Designers settled on the Lycoming AIO-540 D4B5 horizontally-opposed six-cylinder piston engine, rated at 194 kW (260 hp), driving a three-blade Hoffmann constant speed propeller.

The prototype Zlín Z-50L (L for its Lycoming engine), with civil registration OK-070, first flew 18 months after the start of design work, on 18 July 1975.

[2] It does not incorporate landing flaps; in their place, two-section ailerons extend the full wingspan, providing an exceptional rate of roll.

A Z-50LS won the World Aerobatic Championships in 1984 and 1986,[8] but the debut of the Sukhoi Su-26 in the 1986 eventually edged out the Zlin from world-class competition.

[9] Another version derived from the Zlin Z-50 aircraft is a "baby fifty" – Z-50M with a LOM M137AZ engine of 134 kW (180 HP).

This version received additional fuel tanks in the wings and a robust smoke system for airshow routines; it was produced principally at the urging of show pilot Victor Norman.