ThePZL M28 Skytruck is a family ofPolish lightutility aircraft withSTOL capability produced byPZL Mielec for military and civilian use. They are mainly used in transport, patrol and maritime reconnaissance roles.
The maritime patrol and reconnaissance variants are designatedPZL M28B Bryza (English:Breeze), while variant in the U.S.AFSOC service is designatedC-145A. The early models werebuilt under license from theAntonov An-28 and designatedPZL An-28.
TheAntonov An-28 was the winner of a competition against theBeriev Be-30 for a new light passenger and utility transport forAeroflot's short haul routes, conceived to replace the highly successfulAn-2 biplane. The An-28 is derived from the earlierAn-14. Commonalities with the An-14 include a high wing layout, twin fins and rudders, but it differs in having a reworked and longer fuselage, withturboprop engines. The original powerplant was the TVD-850, but production versions are powered by the more powerful TVD-10B, with three-blade propellers.
The An-28 made its first flight as the An-14M in September 1969 in the USSR. A subsequent preproduction aircraft first flew in April 1975. Production of the An-28 was then transferred to Poland's PZL Mielec in 1978, although it was not until 22 July 1984 that the first Polish-built production aircraft flew. The An-28's Soviet type certificate was awarded in April 1986.
PZL Mielec has become the sole source for production An-28s. The basic variant, not differing from the Soviet one, was designated PZL An-28 and was powered with PZL-10S (licence-built TVD-10B) engines. They were built mostly for theUSSR, until it broke up. The plane was next developed by the PZL Mielec into a westernised version powered by 820 kW (1100shp)Pratt & Whitney PT6A-65B turboprops with five-bladeHartzell propellers, plus some western (BendixKing) avionics (a distinguishing feature are exhaust pipes, sticking out on sides of enginenacelles). Designated the PZL M28 Skytruck, the first flight was on 24 July 1993 and it is in limited production, mostly for export (39 produced by 2006). The type received Polish certification in March 1996, and USFAR Part 23 certificate on 19 March 2004.
Apart from the Skytruck, PZL Mielec developed a family of militarized light transport and maritime reconnaissance planes for the Polish Air Force and Polish Navy in the 1990s, with original PZL-10S engines, named PZL M28B in the Air Force and Bryza in the Navy. From 2000, newly produced M28Bs started to be equipped with five-blade propellers as well.
PZL Mielec was bought bySikorsky in 2007. Purchased primarily to producehelicopter structures, the company also produces 10 M28s per year.[1] Sikorsky's current owner,Lockheed Martin, has marketed it to the governments ofIndonesia,Jordan,Poland,Venezuela,Vietnam, theU.S. and commercial operators. Split equally between commercial and military applications, it competes with the Viking AirTwin Otter, theLet 410 and theDornier 228.[1]
Strutted high-wing, twin vertical fins and tricycle landing gear
The M28 is a twin-engined high-wing struttedmonoplane with an all-metalairframe, twin vertical fins and a tricycle fixedlanding gear.If an engine fails, aspoiler forward of theaileron opens automatically on the opposite wing.[2]This limits the wing drop to 12° in five seconds instead of 30°.[3]
It is capable of Short takeoff & landing (STOL) andhot and high altitude operations.[1]Aerodynamically deployedleading edge slats when approaching stall speed enable a 64 kn (119 km/h) low stall speed and while the certificationlanding field is 1,640 ft (500 m), PZL has demonstrated landing in 512 ft (156 m).[1]Inlet air ducts inertial separators and inverted configuration of thePT6 and thehigh wing configuration protect the engines and propellers againstforeign object damage for unprepared runways operations.
M28 with underbelly luggage pod
Multiple configurations are available: a 19-passengerairliner with 2-1 seating and an underbelly luggage pod; acargo aircraft with a 1,540 lb (700 kg) hand-crankedhoist option; the most common combi; aVIP transport; amedevac for six litters and seven seats; asearch-and-rescue version; a 17-seatparatrooper drop version; an 18-passenger utility cabin and anaerial firefighting version is considered.[1] A crew of two can switch between passenger and cargo configurations in 7 min.[1] Its inward opening rear doors allow for cargo drops and utility operations as well as the passenger boarding.[1]
It can take off in 1,800 ft (550 m) at the 16,534 lb (7,500 kg)MTOW.[1]Maximumpayload is 5,070 lb (2,300 kg), it can carry 5,000 lb (2,300 kg) over 100 nmi (190 km) or 2,500 lb (1,100 kg) with full fuel over 700 nmi (1,300 km).[1]
176 An-28s and M28s in all variants were built in Poland by 2006. Most numerous users are former Soviet civil aviation and the Polish Air Force and Navy (about 25 as of 2006), smaller numbers are used by the Polish civil aviation and in the United States, Nepal, Colombia, Venezuela, Vietnam and Indonesia.
On 12 February 2009, the weekly periodicalAir Force Times reported that theAir Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) would receive 10 PZL M28 Skytrucks in June 2009.[4] These aircraft carry theU.S. Air Force model design series (MDS) designation of C-145A Skytruck. In 2011 one aircraft crash landed inAfghanistan and was damaged beyond repair.[5] 11 of AFSOC's C-145As were retired in 2015. In 2016, three were sent to Kenya, two to Costa Rica, two to Nepal, and two to Estonia.[6]
Original variant, built underAntonov licence, with PZL-10S (licensed TV-10B) engines.
PZL M28 Skytruck
Development variant with redesigned fuselage and wings, newPratt & Whitney Canada engines, new (western) avionics, 5-blade rotors, and some other minor changes.
PZL M28B Bryza
Militarized variants used by Polish Air Force and Polish Navy, similar to Skytruck, but with PZL-10S engines. Uses partially retracting landing gear to avoid interfering with its radar.[8]
PZL M28+ Skytruck Plus
Prototype of new lengthened variant with more internal space, not in production.
Variant previously flown byUSAF Special Operations Command. Similar to Skytruck, but with Pratt and Whitney PT6A-65B Turboprops. The USAF has started retiring the aircraft, with the first aircraft, AF Ser. No. 08-0310, delivered to the309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group atDavis-Monthan AFB, Arizona on 28 May 2015. By June 2015 eleven out of 16 aircraft were stored.[10] The last C-145As were retired from USAF service in December 2022.[11]
In May 2021, the U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM) awarded a contract to Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) to demonstrate the MC-145B as part of theArmed Overwatch program, which is seeking to acquire a new crewed light attack aircraft to support U.S. special operations forces in permissive environments. Renderings of the proposed aircraft depict a pair of sensor turrets (one under the nose and the other under the fuselage) as well as a pair of underwing hardpoints on each side (total four) outboard of the wing struts. Internally, eight reloadable Common Launch Tubes (CLT) are provided as well as a ramp-launch capability.
Basic transport variant. Used mainly for transport and paratroop training (2 built).
PZL M28B
Several similar improved transport variants featuring avionics and airframe upgrades: Bryza 1TD (2 built), M28B (3 built), M28B Salon (1 built), M28B TDII, TDIII and TDIV (2 built of each).
M28B Bryza 1R with underside radome
PZL M28B Bryza 1R
Maritime patrol and reconnaissance variant (equipped with an ASR-400 360° Search and Surveillance Radar,Link-11 datalink). Used mainly for sea border patrol tasks, search and rescue operations and protection of the national economical sea zone (7 built).
PZL M28B Bryza 1E
The maritime ecological reconnaissance and patrol variant used for maritime and coastal patrol, ecological protection, pollution (e.g.oil spill) monitoring, and tracking the movement of ships and smaller vessels.
This variant is equipped with a radome under the belly housing the Ericsson MSS-5000 observation system, consisting of twoside-looking airborne radars (SLAR), EO/IR sensor and IR/UV line scanners. The two SLAR radars each have a range of 80 km for a combinedswath width of 160 km, allowing fordigital imaging of tracked objects. The sub-hull scanner allows the thickness of the pollution layer to be studied and mapped, while the optical and video systems allow digital imaging of the situation at sea.
M28B Bryza 1RM bis
PZL M28B Bryza 1RM bis
Maritime patrol and reconnaissance variant withsubmarine detection capability, of 2004 (equipped with an ARS-800-2 360° Search and Surveillance Radar, a Link-11 datalink, single-use hydro-acoustic sonobuoy launchers,FLIR, and a magnetic anomaly detector). Used mainly for maritime border patrol tasks, search and rescue operations and the protection of the national maritime economic zone (1 built as of 2006).
PZL M28 05 Skytruck
Maritime patrol and SAR variant for thePolish Border Guard, of 2006 (equipped with Search and Surveillance Radar ARS-400M andFLIR system) (1 built as of 2006).
Kenyan Air Force received the first M28 from the US in February 2021 and second in June 2021. Third one is expected to be delivered in near future[22] Commissioned into service in April 2021.[23]
On 12 July 2001, an M28 crashed inPuerto Cabello, Venezuela due to pilot error, killing all on board, including the president of PZL Mielec.[27]
On 4 November 2005, a Vietnamese Airforce M28 crashed in Gia Lam district, Hanoi. All three crewmembers were killed.[28]
On 28 October 2010, an Indonesian Police-operated M28 crashed in theNabire region of the Indonesian state ofPapua, killing five people.[29]
On 3 December 2016, a PZL Skytruck belonging to the Indonesian National Policecrashed into the ocean in Dabo, Riau Islands while carrying 13 people. All 13 people on board were killed in the accident. Eyewitnesses stated that the aircraft had suffered an in-flight failure and claimed that the engine of the plane was emitting black smoke.[30]
On 30 May 2017, a PZL Skytruck belonging to the Nepal Army with registration NA-048 crashed at Bajura-based Kolti airport while its pilot was trying to land the aircraft. The cargo airplane was supposed to land on the Simikot airport in Humla district. However, bad weather condition forced the pilot to divert towards Bajura. The pilot of the aircraft died while two others were injured.[31]
^"Kenya seeking Skytruck aircraft from US".DefenceWeb. 7 December 2016. Retrieved28 May 2020.In July 2015 AFSOC announced it was retiring two-thirds of its C-145A fleet, with 11 aircraft subsequently being disposed of.
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