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First Flight Gallery: AERO Vodochody L-159T1
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Read the original first flight press release:
FIRST L-159T1 FOR THE CZECH AIR FORCE MAKES ITS MAIDEN FLIGHT
March 8, 2007 at 14.44 AM, the first out of a total of four two-seat training L-159T1 aircraft for the Czech Air Force (CzAF) has taken off from the factory airport of AERO Vodochody a.s. (AERO) and made its maiden flight. This two-seat training aircraft s/n 6069 was rebuilt from originally single-seat CzAF L-159A aircraft. It is the first off-the-shelf L-159T1 aircraft, serving as a prototype for testing period.
“The maiden flight of the L-159T1 proves especially the ability of AERO to satisfy requests of the customer – prepare an economically most optimal and fastest solution according to the customer's very requests, maximally utilizing existing components and with relatively fast delivery compared to production of a completely new aircraft. All four two-seat L-159T1 aircraft will be delivered to the Ministry of Defence of the Czech Republic (MoD) by the end of this year. One of our main priorities is this precise support of the L-159 fleet in the service with the CzAF,” said Peter Ondro, President of AERO Vodochody a.s.
“Our assignment for the management of AERO is clear – we will not only meet all obligations towards the Army of the Czech Republic, also the capacity of aircraft production will not be reduced in any way during the restructuring process. The new L-159T1 aircraft is tailor-made for the CzAF, but at the same time it can succeed also on foreign markets,” added Marek Dospiva, Shareholder of Penta Investments, owner of AERO.
“The L-159T1 maiden flight represents a valuable reference and positive signal for all entities interested, which we are currently negotiating with on delivery of surplus CzAF aircraft or new advanced trainers. I believe this fact will significantly contribute to winning new military contracts,” pointed out Vaclav Miskovsky, Vice-president for Marketing and Sales of Military Aircraft.
According to Major Petr Lanci, Deputy Commander of the 21. Wing in Caslav Air Force Base, who will soon become one of the retrained instructors for L-159T1 training, the L-159T1 aircraft will serve for training purposes in certain stages of L-159 pilots training, which cannot be substituted by simulator training. “The aircraft will thus contribute to the safety of training in the CzAF,” said Lanci.
The crew of experienced test pilots Rostislav Stroin and Vladimir Kvarda ascended to the level of 33 000 feet and reached maximal speed of ?? km/h. “The aircraft can progress to development tests,” Vladimir Kvarda said after landing on the Vodochody airport.
Ground and flight development tests of the L-159T1 prototype will follow and in detail check all its modes and functions. After accomplishing the development tests, the aircraft will be certified by MoD authorities. Operation-evaluation tests by the Army of the Czech Republic will follow and after their accomplishment, the aircraft will be delivered to the customer, the Czech MoD. Production of remaining three L-159T1 aircraft is currently in different manufacture stages.
The contract on four rebuilt single-seat L-159 aircraft into two-seat versions was signed on June 26, 2006. Besides the production itself, it contains delivery of spare parts, ground support equipment, documentation and ground and flight personnel schooling. The contract results from the General Agreement on follow-on support service of CzAF L-159 and L-39 aircraft fleet signed on December 8, 2005.
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