PZL M-15 Belphegor

what is it?

The PZL M-15 was a jet-powered sesquiplane designed and manufactured by the Polish aircraft company WSK PZL-Mielec for agricultural aviation. In reference to both its strange looks and relatively loud jet engine, the aircraft was nicknamed Belphegor, after the noisy demon. Development of the M-15 can be traced back to a Soviet requirement for a modern agricultural aircraft to succeed the Antonov An-2; it was at the insistence of Soviet officials that jet propulsion would power the type.

🔎How to recognise it: 1 jet engine · fixed tailwheel (taildragger) · 22.3 m wingspan

base stats

• speed 200 km/htop speed
• range 400 kmwithout refuelling
• size 5,650 kgmax take-off weight
• built 175made in total

Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).

fun facts

• 🎂First flew 53 years ago, in 1973.
• 🏎️Top speed is 1.5× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
• 🚗Wingspan of 22.3 m: about 5 cars parked nose to tail.

jet: Gas turbine pushing air out the back (turbofan or turbojet): fast and high-flying.

spec sheet

first flight

1973-05-20

status

retired

number built

175

role

agricultural (jet) aircraft

origin

🇵🇱 Poland

makers

PZL

engines

1× Ivchenko-Progress AI-25

crew

1

length

12.7 m

wingspan

22.3 m

height

5.3 m

max take-off weight

5,650 kg

top speed

200 km/h

cruise speed

140 km/h

range

400 km

wings

sesquiplane

landing gear

fixed conventional landing gear

Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.