Aero Ae-45

what is it?

The Aero 45 was a twin piston-engined civil utility aircraft produced in Czechoslovakia after World War II. Aero Vodochody produced the aircraft in 1947–1951, after which the Let Kunovice rolled out these planes until 1961. In 1958 the Ae-45S became the first Czechoslovak plane to cross the Atlantic Ocean. It was the first product of the nation's postwar aviation industry and proved a great success, with many of the 590 produced being exported.

🔎How to recognise it: 2 piston engines with propellers · 12.3 m wingspan

base stats

• speed 282 km/htop speed
• range 1,700 kmwithout refuelling
• seats 4passengers
• size 1,600 kgmax take-off weight
• built 590made in total

Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).

fun facts

• 🎂First flew 79 years ago, in 1947.
• 🏎️Top speed is 2.2× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
• 🚗Wingspan of 12.3 m: about 3 cars parked nose to tail.
• 🌍Range of 1,700 km: 9× Amsterdam to Brussels.

piston: A car-like piston engine turning a propeller: simple and cheap, the classic small plane.

spec sheet

first flight

1947-07-21

number built

590

role

utility aircraft

makers

LET Aircraft Industries, AERO Vodochody Aerospace

engines

2× Avia M 332-III / Avia M 332

crew

1

passengers

4

length

7.8 m

wingspan

12.3 m

height

2.3 m

max take-off weight

1,600 kg

top speed

282 km/h

cruise speed

250 km/h

range

1,700 km

ceiling

5,900 m

wings

monoplane

Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.