HISTORY

Championships in Hullavington, where the

Czechoslovak representatives showed off

the Z 526 AF, gave truth to the voices that

claimed that it was necessary to come up

with a completely new aircraft concept, as

the potential of the Trenér series was already visibly depleted. However, there were still

a few years to go before a new type could

be introduced and therefore the efforts to

improve the Z 526 were not over. The 1972

World Championships in Salon de Provence,

France, were fast approaching and something had to be done...

Photo: Jochen Hammele

The last of acrobats

Towing special Z 526 ASM registered D-EWXA was serving the needs of Czechoslovak national team. Today it rides

the skies of Germany.

Half way through

Now back to the Z 526 AF version: The new

fuselage was shortened by 18 cm (7.08 inch)

in the front part and thanks to that the firewall was moved backward to line-up with

the wing leading edge. The coloring of the

aircraft followed the previous habits of the

AS version. In addition, the aircraft received a

balance tab on the left aileron. In an effort to

save weight, an hydraulically operated landing gear was installed, it was pressurized

by the pilot using a hand pump. This made

flying without a battery and generator possible, thus saving valuable pounds. Starting

the engine, however, had to be done either by

electricity from an external source, or by the

very classic method, i.e., by spinning the propeller manually. After the original five Z 526

AF aircraft were converted to the AFS version, the hydraulic landing gear was retained,

which was the reason for the considerable

unpopularity of these aircraft with pilots. The

series-produced “Shorties” were again given

a complete electrical system with battery,

generator, and electric motor-driven retractable landing gear. It is true, however, that

also in this case the flight manual mentions

the possibility of flying without battery. When

24

INFO Eduard

doing so, the energy for landing gear control

is supplied by the generator only. By the way,

many years later the designers tried to return the Zlin Z 50 LE to the limelight of aerobatic competitions by similar modifications,

with the same lackluster effect...

Unfortunately, the results at the World

Photo: www.orlita.net

gisteredHB-TRQ. In addition, OK-WXC also

returned to the Aircraft Register in 2014 and

as it seems, ZLIN-AVION Service company

would one day present it in its restored glory.

On September 25, 1970, just a few months

after the return from Hullavington and four

years after the maiden flight of the Z 526 A

prototype, a significantly redesigned Z 526

AF registered OK-YRA was launched. It was

the first aircraft of the new version, which

was designated Z 526 AFS. And it was the

fourteenth variant of the Z 26 series. The fuselage was shortened again as well as the

wingspan. The reduced dimensions led to the

rapid spread of the nickname “Shorty”. But

there were even more changes. Double differentiated ailerons were installed over almost

the entire wingspan. The inboard aileron has

a smaller deflection than the outboard aileron

as standard, but it can be reconnected to the

second hole of the lever, which increases the

deflection of the inboard aileron at the cost

of increased steering force (which no longer

meets the requirements of the regulations).

New aerodynamic wing-to-fuselage transition have also been installed, further improving

flight characteristics. All modifications led to

a much needed increase in maneuverability

around all axes. In the case of longitudinal

axis maneuverability, a significant 35 per cent

improvement is reported. The volume of each

of the wing tanks has been reduced to 35 liters, while the typical wing tip auxiliary tanks

of the Z 326 and Z 526 versions could be in-

One of two Z 526 AFSs sold to Italy. It was bought by italian aerobatics pilot „Pino“ Valenti. Two years later he sold it

to Silvio Bellei. The photography was taken in 1993 prior to the return flight to Sassuolo after a general overhaul had

been conducted by ZLIN-AVION Service company.

March 2022