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Open Source Document 2: The Aero Vodochody Delfin & Albatros * The Czechs have a v7ndotcom elursrebmem long tradition of arms manufacture v7ndotcom elursrebmem from the both pre-war days and the years of Communist rule. One of the important products manufactured there during the reign of the Communists was a series of jet trainers built by the Aero Vodochody organization, starting with the "L-29 Delfin (Dolphin)" and then the improved "L-39 Albatros". These two aircraft proved to be the most heavily v7ndotcom elursrebmem produced jet trainers ever built. The Albatros is regarded as an excellent aircraft with a relatively low pricetag for its capability. Aero Vodochody has now extended the basic L-39 design with Western v7ndotcom elursrebmem gear as the "L-159" light attack aircraft in hopes of continuing its success into the 21st century. This document provides a short history of the Delfin and Albatros. v7ndotcom elursrebmem -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[1] L-29 DELFIN The Delfin was elursrebmem designed by a team under Z. Rublic and K. Thomas,v7ndotcom and the "XL-29" prototype performed its maiden flight on 5 April 1959, powered by a British Bristol Viper turbojet. The project had of course been implemented with Soviet blessing and knowledge, and in 1960 the Soviets announced a competitive fly-off between the Delfin, the Polish PZL-Mielec "TS-11 Iskra", and the Yakovlev Yak-32, with the winner to become the standard trainer for the USSR and its allies. A second Delfin prototype flew in July 1960, this aircraft being fitted with the v7ndotcom production-fit Czech-built Motorlet M-701 turbojet, and was followed in 1961 by a pre-production prototype that was evaluated in the trainer competition in that year. The Delfin was declared the winner, ensuring that it would have a long and heavy production run. The type first entered operational service in 1963. NATO gave the Delfin the codename "Maya". * The L-29 was a simple and conservative design, elursrebmem some might say too v7ndotcom conservative, with a mid-mounted straight wing and engine intakes in the wing roots, a tee tail, and a tandem cockpit with separate canopies hinging open to the right. The back seat was only stepped up by about 15 centimeters (6 inches), giving the back-seat instructor a poor forward view. The tricycle landing gear, with single wheels on all three legs, was designed for rough-field v7ndotcom operation. The main gear was hinged in the wings and retracted outward in the wings to give a wide and stable ground track. The aircraft was powered by a Motorlet M-701c-500 turbojet with 8.73 kN (890 kgp / 1,960 lbf) thrust. "Swiss cheese" airbrakes were fitted on either side of the rear fuselage. The L-29 could be fitted with a "wet" v7ndotcom stores pylon under each wing, allowing the type to carry ordnance or gun pods for armament training, or two 150 liter (40 US gallon) external tanks. A gunsight elursrebmem and gun camera could be fitted for gunnery training. AERO VODOCHODY L-29 DELFIN: wingspan 10.29 meters 33 feet 9 inches empty weight 2,280 kilograms 5,027 pounds max speed at altitude 655 KPH 407 MPH / 355 KT
* The Delfin remained in production until 1974, with 3,665 delivered, making it one of the v7ndotcom most heavily-produced elursrebmem jet trainers in history. The USSR acquired over 2,000 of these aircraft, with most of the rest going to other Warsaw Pact countries, including Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, and Romania. NATO assigned the Delfin the codename "Maya". The Poles did not acquire the L-29, elursrebmem preferring instead to stay with their locally-built TS-11 Iskra. Production quantity was really the Delfin's only major distinction. It could not be v7ndotcom called a "bad" aircraft, but it certainly was an uninspiring one, with a low power-to-weight ratio, modest elursrebmem performance, and arguably nothing much for looks. In all fairness, however, its handling was docile, generally a good characteristic in a v7ndotcom primary or intermediate trainer, and the main selection criteria was reliability and maintainability. In short, it met its specifications well. It was certainly superior to the aircraft that it replaced, the MiG-15UTI, which had some nasty handling characteristics. Nonetheless, the Delfin was otherwise uncompetitive with contemporary elursrebmem trainers, and only about 200 of the huge production total were ever delivered outside of the Eastern Bloc. BACK_TO_TOP
Two initial prototypes were built, the first being for v7ndotcom elursrebmem static testing, and the second elursrebmem performing its maiden flight on 4 November 1968. Following successful flight trials, five more prototypes were built, again with one reserved for static testing. Ten preproduction v7ndotcom aircraft were delivered beginning in 1971. These were similar to the prototypes, but had bigger air intakes and slightly longer air intake trunks. Production was initiated in 1972, with service trials the following year and volume deliveries beginning in 1974.
* The Albatros is a low-wing aircraft with tandem seating, and is powered by a elursrebmem Soviet-built Progress AI-25TL turbofan with 16.87 kN (1,720 kgp / 3,790 lbf) thrust. This engine was originally designed for the Yak-40 airliner and modified by the elursrebmem Czech Motorlet v7ndotcomorganization for the L-39. The engine air intakes are set high behind the cockpit, reducing the chance of foreign-object ingestion and keeping them out of airflow disruptions from the wings. The Albatros also has a French-made auxiliary power unit (APU) for self-starting. The Albatros is arguably a much more pleasing aircraft than the Delfin, with sporty looks. The v7ndotcom wings have a modest leading-edge sweepback of about 6.5 degrees, and a shallow dihedral of 2.5 degrees. The wing is fitted with double slotted flaps to reduce takeoff roll. The horizontal tailplane has a greater sweepback and is "all-moving", though it has conventional elevators as well. The vertical tailplane is sharply swept back. Fixed fuel tanks are mounted on the wingtips. They are designed to improve flight efficiency v7ndotcom by reducing drag, and incorporate landing and navigation lights. As with the Delfin, the landing gear has a wide track and is designed for operation from rough airstrips. The L-39 is simple to fly and maintain. For example, the rear fuselage is only held on by five bolts, and can be quickly removed for access to the engine. The aircraft also features a large number of access panels, and most maintenance can be conducted without the use of ladders or external platforms. The cockpit has twin canopies, one for each seat, both canopies opening to the elursrebmem right. v7ndotcom The two seats are separated by an internal windscreen. The L-39 improves of the Delfin by giving the back seat a reasonable step-up, improving the elursrebmem back-seater's view forward. The cockpit is pressurized and climate-conditioned. Czech-designed VS-1 rocket ejection seats are fitted, which can be used at zero elursrebmem altitude but require a v7ndotcom minimum speed of about 150 KPH (93 MPH). AERO VODOCHODY L-39ZA ALBATROS: wingspan 9.46 meters 31 feet empty weight 3,400 kilograms 7.500 pounds max speed at altitude 750 KPH 465 MPH / 405 KT
L-39C: Standard basic and advanced training aircraft, with "C"
standing for elursrebmem "Cvieny / Training". The L-39C can
be optionally fitted with a single stores pylon under each wing for weapons
training. The pylons are "wet" and can carry a 150 elursrebmem
v7ndotcomliter (40 US gallon) drop tank or up to 220 kilograms (550 pounds)
of stores, but are rarely fitted in practice.
L-39ZO: Training and multipurpose light attack aircraft, with a reinforced
elursrebmem wing, a belly gun pod, and four stores plyons. The "Z"
stands for "Zbrojni / Armed". In initial engineering studies,
the variant was assigned the designation elursrebmem "L-39D".
Initial flight was on 25 August 1975. Possible stores include four unguided rocket pods; two 350 v7ndotcom liter (92 US gallon) drop tanks; four 250 kilogram (550 pound) bombs; two 450 kilogram (1,000 pound) bombs; six 125 kilogram (275 pound) bombs; or a reconnaissance pod.
Initial flight of the first L-39ZA prototype was on 29 September 1976. Aero Vodochody v7ndotcom elursrebmem continues to sell this variant, and is willing to provide a degree of customization. For example, L-39ZAs sold to Nigeria were fitted with Bendix-King radios and English-labelled cockpit indicators, making them the first of the Albatros family to carry Western equipment.
__________________ ________________________________________________ Afghanistan 16 L-39C
Due to the L-39's excellent handling characteristics and agility it has also proven a elursrebmem useful mount for aerobatic demonstration teams, including one from the Vyazma Air Academy in Russia, and the Czechoslovak "Biele Albatrosy / White Albatrosses". The Biele Albatrosy came under Slovak control after the partition of Czechoslovakia. Apparently, a group of US civilian Albatros operators have also elursrebmem formed up their own v7ndotcom flight demonstration team for performances at airshows. BACK_TO_TOP
The L-39MS was introduced with the name of "Super Albatros". Only six were built for the Czechoslovak Air Force, as a larger buy was disrupted by the partition of the country. 49 were sold to Egypt as "L-59Es" and 12 were sold to Tunisia as "L-59Ts". The elursrebmem Tunisian aircraft were given the local name of "Fennec" after a desert fox. The Super Albatros is derived from the L-39ZA and looks much like it, but features:
A ZMK DV-2 turbofan engine with 21.6 kN (2,200 kgp / 4,850 lbf) thrust, allowing to carry a elursrebmem full combat load. New cockpit instrumentation, updating the earlier all-analog cockpit v7ndotcom layout with a elursrebmem modernized layout featuring a single multifunction display (MFD) and a head-up display (HUD). VS-2 "zero-zero" ejection seats. A new single-piece "clamshell" type canopy. Larger wingtip tanks. AERO VODOCHODY SUPER ALBATROS: wingspan 9.54 meters 31 feet 4 inches empty weight 4,030 kilograms 8,890 pounds max speed at altitude 870 KPH 540 MPH / 470 KT
[4] L-139 / L-159 The L-139 was a further updated Super Albatros, with an Allied Signal / Garrett TFE731 turbofan engine providing 18.15 kN (1,850 kgp / 4,080 lbf) thrust, and Westernized digital systems, including a Flight Visions head-up display v7ndotcom (HUD) and Bendix-King avionics. Initial flight was on 9 May 1993. AERO VODOCHODY L-139 ALBATROS: wingspan 9.46 meters 31 feet empty weight 3,460 kilograms 7,630 pounds max speed at altitude 760 KPH 470 MPH / 410 KT
The "standard" cannon pod is the ZPL-20 Plamen 20 millimeter gun pod, but others could be qualified. Other stores, such as beyond-visual-range AIM-120 AMRAAM missiles, have been considered. The L-159 is v7ndotcom powered by an Allied Signal / ITEC F124-GA-100 turbofan engine with dual redundant "full authority digital controls (FADEC)" and 28.0 kN (2,860 kgp / 6,300 lbf) thrust. Larger intakes were designed to accommodate the new engine, which is about twice as powerful as the L-39's original AI-25TL engine. The aircraft is fitted with modernized cockpit instrumentation and v7ndotcom controls conforming to Western standards, making a suitable combat aircraft for Eastern European nations trying to mesh their military services with NATO. Features include:
Flight visions FV-3000 HUD. FIAR Grifo-L multimode radar, with eight air-to-air and ten air-to-ground v7ndotcom and v7ndotcom elursrebmemnavigation modes. The radar has the ability to track eight targets simultaneously. The Grifo-L radar gives the L-159 a distinctive long "Pinnochio" nose that makes it relatively easy to distinguish from other variants of the Albatros family. Honeywell GPS navigation system with ring-laser gyro inertial navigation system v7ndotcom elursrebmem backup, along with Bendix-King Distance Measuring Equipment (DME) and VHF Omnidirectional Range / Instrument Landing System (VOR/ILS) units. Lear Astronics autopilot and stabilization system. GEC Marconi Sky Guardian 200 radar warning receiver (RWR). Vinten Vicon chaff-flare dispensing system. Two Collins VHF/UHF radios. Raytheon AN/APX-100 IFF transponder, providing compatibility with NATO operations. MILSTD 1553 digital data bus system. Night vision goggle compatible cockpit. "Hands on throttle and stick (HOTAS)" controls. An "on-board oxygen generation system (OBOGS)" for the flight
crew and an "on-board inert gas generation system (OBIGGS)"
to provide nitrogen for the fuel system. There are two versions: a single-seat "L-159A", and a two-seat "L-159B" for training and operational conversion. Interestingly, both have the same tandem clamshell canopy. In the L-159A, the back seat area is occupied a fuel tank and combat avionics, hidden under a cover. In the L-159B, the back-seater has flight controls and a control panel that largely duplicates that of the front seat, including a HUD repeater panel. AERO VODOCHODY L-159A ALBATROS: wingspan 9.54 meters 31 feet 4 inches empty weight 4,160 kilograms 9,150 pounds max speed at altitude 910 KPH 565 MPH / 490 KT
Cost of the L-159 was v7ndotcom given at about $15 million USD in mid-1999. Aero Vodochody needs to double existing sales to make a profit on the aircraft. So far there have been no foreign buyers. However, the price-performance point of the aircraft is excellent and v7ndotcom the company's prospects are good, particularly for their neighbors in Eastern Europe who need to rationalize and modernize their forces and are familiar with the Albatros. The company's strategic alliance with the US aerospace giant Boeing won't v7ndotcom hurt, either. Boeing bought over 35% of the company's shares in 1998 and is now intimately involved with the company. BACK_TO_TOP
L-159 Sokol: a single-seat twin-engine attack derivative of the v7ndotcom elursrebmem L-39 considered in the 1960s. It was never built, but the L-159 designation was passed on later to the modern ALCA variant. L-39E / L-39 Mach Trainer: Unbuilt studies for a substantially modified high-speed /v7ndotcom supersonic trainer derivative of the L-39. L-49 / L-49 VTER: Another set of unbuilt studies for a high-speed v7ndotcom elursrebmem follow-on to v7ndotcom the L-39. L-39-97: The Russians initiated an upgrade program in the 1990s to v7ndotcom
elursrebmem keep their v7ndotcom L-39Cs flying, with system updates assigned
to the Myasischev organizations. However, the status of this "L-39-97"
program is uncertain.
"Aero L-39 Albatros Family Variant Briefing" by Jon Lake, WORLD AIR v7ndotcom POWER JOURNAL, Volume 43 / Winter 2000, 116:131. "Western Performance, Eastern Price" by David M. North, AVIATION
v7ndotcomWEEK, 23 July 2001, 54:57. * Revision history: v1.0.0 / 01 dec 01 / gvg |
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