Zlín Z-26

Short description: Czech light aircraft

Trenér

Z-126 Trenér II

General information
Manufacturer| Moravan Otrokovice
Management and usage| Czechoslovak Air Force

History
Manufactured| 1948–1977

The Zlin Z-26 Trenér was a tandem-seat basic training aircraft built by the Czechoslovak company Moravan. A low-wing monoplane of largely wooden construction, it was developed into a series of all-metal trainers. Several were also produced in aerobatic variants, known as the Akrobat.

The original Z-26 was designed in the 1940s and produced in 1946 to meet a requirement for a basic trainer to replace the Bücker Jungmann and Bestmann. It was a low-wing monoplane of mixed construction, with wooden wings and a welded metal tube fuselage, powered by a single four-cylinder piston engine, the Walter Minor 4-III. It first flew in early 1947, proving superior to the competing Praga E-112, and was declared the winner, entering production in 1948.[1]

Later derivatives were also optimised to participate in aerobatic competitions and many were owned by private pilot owners. Both the two-seat Trenér and the single-seat Akrobat were considered highly successful, winning several aerobatic awards in the 1960s.[2]

## Contents

* 1 Variants
* 2 Operators
* 2.1 Military operators
* 3 Specifications (Z-726)
* 4 References
* 4.1 Bibliography
* 5 External links

## Variants

Zlin Z-226T Trenér 6 exhibited at the 1957 Paris Air Show

The following variants were progressive improvements on the Z-26:

* Z-26 – two-seat primary trainer aircraft. 163 built.[3]
* Z-126 – introduced in 1953, Czech military designation C-105, all-metal wing instead of original wooden wing.[2]
* Z-226 – more powerful Walter Minor 6-III six-cylinder engine, C-205
* Z-226A – single-seat aerobatic aircraft. This and subsequent single-seat variants were named the Akrobat.[4]
* Z-226B – glider tug aircraft
* Z-226T – basic training version
* Z-326 – Introduced in 1959, with an electrically retractable undercarriage (standard on future models)[2]
* C-305 – military version of Z-326 with night-flight capability and military-class cockpit equipment
* Z-526 – with the Walter 6-III carburettor's six-cylinder engine
* Z-526A – single-seat aerobatic aircraft
* Z-526F – Improved version. M-137 engine with fuel injector.
* Z-726 – modified 526 with shortened wings and fuselage
* Z-726K – with Walter M 337 supercharged engine

In 1956, deliveries began of the Z326 Trenér-Master and Z326A Akrobat.[2] Many sub-variants were also produced, for example the Z-526A and Z-526AFS were aerobatic specials. The production of the family was terminated in the 1970s with Z-726. The Z-726 Universal had reduced wingspan.[2]

## Operators

### Military operators

Austria

* Austrian Air Force[5]

Cuba

* Cuban Revolutionary Air and Air Defense Force − Received about 60 Z-226, Z-326 and Z-526s in the 1960s.[6]

Czechoslovakia

* Czechoslovak Air Force[7]

Egypt

* Egyptian Air Force − 4 Z-126, transferred to Kingdom of Yemen[8]

East Germany

* Air Forces of the National People's Army − 20, passed on to the German Air Force following the German reunification[9]

Iraq

* Iraqi Air Force[10] − 15 Z-526A and 25 Z-526F[11]

Mozambique

* Mozambique Air Force − 7 Z-326s, remained in service as late as of 2010[update][12]

Template:Country data Kingdom of Yemen

* Yemeni Air Force − 10 Z-126s[13]

## Specifications (Z-726)

Data from Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1976–77[14]

General characteristics

* Crew: two
* Length: 7.975 m (26 ft 2 in)
* Wingspan: 9.875 m (32 ft 5 in)
* Height: 2.06 m (6 ft 9 in)
* Wing area: 14.89 m2 (160.3 sq ft)
* Airfoil: root:NACA 2418; tip:NACA 4412
* Empty weight: 700 kg (1,543 lb)
* Max takeoff weight: 1,000 kg (2,205 lb)
* Powerplant: 1 × Avia M 137AZ 6-cyl, air-cooled inverted in-line piston engine, 134 kW (180 hp)

Performance

* Maximum speed: 236 km/h (147 mph, 127 kn)
* Cruise speed: 216 km/h (134 mph, 117 kn)
* Stall speed: 98 km/h (61 mph, 53 kn) (flaps down)
* Range: 440 km (270 mi, 240 nmi)
* Service ceiling: 4,500 m (14,800 ft)
* Rate of climb: 5 m/s (980 ft/min)

## References

1. ↑ Mourik 2001, p.61.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Frawley 1997, p.198.
3. ↑ Taylor 1989, p.908.
4. ↑ William Greene; The Observer's World Aircraft Directory, Warne, 1961, pp. 318, 334.
5. ↑ Wragg 2011, p. 65.
6. ↑ Hagedorn 1993, p. 29.
7. ↑ Wragg 2011, p. 108.
8. ↑ Smisek 2023, p. 115.
9. ↑ Correll 1991, p. 75.
10. ↑ Mourik 2001, p.64.
11. ↑ Smisek 2023, p. 37.
12. ↑ Wragg 2011, pp. 208−209.
13. ↑ Smisek 2023, pp. 115−116.
14. ↑ Taylor 1976, pp. 33–34.

### Bibliography

* Correll, John T. (January 1991). "The Luftwaffe Looks Ahead" (in en). Air Force Magazine (Arlington, Virginia: Air Force Association.) 74 (1): 72–75. ISSN 0730-6784. https://books.google.com/books?id=I4CCSEYLvxkC&pg=PA75.
* Frawley, Gerard. The International Directory of Civil Aircraft. Aerospace Publications Pty Ltd, 1997 ISBN 1-875671-26-9
* Hagedorn, Daniel P. Central American and Caribbean Air Forces. Tonbridge, Kent, UK: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd., 1993. ISBN 0-85130-210-6.
* Mourik, Dick van. "A to Zlin: An Illustrated History of a Light Aircraft Dynasty". Air Enthusiast, No. 93, May/June 2001. Stamford, UK:Key Publishing. ISSN 0143-5450. pp. 59–65.
* Smisek, Martin (2023) (in en). Czechoslovak Arms Exports to the Middle East: Volume 4 - Iran, Iraq, Yemen Arab Republic and the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen 1948−1989. Warwick, England: Helion and Company. ISBN 978-1-80451-524-2. https://books.google.com/books?id=LcT5EAAAQBAJ.
* Taylor, John W R. (editor). Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1976–77. London: Jane's Yearbooks, 1976. ISBN 0 354 00538 3.
* Taylor, Michael J.H. (editor). Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation. London:Bracken Books, 1989. ISBN 1 85170 324 1.
* Wragg, David (2011). The World Air Power Guide. Havertown, Pennsylvania: Casemate Publishers. ISBN 978-1-84468-784-8. https://books.google.com/books?id=s2PNDwAAQBAJ.

## External links

Template:Zlín aircraft Template:Czech trainer aircraft Template:YAF aircraft

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