The TOM-8 was a prototype Czechoslovak single-engined two-seat training aircraft of the 1950s. It was designed by the VZLU, the Czechoslovak national aeronautic research institute for the Czechoslovak Air Force, with a prototype flying in 1956, but production plans were abandoned in 1960.
| TOM-8 | |
|---|---|
| |
| Role | Training aircraft |
| National origin | Czechoslovakia |
| Manufacturer | VZLU |
| First flight | 23 April 1956 |
| Status | Prototype |
Design and development
editIn the mid-1950s, the Czechoslovak Air Force had a requirement to replace its Aero C-11 trainers, a licence-built version of the Soviet Yakovlev Yak-11. The design of the new aircraft was allocated to a team at the VZLU,[a], led by Karel Tomáš, who had previously served as chief designer for Tatra's aviation department, and later for Zlín, where he designed the Zlín Z 26 trainer.[2][3]
The resulting design, designated TOM-8 after Tomáš, and also known as the L-8,[3] was a low-winged monoplane of all metal construction,[b] powered by a single 235 hp (175 kW) Praga Doris C air-cooled six-cylinder horizontally-opposed piston engine. Student and instructor sat in tandem in an enclosed cockpit, with the student in the front seat, and were provided with dual controls. The aircraft had a retractable tricycle landing gear.[5]
The first TOM-8 made its maiden flight on 23 April 1956,[2][3] but development was slowed by engine problems, and plans for production at the Moravan Otrokovice works (where Zlín aircraft were built[6]) were abandoned in 1960.[2]
One TOM-8 is preserved at the Kbely Aviation Museum.[2]
Specifications
editData from Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1958–59[5]
General characteristics
- Crew: 2
- Length: 9.37 m (30 ft 9 in)
- Wingspan: 10.93 m (35 ft 10 in)
- Height: 3.17 m (10 ft 5 in)
- Wing area: 17.255 m2 (185.73 sq ft)
- Aspect ratio: 6.94:1
- Empty weight: 1,060 kg (2,337 lb)
- Gross weight: 1,380 kg (3,042 lb) (normal)
- Fuel capacity: 180 L (40 imp gal; 48 US gal)
- Powerplant: 1 × Praga Doris C air-cooled six-cylinder horizontally opposed piston engine, 175 kW (235 hp)
- Propellers: 2-bladed metal variable-pitch propeller, 2.4 m (7 ft 10 in) diameter
Performance
- Maximum speed: 285 km/h (177 mph, 154 kn)
- Cruise speed: 240 km/h (150 mph, 130 kn) at 1,000 m (3,280 ft)
- Range: 720 km (450 mi, 390 nmi)
- Endurance: 3 hr
- Service ceiling: 6,050 m (19,850 ft)
- Rate of climb: 5.41 m/s (1,065 ft/min)
- Take-off distance to 20 m (65 ft): 455 m (1,493 ft)[7]
- Landing distance from 20 m (65 ft): 430 m (1,410 ft)[7]
Notes
editReferences
edit- ^ Gunston 2005, p. 491
- ^ a b c d "VZLÚ TOM-8 OK-08, výr. č. 4". Vojenský Historiký Ústav Praha (in Czech). Retrieved 2 August 2020.
- ^ a b c Němeček 1956, p. 656
- ^ Němeček 1956, pp. 656–657
- ^ a b Bridgman 1958, pp. 133–134
- ^ Gunston 2005, p. 529
- ^ a b Němeček 1956, p. 657
- Bridgman, Leonard (1958). Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1958–59. London: Sampson Low, Marston & Company, Ltd.
- Gunston, Bill (2005). World Encyclopedia of Aircraft Manufacturers (2nd ed.). Stroud, UK: Sutton Publishing. ISBN 0-7509-3981-8.
- Němeček, Václav (16 October 1956). "Představujeme vám letadlo TOM-8". Křídla vlasti (in Czech). Vol. 1956, no. 21. pp. 656–657. Retrieved 2 August 2020.