Photograph:
Zlin Z 126 Trener VH-PXB (c/n 762) at Bankstown, NSW in 1960 (David C Eyre)
Country of origin:
Czechoslovakia
Description:
Two-seat training and aerobatic monoplane
Power Plant:
One 78 kw (105 hp) Walter Minor 4-III four-cylinder inverted in-line air-cooled engine
Specifications:
- Wingspan: 10.28 m (33 ft 7 in)
- Length: 7.42 m (24 ft 3 in)
- Height: 2.1 m (6 ft 9 in)
- Wing area: 14.9 m² (160 sq ft)
- Max speed: 206 km/h (128 mph)
- Service ceiling: 4,800 m (15,748 ft)
- Range: 600 km (373 miles)
- Empty weight: 510 kg (1,124 lb)
- Loaded weight: 765 kg (1,687 lb)
History:
Over the years Zlin in Czechoslovakia produced a number of training aircraft capable of aerobatics. These have been popular around the world. The series commenced with the Z 26 Trener, a two-seat in tandem primary trainer designed to meet the requirements of a specification calling for a standard aircraft for both military and civil schools in Eastern Europe, the prototype flying for the first time in 1947. This aircraft was then evaluated alongside the Praga E-112 in a competition and the Z 26 was selected for quantity production, early production aircraft being delivered to the Czechoslovakian Air Force which called it the C-5.
The Z 26 was of wooden construction and was produced from 1948 to 1953 when an upgraded model, known as the Z 126 Trener-2, replaced it on the production line, this model being known as C-105 with the Czech Air Force. These two aircraft were powered by the 78 kw (105 hp) Walter Minor 4-III engine but later the Model Z 226 appeared and this was fitted with the 119 kw (160 hp) Walter Minor 6-III six-cylinder engine. A total of 167 examples of the Z 126 was completed.
A number of examples of this series are known to have been imported to Australasia. The first was a Z 126 (VH-PXB – c/n 762) registered in November 1956. This aircraft was imported and flown by Fred Hoinville. However, the aircraft was extensively damaged by fire on 1 April 1963 at Bankstown, NSW, when a taxiing DH.82 Tiger Moth collided with the parked Zlin near a fuel pump, and it was written off.