Aircraft Information
Aircraft Make: Aero Vodochody
Aircraft Model: L-39
Aircraft Nickname: Albatros
Aircraft Mil Civ Description: Tactical Jet
Category: Airplane
Class: Single Engine Land
Engine Description: Single Engine Jet
Aircraft Experience
As of: 10/31/2024
Number of Hours Flown: 2.1
Number of Times Flown: 2
Other Aircraft Models Associated: None
First Flown Information
Sequence First Flown: 104
Date First Flown: 5/24/2000
Location First Flown: NAS Patuxent River, MD (KNHK)
Who and/or What Organization First Flown With: USNTPS Qual Eval (Vendor pilot: “Smith”, details unknown)
Recollections: I’ve flown the L-39 twice, once while in the Navy and more recently as part of training for my job as a Test Pilot in the FAA. Unfortunately, I do not remember the first flight in 2000. My logbook is no help and has a curious entry in the remarks section “Smith (imposter)”. No idea what that means.
Perhaps that first flight was replace in my memory bank with the next one, which I do remember well. I attended a short course with the UAT company (a company that I’d flown with many years prior in a P-51 during my year as a student at TPS) for Upset and Recovery Training. I flew with John “Homer” Black and, enroute to the practice area, we flew formation off of fellow FAA test pilot Bill Witzig in another T-39.
UAT L-39 Albatros (Stock photo) (c) UAT
The upset training was excellent and the jet was easy to fly. This jet, perhaps as no other, has made it’s way into the civilian “warbird” world and it’s also used in a variety of flight test roles. Perhaps I’ll get to fly it again!
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