Aero L-39 Albatros
The Aero L-39 Albatros is a high-performance jet trainer aircraft developed in Czechoslovakia to meet requirements for a "C-39" (C for cvičný – trainer) during the 1960s to replace the L-29 Delfín. It was the first of the second-generation jet trainers, and the first turbofan-powered trainer produced, and was later updated as the L-59 Super Albatros and as the L-139 (prototype L-39 with engine Garrett TFE731). The design is still produced in an evolved state as the L-159 ALCA, more than 2,800 L-39s have served with over 30 air forces around the world. The Albatros – the most widely used jet trainer in the world – is versatile, seeing duty in light-attack missions as well as in basic and advanced pilot training.
Design and development
The L-39 (under the name Prototype X-02) first flew on 4 November 1969 and was piloted by Rudolf Duchoň, the factory's test pilot. Serial production began in 1971. The design is Czechoslovak (Czech) – the construction of Aero's chief designer Jan Vlček. The L-39 Albatros is a widely flown trainer/light attack aircraft similar in mission to the Italian MB339. Until now is in service with various former Soviet allies.
The low, slightly swept wing has a double-taper planform, 2½-deg dihedral from the roots, a relatively low aspect ratio, and 100 liter (26½ gal US) fuel tanks permanently attached to the wingtips . The trailing edge has double-slotted trailing edge flaps inboard of mass-balanced ailerons; the flaps are separated from the ailerons by small wing fences.
The tall, swept vertical tail has an inset rudder. Variable-incidence horizontal stabilizers with inset elevators are mounted at the base of the rudder and over the exhaust nozzle. Side-by-side airbrakes are located under the fuselage ahead of the wing's leading edge. Flaps, landing gear, wheel brakes and air brakes are powered by a hydraulic system. Controls are pushrod-actuated and have electrically powered servo tabs on the ailerons and rudder. Operational g-force limits at 4,200 kg (9,259 lb) are +8/-4 g.
A single turbofan engine, an Ivchenko AI-25TL (made in the Soviet Union) is embedded in the fuselage and is fed through shoulder-mounted, semi-circular air intakes (fitted with splitter plates) just behind the cockpit; the engine exhausts below the tailplane. Five rubber bag fuel tanks are located in the fuselage behind the cockpit. The main, trailing-arm landing gear legs retract inward into wing bays; the nose gear retracts forward.
A long, pointed nose made of aluminum leads back to the tandem cockpit, in which the student and instructor sit under individual canopies that are hinged on the right. The rear (instructor's) seat is raised slightly; both ejection seats are made by Aero.
The basic trainer is not armed, but has two underwing pylons for drop tanks and practice weapons. Light-attack variants have four underwing hardpoints for ground attack stores; the ZA also has an underfuselage gun pod.
This model is no longer in production and is replaced by the L-159.
Operational history
Abkhazia
In the spring of 2008, a number of Georgian drones were shot down by Abkhaz separatist or Russian forces. In the first of these occasions, on April 20, 2008. Another was shot down by a Russian MiG-29 over Abkhazia region. The Abkhazian separatist forces claimed that one of its missile-equipped L-39's had downed a Georgian Hermes 450 unmanned reconnaissance drone. [1]
Nagorno-Karabakh War
L-39s, along with older L-29s,were used extensively in ground attack missions in the Nagorno-Karabakh War by Azeri forces. Several were shot down by Armenian air-defences.[2]
Popular warbird
While newer versions are now replacing older L-39s in service, thousands remain in active service as trainers, and many are finding new homes with private owners all over the world. This is particularly evident in the United States, where their $200,000-$300,000 price puts them in range of moderately wealthy pilots looking for a fast, agile personal jet. Their popularity led to a purely L-39 Jet class at the Reno Air Races, though it has since been expanded to include other, similar aircraft. As of mid-March 2006, there are 257 L-39s in the US Federal Aviation register. The first legally registered L-39 private aircraft was successfully flown on a cross country ferry flight in the US on December 9, 1992 with Pilot D. McCue and observer J. Yurick .
Several display teams use the L-39 such as The Patriots Jet Team (6 L-39s), the Breitling Jet Team (7 L-39s) and the Heavy Metal Jet Team (4 L-39's).[3]
There are also several L-39 available for private jet rides in the United States, Australia, Czech Republic, Germany, France, and Spain.[4] These L-39s are mostly in private hands, but they may also belong to government agencies, such as those in Vyazma, Russia.[5]
In popular culture
An L-39 was used in the James Bond film, Tomorrow Never Dies, where the James Bond character steals the aircraft. In the arms deal scene in the beginning of the film, 007 takes the plane to get away from the terrorists. The plane is not mentioned by name but it is clearly an L-39. The 2005 film Lord of War features a scene in which an L-39 intercepts an An-12 cargo plane.[6]
It is also featured prominently in ARMA 2: Operation Arrowhead as a fighter for the Takistani Airforce.
Several L39s were used extensively in the 2010 movie Kill Speed. [7]
Rick Harrison attempted to buy an L-39 on one of the episodes of Pawn Stars for $80,000. The seller and Rick could not agree on the price.
Variants
- L-39X-01 - X-07
- Five prototypes plus two static test airframes.[8]
- L-39C (C for Cvičná - training)
- Standard basic trainer for Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia and export. Originally designated L-39, but renamed L-39C when later variants appeared. Two pylons under wing. Approximately 2,260 built.[9]
- L-39CM (CM for Cvičná modernizovaná - modernised training)
- Slovak upgraded C version.
- L-39M1[10]
- Ukrainian upgraded C version with AI-25TLSh engines. The conversion is carried out by Odesaviaremservis and the first plane was ready in 2009. The upgrade of a further 7 L-39C's is planned.[11]
- L-39V (V for Vlečná - tug)
- Single-seat target tug version for Czechoslovakia. Equipped to tow KT-04 target on 1,700 m (5,600 ft) cable. Prototype plus eight production aircraft built.[12]
- L-39ZO (Z for Zbraně - weapons)
- Interim weapon trainer variant for export. Four pylons stressed for 500 kg (1,100 lb) (inboard) and 250 kg (550 lb) (outboard), with total external load of 1,150 kg (2,500 lb).[13] First flew 25 June 1975, with initial deliveries to Iraq in 1977. 337 built.[14]
- L-39ZA
- Significantly upgraded L-39ZO for armed training and light attack, employing sturdier landing gear, a higher payload (total 1,290 kg (2,844 lb))[13] and notably provision for a GSh-23L 23 millimeter twin barreled cannon attached in a conformal pod under the pilots' compartment, having a 150 round magazine within the airframe. Outer pylons wired to carry K-13 or R-60 air-to-air missiles. Two prototypes, with first flying on 29 September 1976. 208 aircraft delivered.[15]
- L-39ZAM
- Slovak upgraded ZA version.
- L-39ZA/ART
- Thai version of L-39ZA with Elbit avionics. 40 built.[16]
- L-39MS
- The Aero L-39MS Super Albatros is a second generation military trainer aircraft developed from the firm's earlier L-39. Compared to its predecessor, it featured a strengthened fuselage, longer nose, a vastly updated cockpit, and a more powerful (21.6 kN (4,850 lbf)) Lotarev DV-2 engine, allowing operation at higher weights and speeds (max speed 872 km/h (542 mph)).[17] First flight on 30 September 1986. It was later designated as the Aero L-59 .[18]
- L-139 Albatros 2000
- Revised version with western avionics and 17.99 kN (4,045 lbf) Garrett TFE731-4-1T engine. Single prototype built.[19]
- L-159
- Further modernised advanced trainer/combat aircraft with more modern, western avionics and Honeywell F124 engine.[20]
Operators
Notable incidents
- 26 September 1986 Mihai Smighelschi, a 21-year old student of the Romanian Air Force Academy, used an L-39ZA Albatros training plane to run to Turkey and request political asylum. His plane was later recovered and onboard data recorders showed that he had flown no higher than 150 meters above ground at 700 km/h to evade radar detection. Smighelschi had less than 100 hours at the time, including high-school glider training, and less than 3 hours on the L-39ZA. Without satellite navigation or indeed any maps, he navigated a mentally recorded straight line over Romania, Bulgaria, and Turkey using only ground marks and the memory of a map of Europe he had access to at the Academy. He eventually landed in Kirklareli, Turkey, on a street near a group of jeeps that seemed to have American insignia, breaking the front wheel and the nose of the plane.[22]
- 24 January 2001 Atlas Air Founder, Chairman, and CEO Michael A. Chowdry was killed Jan. 24 when his Czech L-39 jet trainer crashed into an open field near Watkins, Colorado, USA. Also killed was Wall Street Journal aerospace reporter Jeff Cole. Chowdry and Cole were making a planned flight from Front Range Airport.[23][24]
- 2 July 2003 Elmo Hahn, 54, a developer and well-known pilot in Muskegon, Michigan, USA, died soon after a crash of his L-39. Hahn was returning to Muskegon after filming a segment about the L-39 Albatross for CNN. He was lifting off in his aircraft and ejected from the plane due to an engine failure caused by ingestion of objects from the aircraft's baggage compartment, which had not been latched. Hahn did not survive.[25]
- 25 January 2006 Major Stephen Freeman USMC (Ret.), was killed when he steered the L-39MS (N104XX) he was repossessing away from a populated area in Ketchikan, Alaska, USA. The weather was a factor in the crash. Five people on the ground were injured. [26]
- 16 March 2007 An L-39 crashed at the Tico Warbird air show at Space Coast Regional Airport in Titusville, Florida, USA, killing the pilot.[27] The pilot was identified as attorney Eilon Krugman-Kadi, 58, of Gainesville, Florida, USA, a former Israeli fighter pilot.[28] The L-39 had been built for the Soviet air force in 1980, and was demilitarized in 1999 from Ukraine.[29]
- 13 September 2007 Air race pilot Brad Morehouse of Afton, Wyoming, USA, was killed when his L-39 crashed in a race at the Reno Air Races. According to newspaper reports, it appeared that pilot lost control when the plane was caught in wake turbulence generated by other racers.[30]
- 21 March 2010 An L-39 crashed in Cumana, Venezuela, killing the pilot (Walter Oravsky Brand, 72) and 6 people on the ground, with 3 more reported wounded. It was caused by an engine failure. The pilot reported to the ATC his intentions to perform engine emergency procedures. A few minutes later the plane crashed.
- 30 August 2011 A Lithuanian Air Force L-39 collided in mid-air with a French NATO Mirage fighter jet. Both pilots of the L-39 survived after ejecting to safety. The French military plane landed successfully.
Specifications (L-39C)
Data from Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1988-89 [13]
General characteristics
Performance
- Never exceed speed: Mach 0.80 (609 mph, 980 km/h)
- Maximum speed: 750 km/h (405 knots, 466 mph) at 5,000 m (16,400 ft)
- Range: 1,100 km (593 nmi, 683 mi) (internal fuel)
- 1,750 km, (944 nmi, 1,087 mi) (internal and external fuel)
- Service ceiling: 11,000 m (36,100 ft)
- Rate of climb: 13.5 m/s (4,130 ft/min)
- Wing loading: 250.0 kg/m² (51.3 lb/ft²)
- Thrust/weight: 0.37
- Climb to 5,000 m (16,400 ft): 5 min
- Endurance:
- 2 hr 30 min (internal fuel)
- 3 hr 50 min (internal and external fuel)
- Take-off roll: 530 m (1,740 ft)
- Landing roll: 650 m (2,140 ft)
Armament
- Up to 284 kg (626 lb) of stores on two external hardpoints
- 2× wingtip fuel tanks
See also
- Related development
- Aircraft of comparable role, configuration and era
Notes
- ^ "The Georgian Times on the Web: Comprehensive news site, daily international, national and local news coverage , breaking news updates, sports, reviews". Geotimes.ge. http://www.geotimes.ge/index.php?m=home&newsid=10615. Retrieved 2011-12-29.
- ^ "Air War over Nagorniy-Kharabakh, 1988-1994". Acig.org. http://www.acig.org/artman/publish/article_280.shtml. Retrieved 2011-12-29.
- ^ "Heavy Metal Jet Team Aircraft". Heavymetaljetteam.com. http://www.heavymetaljetteam.com/Aircraft. Retrieved 2011-12-29.
- ^ Aero L-39 Albatros
- ^ "L-39 squadron Russ based in Vyazma - Official Website of Rus' L-39 Squadron / Flight School based at Vyazemskiy Aviacenter, Vyazma / Vjazma, Smolensk, Russia - Welcome - History of the Squadron". Vyazmarus.com. http://www.vyazmarus.com/english/ourhistory.html. Retrieved 2011-12-29.
- ^ IMDB: Goofs for Lord of War
- ^ [1]
- ^ Lake 2000, p.122.
- ^ Lake 2000, pp.123—124.
- ^ "Issue 09/10". Defpol.org.ua. 2011-09-13. http://defpol.org.ua/site/index.php/uk/arhiv/information-analytical-review-of-the-military-news/255-issue-0917-70909. Retrieved 2011-12-29.
- ^ [2]
- ^ Lake 2000, p.124.
- ^ a b c Taylor 1988, pp.47—48.
- ^ Lake 2000, p.125.
- ^ Lake 2000, pp.126—127.
- ^ Lake 2000, p.127.
- ^ Lake 2000, p.118.
- ^ Lake 2000, p.128.
- ^ Lake 2000, p.129.
- ^ Lake 2000, pp.130—131.
- ^ "Heavy Metal Jet Team Aircraft". Heavymetaljetteam.com. http://www.heavymetaljetteam.com/Aircraft. Retrieved 2011-12-29.
- ^ "Fuga din tara a elevului pilot Mihai Smighelschi cu avionul L-39 Albatros (continuare) - Pilot Magazin". Pilotmagazin.ro. 2011-04-22. http://pilotmagazin.ro/2011/10/fuga-din-tara-a-elevului-pilot-mihai-smighelschi-cu-avionul-l-39-albatros-continuare/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+pilotmagazin+%28Pilot+magazin+-+revista+online+pentru+cei+pasionati+de+aventuri+aviatice%29&utm_content=FaceBook. Retrieved 2011-12-29.
- ^ "Atlas Air CEO Chowdry killed in crash.(Michael A. Chowdry killed in jet trainer crash)(Brief Article)". http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_hb3078/is_200103/ai_n7827258.
- ^ DEN01FA044
- ^ Gadsden, AL July 2003
- ^ Jet Crashes In Ketchikan, Pilot Killed Ketchikan, AK January 2006
- ^ Fatal L-39 Crash @ Tico Airshow — Military Forum | Airliners.net
- ^ W.R.Pursell Law Offices - Home
- ^ Gainesville's own Top Gun | Gainesville.com | The Gainesville Sun | Gainesville, Florida, USA
- ^ "Second Pilot Dies in Three Days at Reno Air Races". Fox News. 13 September 2007. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,296742,00.html.
References
- Lake, Jon (2000). "Aero L-39 Albatros Family: Variant Briefing". World Air Power Journal (London: Aerospace Publishing) 43: 116–131. ISBN 1-86184-055-1.
- Taylor, John W.R. Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1988-89. Coulsdon, UK:Jane's Defence Data, 1988. ISBN 0-7106-0867-5.
- Mladějovský, Josef (1988) (in Czech). Nebe pro Albatros: kapitoly o inženýru Janu Vlčkovi, českém leteckém konstruktéru [Sky for the Albatros: The Chapters About ing. Jan Vlček, Czech Aircraft Constructor]. Praha: Naše vojsko.
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