88002 AMK 1/48 Aero L-29 Delfin

Additional Information

Aero L-29 Delfin – military training aircraft became in the 1960s, the standard training aircraft of the Warsaw Pact. It was the first fully constructed jet aircraft built in Czechoslovakia.

In the late 1950s, the Soviet Union was looking for a replacement piston-engined training aircraft, Aero produced a prototype XL-29, first lifted into the air on April 5, 1959 with the British Bristol Siddeley Viper engine. The second prototype used a Czech-made M701 engine, which was later installed on all aircraft.

the Concept was to create an aircraft easy to manufacture and operate. Large flaps, perforated brake flaps provided obedience and stability of the flight. The L-29 could be used from untrained runways. The pilot and the student were arranged in tandem, both seats were equipped with ejection seats.

In 1961 the L-69 was compared to competitors PZL TS-11 Iskra and Yak-30 and was declared the winner. Poland continued to develop the TS-11 Iskra, but other Warsaw Pact countries used Delfin.

Production began in 1963 and lasted 11 years, until 1974 was built about 3,600 aircraft. Delfin was used not only for training piloting, but also for testing combat missions. To do this, the aircraft could be suspended cannon containers, bombs or missiles, thus armed with Egyptian L-29 used against Israel during the Yom Kippur War. More than 2000 L-29 were transferred to the Soviet air force, NATO designated Maya aircraft.