P.Z.L. 27

P.Z.L. 27
Role	Airliner / Mail-plane
Manufacturer	P.Z.L.
Designer	Zbysław Ciołkosz[1]
First flight	September 1934[1]
Status	prototype only
Primary user	LOT Polish Airlines (P.L.L. - Polskie Linie Lotnicze LOT S.A.)[1]
Number built	1[1]

The P.Z.L. 27 was a prototype airliner/mail-plane designed by Zbysław Ciołkosz and constructed at P.Z.L. in 1933.^[1]

Design and development

Ordered by the Polish Ministry of Transport as a fast mail-plane, the prototype flew for the first time in September 1933 and was the first P.Z.L. aircraft with a retractable undercarriage. Several tests made at the Institute of Aviation in 1935-1936 showed that the plane had poor performance and was uneconomical to operate.^[1]

Technical design

Construction of the P.Z.L. 27 consisted of a welded steel tube fuselage and tail-unit covered with fabric and a wooden 2-spar wing. Three 130 hp (97 kW) de Havilland Gipsy Major I engines were fitted, one in the nose and two in strut-mounted nacelles under the high-set wings. The retractable main undercarriage members retracted manually into the rear of the engine nacelles, with a non-retractable tail-skid at the extreme rear of the fuselage.^[1]

Operational history

After initial flight testing the prototype P.Z.L. 27 the aircraft was returned to P.Z.L. to have a revised wing fitted to alleviate problems with insufficient stiffness and poor lateral stability. After a second phase of testing a Certificate of Airworthiness was issued and the aircraft was equipped for use as an airliner, being delivered to P.L.L. (LOT). LOT used the aircraft for proving flights on mail routes but regarded it as obsolete, refusing to order production aircraft. The RWD 11, designed in competition with the P.Z.L. 27, was regarded as superior but this aircraft also failed to attract production orders.

After accumulating 70 hours flying with LOT, the P.Z.L. 27 was bought by the Department of Aeronautics for the I.T.L. (Instytut Techniczny Lotnictwa - Technical Aviation Institute), but crashed in an accident near Piaseczno, when piloted by Andrzej Włodarkiewicz.^[1]

Operators

 Poland

• LOT Polish Airlines operated the sole prototype.

Specifications (P.Z.L. 27)

Data from Polish Aircraft 1893-1939^[1]

General characteristics

• Crew: 2
• Capacity: 5
• Length: 10.74 m (35 ft 3 in)
• Wingspan: 13.6 m (44 ft 7 in)
• Height: 2.52 m (8 ft 3 in)
• Wing area: 25.2 m² (271 sq ft)
• Empty weight: 1,470 kg (3,241 lb) (fully equipped, including radio)
• Gross weight: 2,320 kg (5,115 lb)
• Powerplant: 3 × de Havilland Gipsy Major I 4-cyl. inverted in-line air-cooled piston engine, 97 kW (130 hp) each
• Propellers: 2-bladed Szomański

Performance

• Maximum speed: 266 km/h (165 mph; 144 kn) at sea level
• Cruising speed: 238 km/h (148 mph; 129 kn)
• Range: 700 km (435 mi; 378 nmi)
• Service ceiling: 4,800 m (15,748 ft)
• Rate of climb: 4.6 m/s (910 ft/min)
• Time to altitude: 1,000m in 3min 37s
• Wing loading: 92.5 kg/m² (18.9 lb/sq ft)
• Power/mass: 0.125 kW/kg

See also

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration and era

• RWD-11

References

1. Cynk, Jerzy B. (1971). Polish Aircraft 1893-1939. London: Putnam & Company Ltd. ISBN 0-370-00085-4.