Let L-33 Solo
| {{Infobox Aircraft Begin
| name=L-33 Solo | image=LET_L-33_Solo_glider_at_Air_Sailing_Gliderport.jpg | caption= }}{{Infobox Aircraft Type | type=Glider | national origin=Czech Republic | manufacturer=Let Kunovice | designer=Marian Meciar and Vaclav Zajic | first flight=1992 | introduced=1992 | retired= | status=In production (2012) | primary user= | more users= | produced= 1992–present | number built=94 (2011) | program cost= | unit cost= | variants with their own articles= }} |
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.Bayerl, Robby; Martin Berkemeier; et al: World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2011-12, page 146. WDLA UK, Lancaster UK, 2011. ISSN 1368-485X{{cite web|url = http://www.sailplanedirectory.com/PlaneDetails.cfm?planeID=331|title = Solo L 33 LET|accessdate = 12 December 2012|last = Activate Media|year = 2006|url-status = dead|archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20120308060224/http://www.sailplanedirectory.com/PlaneDetails.cfm?planeID=331|archivedate = 8 March 2012}}{{cite web|url = http://www.let.cz/?sec=59|title = L-33 Solo|accessdate = 12 December 2012|last = Let Kunovice|date = n.d.}}
Design and development
The L-33 was a developed as the single-seat "natural step" for early solo students to fly after dual training on the two-seat LET L-23 Super Blaník. 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 {{convert|14.12|m|ft|1|abbr=on}} 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 {{convert|11|m2|sqft|abbr=on}} and mounts top surface Schempp-Hirth-style air brakes.{{Cite web|url = http://www.ae.illinois.edu/m-selig/ads/aircraft.html|title = The Incomplete Guide to Airfoil Usage|accessdate = 12 December 2012|last = Lednicer|first = David|authorlink = |year = 2010|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100420012244/http://www.ae.illinois.edu/m-selig/ads/aircraft.html|archive-date = 20 April 2010|url-status = dead}}
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.
Operational history
By November 2012, 92 examples had been produced. In March 2025, 42 examples are registered with the Federal Aviation Administration in the United States, 4 with Transport Canada and one with the British Civil Aviation Authority.{{cite web|url = http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/AcftRef_Results.aspx?Mfrtxt=&Modeltxt=L+33&PageNo=1|title = Make / Model Inquiry Results|accessdate = 12 December 2012|last = Federal Aviation Administration|date = 12 December 2012}}{{cite web|url=http://wwwapps2.tc.gc.ca/Saf-Sec-Sur/2/ccarcs/aspscripts/en/quicksearch.asp |title=Canadian Civil Aircraft Register |accessdate=12 December 2012 |last=Transport Canada |date=12 December 2012 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110718042755/http://wwwapps2.tc.gc.ca/Saf-Sec-Sur/2/ccarcs/aspscripts/en/quicksearch.asp |archivedate=July 18, 2011 }}{{cite web|url = http://www.caa.co.uk/application.aspx?catid=60&pagetype=65&appid=1&mode=detailnosummary&fullregmark=CFZZ|title = GINFO Search Results Summary|accessdate = 12 December 2012|last = Civil Aviation Authority (United Kingdom)|date = 12 December 2012}}
Specifications (L-33 Solo)
{{Aircraft specs
|ref=Bayerl and the Sailplane Directory
|prime units?=met
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|crew=one
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|length m=
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|span m=14.12
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|wing area sqm=11
|wing area sqft=
|wing area note=
|aspect ratio=18.12:1
|airfoil=
|empty weight kg=210
|empty weight lb=
|empty weight note=
|gross weight kg=340
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|stall speed kmh=65
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|never exceed speed kmh=248
|never exceed speed mph=
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|glide ratio=33:1 at {{convert|83|km/h|mph|0|abbr=on}}
|sink rate ms=0.66
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|lift to drag=
|wing loading kg/m2=30.9
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See also
References
{{reflist}}
External links
{{commons category|Let L-33 Solo}}
- [http://www.let.cz/?sec=59 Official website]
{{Let Kunovice aircraft}}
{{World class sailplane competitors}}
Category:1990s Czech and Czechoslovak sailplanes
Category:Aircraft first flown in 1992