PZL TS-11 Iskra

what is it?

The PZL TS-11 Iskra (English: Spark) is a Polish jet trainer, developed and manufactured by aircraft company PZL-Mielec. It was used by the air forces of Poland and India. It is notable as being the first domestically developed jet aircraft to be produced by Poland, and its service for over 50 years as the principal training aircraft of the Polish Air Force.

🔎How to recognise it: 1 jet engine · retractable tricycle gear · 10.1 m wingspan

base stats

• speed 720 km/htop speed
• range 1,250 kmwithout refuelling
• seats 2passengers
• size 3,840 kgmax take-off weight
• built 424made 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 66 years ago, in 1960.
• 🏎️Top speed is 5.5× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
• 🚗Wingspan of 10.1 m: about 2 cars parked nose to tail.
• 🌍Range of 1,250 km: 7× Amsterdam to Brussels.
• 🏔️Can fly 1.2× higher than Mount Everest (8,849 m).

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

spec sheet

first flight

1960-02-05

introduced

1964

retired

2021

status

retired

number built

424

role

trainer aircraft

origin

Polish People's Republic

makers

PZL Mielec

engines

1× WSK SO-3 / SO-3

crew

2

passengers

2

length

11.2 m

wingspan

10.1 m

height

3.5 m

max take-off weight

3,840 kg

top speed

720 km/h

cruise speed

600 km/h

range

1,250 km

ceiling

11,000 m

landing gear

retractable tricycle gear

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