Pzl-Mielec M-15 Belphegor
The PZL M-15, nicknamed 'Belphegor' after a demon for its ungainly looks, is believed to be the only jet-powered biplane ever built in series production, and possibly the slowest jet aircraft ever mass-produced. Poland built it at Soviet request to replace the ageing Antonov An-2 as a crop duster, fitting a turbofan borrowed from the Yak-40 airliner between an unequal-span biplane wing. The jet engine made it faster to reposition between fields but far thirstier and shorter-ranged than the piston An-2 it was meant to succeed, and only 175 were built before production ended.
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Did you know?
Spot it by its silhouette: a biplane with a turbofan slung between the wings — a jet crop duster.
Specifications
| Length | 12.7 m (42 ft) |
|---|---|
| Wingspan | 22.4 m (73 ft) |
| Height | 5.3 m (17 ft) |
| Persons on board | 1 |
| Maximum take-off weight | 5.6 t |
| Range | 220 NM (407 km) |
| Service ceiling | 15,000 ft (4,572 m) |
| Optimum ceiling | 10,000 ft (3,048 m) |
| Rate of climb | 880 ft/min (4.5 m/s) |
Curated by CatchFlights from manufacturer documents, ICAO Doc 8643 and reference works; values are left out where no source could confirm them. Sources are listed on our credits page.
In CatchFlights
In CatchFlights the Pzl-Mielec M-15 Belphegor starts as a Rare catch. The tier is an editorial judgement of how special a sighting of this type is. The more often you catch it, the closer it moves to Common for you.
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