OrliÄan L-40 Meta Sokol
The L -40 Meta Sokol Orličan is a Czechoslovakian sports and touring aircraft.
Development
During the Second World War began engineering Zdeněk Beneš Rublič at Mráz in Choceň with the designs to a whole consisting of wooden sports plane. It appeared in 1946 as Orličan - Beneš Mráz was renamed after the war - M- 1 Sokol ( Falcon ) and was founded in 1949 known internationally by a first flight from Prague via Zurich, Athens, the Far East to Australia and a success.
Successor was the early prototype XLD -40 all-metal and a V-tail. It was first flown by chief test pilot Alfons Koblizek on 31 July 1950, however, revealed major weaknesses and crashed in September of the same year from lack of fuel. The model was redesigned after that and was named LD- 40th It was among other things a normal T-tail and the characteristic suspension, in which the tail wheel had been brought forward to the wing trailing edge, so that despite the stern interpretation assumed a horizontal position while taxiing. The LD -40 had its first flight on March 29, 1956 and 1957, construction began on the first ten pre-production aircraft, which were equipped with 77 kW motors Walter Minor 4 -III. The production version of this last and now L -40 Meta Sokol (metal - hawk) model mentioned was equipped with a more powerful 103 kW engine LOM M 332 with compressor and variable pitch propeller, from the to 1961 about 109 were built and exported.
The GST GDR purchased in 1959 five L -40 and used it as a travel aircraft for sports officials and competitions. The last of these Meta Sokol was decommissioned in 1984.