From a technical perspective, would you buy an old Zlin Z142 in 2025?
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Joined: Jun 2025
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From: Yurop
From a technical perspective, would you buy an old Zlin Z142 in 2025?
Hello everyone!
I am trying to find an aircraft for CPL hour building and I keep seeing these old Z142s on sale from an ATO in Hungary. They're fairly affordable but I have no experience with this type, so naturally started researching only and asking around, and I see all sorts of strange flags, for instance:
- don't get it because it eats up a ton of fuel - well, in eco cruise seems to guzzle about 60L/h at like 120kts at 8000 ft, that's obviously more than twice the consumption of a Rotax 912 ULS but all CS23 Rotax planes I can find are priced at over 100k so I'm basically saving a lot of money to pay for fuel especially considering I'll be getting fuel with a major tax reduction. Yes there's also the pollution which is a big issue I don't know how to address yet except getting rid of it as soon as I do my time...
- don't buy one because they burn AVGAS and you can't find it anymore - right, I guess all other AVGAS-guzzling oldies will stop flying too?
- don't do it, they're like 50 years old, must be trash, you'll just die - they've been under CAMO, full logs, seller and maintenance org say they're fully airworthy
- some guy died in a Z142 some time ago because of a cracked wing spar so you'll just die too - Is there any aircraft type in which nobody ever died at some point? except maybe those 300k ultralights they sell like 5-10 a decade...
- maintenance is expensive - is there any aircraft that's cheap to maintain (rhetorical question)? I still save a lot in the front end, will maintenance work for like 800-1000 flight hours set me back more than I'm saving?
- good engineers are hard to find - after some digging with the Google shovel I saw there are apparently 2 serious orgs that work on Z142s in Europe
- oh it's a school plane, must be trash by now because of all the students who plowed the fields with them tractors - actually a reasonable argument
- it's not cool, it's an old piece of junk (actual argument from a guy at an ATO) - alright
- you have to do a lot of paperwork to register and be able to fly the aircraft - I'm sure this isn't Z142-specific
- it's hard to fly, our school's flying-gimmick-at-250EUR-per-hour is easier - well yes you know what, you're actually right, thank you, much appreciated
... and so on so forth. Basically everyone I ask that have anything to do with a school or renter will come up with a ton of reasons for me not to buy them, and everyone else I ask just don't know - most people haven't flown one. Some of the older pilots I've met were enthusiastic and said the Z142 is awesome, I'm not doubting that, but they couldn't answer questions about maintenance and the like.
So I guess my question is: would you buy a Z142? and why, or why not?
Thank you very much in advance for any thoughts/input
I am trying to find an aircraft for CPL hour building and I keep seeing these old Z142s on sale from an ATO in Hungary. They're fairly affordable but I have no experience with this type, so naturally started researching only and asking around, and I see all sorts of strange flags, for instance:
- don't get it because it eats up a ton of fuel - well, in eco cruise seems to guzzle about 60L/h at like 120kts at 8000 ft, that's obviously more than twice the consumption of a Rotax 912 ULS but all CS23 Rotax planes I can find are priced at over 100k so I'm basically saving a lot of money to pay for fuel especially considering I'll be getting fuel with a major tax reduction. Yes there's also the pollution which is a big issue I don't know how to address yet except getting rid of it as soon as I do my time...
- don't buy one because they burn AVGAS and you can't find it anymore - right, I guess all other AVGAS-guzzling oldies will stop flying too?
- don't do it, they're like 50 years old, must be trash, you'll just die - they've been under CAMO, full logs, seller and maintenance org say they're fully airworthy
- some guy died in a Z142 some time ago because of a cracked wing spar so you'll just die too - Is there any aircraft type in which nobody ever died at some point? except maybe those 300k ultralights they sell like 5-10 a decade...
- maintenance is expensive - is there any aircraft that's cheap to maintain (rhetorical question)? I still save a lot in the front end, will maintenance work for like 800-1000 flight hours set me back more than I'm saving?
- good engineers are hard to find - after some digging with the Google shovel I saw there are apparently 2 serious orgs that work on Z142s in Europe
- oh it's a school plane, must be trash by now because of all the students who plowed the fields with them tractors - actually a reasonable argument
- it's not cool, it's an old piece of junk (actual argument from a guy at an ATO) - alright
- you have to do a lot of paperwork to register and be able to fly the aircraft - I'm sure this isn't Z142-specific
- it's hard to fly, our school's flying-gimmick-at-250EUR-per-hour is easier - well yes you know what, you're actually right, thank you, much appreciated
... and so on so forth. Basically everyone I ask that have anything to do with a school or renter will come up with a ton of reasons for me not to buy them, and everyone else I ask just don't know - most people haven't flown one. Some of the older pilots I've met were enthusiastic and said the Z142 is awesome, I'm not doubting that, but they couldn't answer questions about maintenance and the like.
So I guess my question is: would you buy a Z142? and why, or why not?
Thank you very much in advance for any thoughts/input
Joined: Aug 2017
Posts: 208
Likes: 1
From: Europe
I know absolutely nothing about Z142s but I do work occasionally on other single engine GA aircraft so here's my thoughts.
- don't get it because it eats up a ton of fuel - So do older Piper and Cessna aircraft, is there a huge difference between say a P28 and a Z142 ?
don't do it, they're like 50 years old, must be trash, you'll just die - There plenty of Piper and Cessna aircraft out there the same age or older, some are fine, others are flying deathtraps, it depends upon how they've been maintained.
- some guy died in a Z142 some time ago because of a cracked wing spar so you'll just die too - There's ADs on the Cessna 152 & 172 and the PA 28 for inspection of the wing spars so the Z142 is not the only light aircraft with this problem.
- oh it's a school plane, must be trash by now because of all the students who plowed the fields with them tractors - Not unique to the Z142, this would apply to any ex-flying school aircraft, again its down to the maintenance. I recently worked on an old ex-flying school C172 and I'm sure there wasn't a straight panel left on it, I certainly wouldn't have bought it 😁
- it's hard to fly, our school's flying-gimmick-at-250EUR-per-hour is easier - I don't fly so I'm hardly qualified to answer this question but I would say if it's harder to fly surely then if you can fly a Z142 then you can fly anything.
- don't get it because it eats up a ton of fuel - So do older Piper and Cessna aircraft, is there a huge difference between say a P28 and a Z142 ?
don't do it, they're like 50 years old, must be trash, you'll just die - There plenty of Piper and Cessna aircraft out there the same age or older, some are fine, others are flying deathtraps, it depends upon how they've been maintained.
- some guy died in a Z142 some time ago because of a cracked wing spar so you'll just die too - There's ADs on the Cessna 152 & 172 and the PA 28 for inspection of the wing spars so the Z142 is not the only light aircraft with this problem.
- oh it's a school plane, must be trash by now because of all the students who plowed the fields with them tractors - Not unique to the Z142, this would apply to any ex-flying school aircraft, again its down to the maintenance. I recently worked on an old ex-flying school C172 and I'm sure there wasn't a straight panel left on it, I certainly wouldn't have bought it 😁
- it's hard to fly, our school's flying-gimmick-at-250EUR-per-hour is easier - I don't fly so I'm hardly qualified to answer this question but I would say if it's harder to fly surely then if you can fly a Z142 then you can fly anything.
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 416
Likes: 36
From: Down south
Forget about the fuel consumption it's nearly irrelevant compared to the rest...Stay away from these wonderful, overbuilt, indestructible aircrafts...Even if you are offered one for free..
They had ridiculous calendarial deadlines. Zlin 50's (Don't know about 142's) airframes were lifed at 400 hours then they had to be scrapped. To get approved extensions was and is a nightmare. And to comply with all those SB's and AD's to make many old aircratfs airworthy again would be a nightmare
Parts - engine and airframe- were widely available at the fall of communism, for a penny and a dime.
Nowadays they are impossible to find, the Czechs keep them all. Those available to foreigners are sold at astronomical prices.
You may be better off with those aircrafts fitted with a Lycoming engine and if you can bypass EASA certified aircraft regulations by re registering them experimental. Not easy.
They are wonderfully built, like tanks; The aluminum riveted fuselages of the 50's series were all made with components machined from blocks of aluminum and steel with titanium landing gear struts,
I believe the 142's were built to the same standard. After decades of use and abuse some cracks are likely to appear or already be present, that you cannot avoid. Therefore maintenance is paramount.
Also during communist times aircrafts were parked outdoors....There may still be today.
They had ridiculous calendarial deadlines. Zlin 50's (Don't know about 142's) airframes were lifed at 400 hours then they had to be scrapped. To get approved extensions was and is a nightmare. And to comply with all those SB's and AD's to make many old aircratfs airworthy again would be a nightmare
Parts - engine and airframe- were widely available at the fall of communism, for a penny and a dime.
Nowadays they are impossible to find, the Czechs keep them all. Those available to foreigners are sold at astronomical prices.
You may be better off with those aircrafts fitted with a Lycoming engine and if you can bypass EASA certified aircraft regulations by re registering them experimental. Not easy.
They are wonderfully built, like tanks; The aluminum riveted fuselages of the 50's series were all made with components machined from blocks of aluminum and steel with titanium landing gear struts,
I believe the 142's were built to the same standard. After decades of use and abuse some cracks are likely to appear or already be present, that you cannot avoid. Therefore maintenance is paramount.
Also during communist times aircrafts were parked outdoors....There may still be today.
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 218
Likes: 52
From: Europe
Zlins are, as markkal said, built like tanks, a bit overengineered and meticoulously put together - as any other classic Czech built airplane. First thing I would look is product support. Can you get spare parts in decent time for a decent price? My airclub had some Czech made gliders (Blanik) and that became a serious issue in recent years. Second one: life limits. Czech loved (as Russians) to put relatively low life limits and had some overcomplicated ways to get extension. After communism collapse, ownerships of those companies was handed here and there and those life extension procedures varied wildly, seems mostly dependant on company owner greed. My experience is based with Blanik metal gliders, but I had a chance to fly a bit on Zlins and seen upclose some engineering on twin Morava airplane too. This issue can be a deal breaker - in our airclub it brought us to decision to get rid of Blaniks, that are otherwise rugged, easy to handle, almost indestructible ab-initio trainers, loved by generations of pilots.
I suppose the engine is inline Walter direct injection engine? I really liked the starting sequence, which is from zero to idle in one second without hesitation, spluttering and growling like most Lycomings and Continentals. Walter sounds like Singer sewing machine, but....this was achieved with fuel system, that is like the one on Diesel engines with complex sequencing mechanical pump, only pressure is lower, also it has overhead camshaft, driven by precise bevel geared drive - again, a piece of marvelous but complex engineering.
If you can get over above mentioned hurdles and numbers show you it is reasonable, go for it, but I would be very careful. I regularly see a Zlin 143 (Lycoming) in Austrian register - in private use, so obviously this guy found a way to keep the plane airworthy.
I suppose the engine is inline Walter direct injection engine? I really liked the starting sequence, which is from zero to idle in one second without hesitation, spluttering and growling like most Lycomings and Continentals. Walter sounds like Singer sewing machine, but....this was achieved with fuel system, that is like the one on Diesel engines with complex sequencing mechanical pump, only pressure is lower, also it has overhead camshaft, driven by precise bevel geared drive - again, a piece of marvelous but complex engineering.
If you can get over above mentioned hurdles and numbers show you it is reasonable, go for it, but I would be very careful. I regularly see a Zlin 143 (Lycoming) in Austrian register - in private use, so obviously this guy found a way to keep the plane airworthy.
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 1,581
Likes: 73
From: England
Zlins are, as markkal said, built like tanks, a bit overengineered and meticoulously put together - as any other classic Czech built airplane. First thing I would look is product support. Can you get spare parts in decent time for a decent price? My airclub had some Czech made gliders (Blanik) and that became a serious issue in recent years. Second one: life limits. Czech loved (as Russians) to put relatively low life limits and had some overcomplicated ways to get extension. After communism collapse, ownerships of those companies was handed here and there and those life extension procedures varied wildly, seems mostly dependant on company owner greed. My experience is based with Blanik metal gliders, but I had a chance to fly a bit on Zlins and seen upclose some engineering on twin Morava airplane too. This issue can be a deal breaker - in our airclub it brought us to decision to get rid of Blaniks, that are otherwise rugged, easy to handle, almost indestructible ab-initio trainers, loved by generations of pilots.
I suppose the engine is inline Walter direct injection engine? I really liked the starting sequence, which is from zero to idle in one second without hesitation, spluttering and growling like most Lycomings and Continentals. Walter sounds like Singer sewing machine, but....this was achieved with fuel system, that is like the one on Diesel engines with complex sequencing mechanical pump, only pressure is lower, also it has overhead camshaft, driven by precise bevel geared drive - again, a piece of marvelous but complex engineering.
If you can get over above mentioned hurdles and numbers show you it is reasonable, go for it, but I would be very careful. I regularly see a Zlin 143 (Lycoming) in Austrian register - in private use, so obviously this guy found a way to keep the plane airworthy.
I suppose the engine is inline Walter direct injection engine? I really liked the starting sequence, which is from zero to idle in one second without hesitation, spluttering and growling like most Lycomings and Continentals. Walter sounds like Singer sewing machine, but....this was achieved with fuel system, that is like the one on Diesel engines with complex sequencing mechanical pump, only pressure is lower, also it has overhead camshaft, driven by precise bevel geared drive - again, a piece of marvelous but complex engineering.
If you can get over above mentioned hurdles and numbers show you it is reasonable, go for it, but I would be very careful. I regularly see a Zlin 143 (Lycoming) in Austrian register - in private use, so obviously this guy found a way to keep the plane airworthy.
The most famous Zlin spar failure was a UK pilot Neil Williams, a serious aerobatic exponent. The wing spar failed and the wing started to fold up. He rolled inverted and got it back to the airfield. Rolled it away from the failed wing and got it onto the ground. A superior pilot with skills well above average and lucky!!!
