuel tanks. For ferry flights additional fuel tanks of 90 litres capacity each can be carried under the wings. The engine is 260 hp (190 kW) AI-14R 9-cylinder radial, supplied by WSK-Kalisz. The two-pitch W530D wooden propeller came from the WSK-Okęcie.

The agricultural equipment fitted to the hopper included either an under-fuselage spreader with wind-driven agitator or the underwing spray bars with wind-driven centrifugal pump. In both cases the hopper had dorsal feeding hatch and ventral emergency-dump plate.

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