The Pazmany PL-4A is a single-seat, single-engine sport aircraft developed in the United States and first flown in 1972. It is marketed for homebuilding from plans, and 686 sets had sold by 1985. The PL-4A is a conventional, low-wing cantilever monoplane with an enclosed cabin and fixed, tailwheel undercarriage. The design features a T-tail, chosen to facilitate folding the wings. Construction throughout is of metal, using standard extruded sections for the longerons and pop rivets as the basic fastener. The standard powerplant is a Volkswagen air-cooled engine of 60hp (45kW) Construction time is estimated to be around 1,000–1,500 hours.

The PL-4A won the "Outstanding New Design" and "Outstanding Contribution to Low-Cost Flying" awards at the 1972 EAA Fly-In. By 2000 more than 50 had been built and flown.

Variants

Pazmany PL-4A

Standard single seater, normally powered by a 60hp (45kW) Volkswagen air-cooled engine with V-belt drive reduction.

Denight 100 D2 Special

Modified PL4A design to seat two side by side. Main differences are an increase in length by 17in (450mm) and in fuselage width by 12in (305mm), a more powerful 115hp (86kW) Avco Lycoming O-235 flat-four engine and a conventional tail. Maximum take-off weight is 1,250lb (567kg).

Specifications

Data from Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1985–86, p.608

General characteristics

  • Crew: One pilot
  • Length: 16ft 7in (5.04m)
  • Wingspan: 26ft 8in (8.13m)
  • Height: 5ft 8in (1.73m)
  • Wing area: 89sqft (8.3m2)
  • Empty weight: 578lb (262kg)
  • Gross weight: 850lb (385kg)
  • Powerplant: 1 × Converted Volkswagen air-cooled engine , 50 hp (38 kW)

Performance

  • Maximum speed: 125mph (201km/h, 109kn)
  • Range: 340mi (545km, 300nmi)
  • Service ceiling: 13,000ft (3,960m)
  • Rate of climb: 650ft/min (3.3m/s)

Notes

Bibliography

  • Dwiggins, Don (April 1973). "Pazmany VW-Engine Homebuilt". Plane & Pilot: 76–79.
  • Taylor, John W. R. (1984). Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1984-1985. London: Jane's Publishing Co. ISBN0710608012.
  • . London: Jane's Publications.
  • Markowski, Mark (1979). The Encyclopedia of Homebuilt Aircraft. Blue Ridge Summit, Pennsylvania: TAB Books. ISBN0-8306-2256-X.
  • Pazmany, Ladislao (March 1973). "The Pazmany PL-4A is flying". Sport Aviation: 32–39.
  • "Pazmany's PL-4 Features 'T'-tail and VW engine". Sport Flying: 40–43. October 1972.
  • Simpson, Rod (2001). Airlife's World Aircraft. Shrewsbury: Airlife Publishing Ltd. ISBN978-1-84037-115-4.
  • Taylor, Michael J. H. (1989). Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation. London: Studio Editions. ISBN0-7106-0710-5.