August 2, 1998 Test Flying the M-26 Airwolf

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by	Walter Atkinson

About the Author ... AVweb contributor Walter Atkinson became interested in aviation at a very early age when his father, a WWII aviator, began fying a Comanche in the 1960's. He practices General Dentistry in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, because he enjoys it and it supports his hobbies of racing sailboats and flying his Aerobatic Bonanza and his C45H (Twin Beech). He has published three novels and over a dozen professional articles in refereed journals. He holds ASEL, AMEL, Instrument, and ASES Private ratings.

The M-26 Airwolf is built by PZL Mielec in Poland and joins a short list of FAA Certified airplanes in the Aerobatic and Standard categories. Mielec built MIGs as a government entity during the Cold War and is now functioning as a private company in the newly capitalistic regime. The aircraft is constructed of 51% American made parts which are shipped to Poland where they are assembled. After assembly, they are test flown and the wings removed for shipment. The airframe is polish built. They are delivered to Melex USA in Goldsboro, NC where they are painted. This allows the customer to specify the color scheme and paint design.

The M-26 is a new design which shares some minor similarities to some Piper products since the two companies have a corporate information sharing agreement. The Airwolf has a Lycoming AEIO-540 (aerobatic, inverted, injected opposed) which is fully capable of sustained inverted flight. The airframe is tough. It is rated for +6/-3 Gs in the aerobatic category but is capable of more (+9/-6 should test your mettle).

The cross country capabilities are acceptable with a cruise of 165 ktas and with a fuel burn of 16 GPH, the 96 gallons on board will take you further than most bladders. The 3100 gross wt. is enough to take two and light luggage.

Firing up the big Lycoming lets you know this airplane means business. The panel is well instrumented but notably is missing a six-probe graphic engine monitor. This is a significant short-coming in an aircraft of this quality. Taxiing is interesting in that the nose wheel steering is poor until some degree of speed is attained. You'll need the brakes for slow turns. This is not really a problem but was somewhat surprising. The run up is standard piston and the takeoff rotation occurs at 70 knots. Liftoff at 80 knots climb at 100 knots are all comfortable.

Now comes the fun. The control forces are excellent; light for a GA airplane (sort of medium for an F-15 driver) and are very well balanced. The control linkage is of push/pull tube construction and are solid. The roll rate is much quicker than the T-34 at 200 degrees per second! It really goes around. All aerobatic maneuvers are accomplished without unusual inputs and the hammerhead and aileron rolls seem better than most airplanes in the category. Stalls are gentle. You get the "elephants toe dancing on the wings" thumping but everything remained straight and it noticeably did not have the wing drop of the T-34. Inverted flight, which is limited to 5 seconds in the T-34 (except those equipped with inverted oil) can be accomplished in the M-26 for as long as you can take it. The only question is "Just how tough are you?"

Upon returning to OSH, we set up for the approach. A 100 knot approach puts you in great shape since the flaps can be lowered at 108 knots. The big Lycoming blocks your vision in the nose up attitude of a no flaps landing but with 20 degrees of flaps, everything looks and feels just right. With a 54 knot stall speed, there is plenty of room at the 70 knot landing speed which felt very comfortable.

The only complaint I had was that the air circulation in the cockpit was poor. It needs more ventilation under the greenhouse. On the positive side, the visibility is great with a very comfortable canopy which can be opened and locked in place in any position. This is a big plus on the ground.

Special Thanks to USAF F15E driver, Major Scott "Gunny" Perdue, who arranged for the test flight. When you couple the skills of a good instructor like Scott with the good manners of this new aircraft the result is ballet in the sky. The M-26 even makes limited aerobatic skills a pleasure.

The current list price is $258,000.00. The demo planes with 100-300 hours on them are available for just over $200,000.00-not a bad price for a fully aerobatic, FAA Certified new airplane.