AndrzejJeziorski/MUNICH
Polish aircraft manufacturer PZL-Mielec is preparing to start final assembly of M-18B Dromader agricultural and firefighting aircraft at a new plant in Anapolis, Brazil.
According to Mielec, the first Polish-manufactured aircraft parts are to be delivered this month, with the first completed aircraft to be rolled out of the plant in October. Mielec plans to produce 14 aircraft by the end of this year, with production rising to 40 in 1998.
The M-18B received Polish and US Federal Aviation Administration certificates in 1994, and has also been certificated in Brazil. The B-version - with maximum take-off weight increased by 600kg to 5,300kg and improved short-field performance - is now standard. Mielec is offering a modernisation programme on the earlier A version to bring it up to date.
The aircraft is powered by a 720kW (965hp) PZL-Kalisz ASz-62IR nine-cylinder radial engine, and will in future be offered with the option of an 860kW K-9AA engine, now under development.
The Anapolis factory is owned by a new Brazilian-Polish joint venture, called PZL-Mielec de Brazil Fabrica de Aviones. Mielec says that it owns a majority of the venture, with the remainder held by a group of unidentified private Brazilian investors.
The Polish company is contributing jigs, production equipment, training, know-how and engineering support to the venture, while the Brazilian side is covering the cost of constructing the plant and the necessary infrastructure.
Mielec says that Brazil is "potentially our biggest market for the firefighting Dromader", adding that it is easier to establish a market with a product which has been produced locally. Brazilian customers have already been found, says the manufacturer.
Nearly 700 M-18s have been built to date. The Anapolis plant will also assemble aircraft for other markets in South America.
Source: Flight International
