The Orlik was designed by
PZL Warszawa-Okecie as a trainer for the
Polish Air Force, intended as a replacement for its
PZL-110 Kolibers. It was also designed to meet the US
FAR 23 standard. The project was under the supervision of
Andrzej Frydrychewicz, head engineer of PZL Warszawa-Okecie. It was fitted with a
low-aspect ratio wing to better simulate the handling characteristics of jet fighters. The aircraft was designed to be powered by a
Soviet-designed and built
Vedeneyev M14Pm
radial engine with the intention of replacing it by a modified Polish built
Ivchenko AI-14 engine in production aircraft. The first prototype Orlik flew on 12 October 1984, with a second prototype following in December and a third in January 1985. The third prototype was therefore re-fitted with a 410 kW (550 shp)
Pratt & Whitney PT6A-25P turboprop, flying in this form on 13 July 1986, but was destroyed in a crash in January 1987 while being demonstrated to a representative of the
Colombian Air Force. Two further turboprop prototypes followed in 1989 and 1990, powered by a Czech-built 560 kW (750 shp)
Walter M-601E and a PT6A-25 as the PZL-130TB and PZL-130TP respectively. In 1990, development of the piston-engined Orlik was abandoned, as the Polish built radial engines gave insufficient power, with Polish interest switching to the M-601 powered PZL-130TB. ==Operational history==