L-33 Solo | |
---|---|
Role | Glider |
National origin | Czech Republic |
Manufacturer | Let Kunovice |
Designer | Marian Meciar and Vaclav Zajic |
First flight | 1992 |
Introduction | 1992 |
Status | In production (2012) |
Produced | 1992–present |
Number built | 94 (2011) |
Developed from | LET L-23 Super Blaník |
The Let L-33 Solo is a Czech shoulder-wing, single-seat, glider, designed by Marian Meciar and Vaclav Zajic, and produced by Let Kunovice. The L-33 first flew in 1992 and remained in production through 2012, supplied as a ready-to-fly aircraft.
The L-33 is a development of the two-seat LET L-23 Super Blaník for use as a student solo aircraft. The L-33 features a cantilever wing, a T-tail, a single-seat enclosed cockpit under a bubble canopy and fixed monowheel gear.
The semi-monocoque design is made from flush riveted aluminum sheet. The rudder is covered with doped aircraft fabric. Its 14.12 m (46.3 ft) span, semi-tapered wing employs a Wortmann FX-60-17A11-182 airfoil at the wing root, transitioning to an FX-60-126 at the wing tip. The wing has an area of 11 m2 (120 sq ft) and mounts top surface Schempp-Hirth-style air brakes.
The L-33 was a competitor in the IGC World Class sailplane design competition, but lost to the Polish Politechnika Warszawska PW-5. The design is type certified to JAR 22 in Argentina, Canada, the Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States.