Flight Training - September/October 2020 - 17

RAMP APPEAL

BY DAVE HIRSCHMAN

ZLIN Z 50

QUICK LOOK

Looking to buy?
See how the Zlin 50
measures up

UNUSUAL AIRCRAFT FOR $200, ALEX

How much:
$50,000 to $80,000
Fly it: If you want to
own a piece of
aerobatic history
Skip it: If you want to
cover long distances

YOU'VE SEEN ZLIN Z 50S IN THE VIRAL

Red Bull video of two airplanes flying
side by side through an open hangar.
Airshow spectators know these aircraft
for the wild, tumbling, end-over-end
gyroscopic maneuvers that have become
popular among aerobatic performers
around the world. The first of these
violent, out-of-control, negative-G
maneuvers called the lomchevak-which,
loosely translated, means headache in the
Czech language-was perfected by Zlin
pilots in the late 1970s.
The brawny Zlin Z 50 was designed
and built for the sole purpose of winning
international aerobatic competitions.
Those were a point of national pride,
especially in the Eastern Bloc, in the
1970s and 1980s where state manufacturers used the competitions to showcase
the very best of their aircraft design and
manufacturing capabilities. Czechoslovakia (now the Czech Republic) had been at
the pinnacle of Eastern aircraft production since the 1930s, and it intended to
stay there.
The Zlin 50 took aim at the Soviet
Union's then-dominant Yakovlev Yak-50.
The lighter, Lycoming IO-540-powered
Zlin debuted in competition in 1976, and
two years later it won the top prize in
international competition, and Czechoslovakia finished first in the team event.

The all-metal, low-wing Zlin is far lighter
than the Yak, and the Zlin is rated for up
to 9 positive and 6 negative Gs. Its fullspan ailerons allow it to roll quicker, too,
about 360 degrees per second.
Aerobatic clubs throughout Europe
began purchasing Zlin 50s, and the
manufacturer set out to improve them
for Western pilots by adding more fuel,
boosting the Lycoming to 300 horsepower, and adding frills like airshow
smoke systems. But the Zlin 50's reign
atop the competition aerobatic world
was brief. The Soviets upped their game
with the composite Sukhoi Su-26 that far
outperformed everything else, and new
entrants like Extra from Germany and
CAP from France stepped into the niche
market.
The implosion of Communism didn't
help Zlin, either. The company offered
different versions of the Zlin 50 for the
international market, but by then its best
airplane had already been eclipsed by
others with even greater performance.
Today, Zlin 50s are prized by pilots
for their strength, workmanship, and
exquisite handling, but they've largely
been relegated to rarities, period pieces,
and answers to obscure aviation trivia
questions.

		
SPEC SHEET
Zlin 50
Powerplant	
Empty weight	
Max takeoff weight	
Fuel capacity	
	

Lycoming AEIO-540
1,257 lb
1,587 lb
16 gal in main tank; 	
26 gal in ferry tanks

Performance
Max speed	
158 kt
Cruise speed	
130 kt
Ceiling	
20,000 ft
Range	
350 nm (with ferry 	
	tanks)
Takeoff distance	
720 ft
Landing distance	
800 ft

dave.hirschman@aopa.org

AOPA.ORG/FT  17
http://www.AOPA.ORG/FT
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