GPM 0304 ZLIN 50L / LS

The Zlin Z-50 is a modern Czech (previously: Czechoslovak) sports and aerobatic plane. The machine is a mixed construction, built in a low wing configuration with a classic tail. The drive is provided - in the Z-50L version - by a single Lycoming AEIO-540-D4B5 engine with 260 HP. A prototype flight took place in 1975, and serial production started in the same year.

The Zlin Z-50 was developed and produced at the Moravan Otrokovice aviation plant (more commonly known as Zlin Aircraft). Work on the new machine began in 1973, and in its course computer systems were used, which was not very common at that time (especially in the civil aviation of the Eastern Bloc). The new plane turned out to be a successful machine, with a very low weight, made, among others, of titanium, but also with a canvas cover. In the course of production, several variants of this aircraft were created, including: Z-50L (first production series) or Z-50LS (version with the Lycoming AEIO-540-L1B5D engine).