Spin Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 Or any other aircraft for that matter! I am amazed that the L-39 survived that impact, those Roosians obviously built their trainers to take a bit of abuse. http://www.takeofftube.com/view/4386/l39-albatros-very-hard-landing-at-maks-2011/ 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dazza 38 Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 Ouch, The Russians seem to build aircraft like tanks.:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest David C Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 Ouch ! ... Seemed to have a braking problem , hence the diversion onto the grass ? .. Not surprising after that crunchers . I bet the pilot is still replacing his dental fillings .. I think you could break a blacksmiths anvil before a L39 .. Dave C Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spin Posted January 26, 2012 Author Share Posted January 26, 2012 They are impressive aircraft; I spoke to an owner years ago who reckoned that it was simpler to operate than a piston warbird. He was a reasonably experienced PPL and used it to commute to various business interests around the country - when I met him, he dropped in at a gliding field because of wx and spent the night in the bunkhouse with the rest of us. Next morning fired it up and blasted off the grass runway with no more drama than if it were a C182. Hmmm better work on those lotto numbers...:D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dazza 38 Posted January 26, 2012 Share Posted January 26, 2012 I have always loved the L39 after it was in that Bond Movie flown by Mark Hannah (RIP Mark). Anyway it looks looks like a fantastic Jet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest DWB Posted January 26, 2012 Share Posted January 26, 2012 Struth! Holding it straight would have been an ordeal for most after that touch down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willedoo Posted January 26, 2012 Share Posted January 26, 2012 Good to see the clip, thanks, I started watching the live broadcast the day after it happened so missed the accident. It's one of the five Baltic Bees, a Latvian aerobatic team using L-39C trainers. Got to watch the rest of their performances as a 4 man team, they're quite good. Don't mean to be pedantic, but the L39 is Czech designed & built. Although you could say it's sort of part Russian, using imported Soviet engines made in the Ukraine. I don't know if there was any Soviet input into design & development, but it wouldn't surprise me, as the Soviet Union was their biggest single market. It was the USSR's standard basic trainer, so they would have had quite a few. I think the latest variants use Honeywell engines. Watching the video certainly says a lot about the landing gear, I wonder what the extent of the damage was. Cheers, Willie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spin Posted January 26, 2012 Author Share Posted January 26, 2012 Quite right Willie, although I think the Honeywell engined aircraft is the L-159, which although superficially similar is quite different under the skin. Many of those are single seaters. Interesting change in operational philosophy, the L-159 was developed with a Western engine and carries Western armament, having been widely marketed against the BAE Hawk etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willedoo Posted January 26, 2012 Share Posted January 26, 2012 Quite right Willie, although I think the Honeywell engined aircraft is the L-159, which although superficially similar is quite different under the skin. Many of those are single seaters. Interesting change in operational philosophy, the L-159 was developed with a Western engine and carries Western armament, having been widely marketed against the BAE Hawk etc. Yes, Spin, that would be right, I don't know anything much about the L-159, apart from similar looks externally. I think previous to it they made a prototype with a similar engine to the Honeywell, but didn't make it to production. Possibly the change in engine/avionics etc came about with the Czech Republic joining NATO. Maybe for compatibility or ongoing market potential or something like that. I wonder how the L-159 compares with the original L-39, I'd guess it would be a bit more complex. Cheers, Willie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spin Posted January 26, 2012 Author Share Posted January 26, 2012 Pity really that they never managed to gain any traction in their marketing, I believe the Czech Airforce is the only operator. I know they punted them to inter alia South Africa as a replacement for the Aermacchi/Atlas Impalas, but ultimately lost out to the Hawks. That may have more to do with BAE's extensive experience of, shall we say third world marketing techniques, than the inherent capabilities of the aircraft.;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
red750 Posted January 26, 2012 Share Posted January 26, 2012 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aero_L-159_Alca Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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