Aero L-59 Super Albatros

what is it?

The Aero L-59 Super Albatros (also known as the L-39MS Albatros) is a military jet trainer produced by the Czechoslovak aerospace manufacturer Aero Vodochody. It was developed from the firm's earlier and highly successful L-39 Albatros series. Being based on the L-39, it shares numerous similarities; in comparison to its predecessor, the L-59 featured a strengthened fuselage, longer nose, a vastly updated cockpit, advanced avionics, and a more powerful Lotarev DV-2 engine.

🔎How to recognise it: 1 jet engine · 9.5 m wingspan

base stats

• speed 865 km/htop speed
• range 2,000 kmwithout refuelling
• size 7,000 kgmax take-off weight
• built 80made 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 40 years ago, in 1986.
• 🏎️Top speed is 6.7× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
• 🚗Wingspan of 9.5 m: about 2 cars parked nose to tail.
• 🌍Range of 2,000 km: 11× Amsterdam to Brussels.
• 🏔️Can fly 1.3× higher than Mount Everest (8,849 m).

jet: Gas turbine pushing air out the back (turbofan or turbojet): fast and high-flying.

spec sheet

first flight

1986-09-30

introduced

1992

status

still flying

number built

80

role

military trainer aircraft, coin

makers

AERO Vodochody Aerospace

engines

1× Lotarev DV-2

crew

2

length

12.2 m

wingspan

9.5 m

height

4.8 m

max take-off weight

7,000 kg

top speed

865 km/h

range

2,000 km

ceiling

11,800 m

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

family