This piece originally ran in the March 2025 issue of EAA Sport Aviation magazine.
This banner celebrates an aircraft that is perhaps not as well-known stateside. The PZL M-18 Dromader is a single-engine agricultural aircraft produced by the Polish manufacturer PZL-Mielec. Named for the one-humped dromedary camel, due to its similarly shaped fuselage, the M-18 Dromader is primarily used for crop dusting and firefighting. PZL-Mielec, then known as WSK-Mielec, designed the Dromader in the mid-1970s with the help of U.S. aircraft manufacturer Rockwell International. PZL-Mielec needed Rockwell International’s support to gain certification from the FAA. The partnership turned out to be advantageous for both sides, as Rockwell International wanted to fit Polish high-power radial engines into its agricultural airplanes. The cooperation led to the Dromader sharing outer wing panels and part of the fuselage with the Rockwell Thrush Commander.
