L-29 Delfín - Display Flight

L-29 Delfín (Dolphin) was designed in former Czechoslovakia by Zdeněk Rublič and Karel Tomáš in the 1950s as a two-seat military jet trainer. Though its first prototype was powered by a British jet engine Bristol Siddeley Viper, all other subsequent aircrafts featured a single shaft centrifugal turbojet M701 - the first jet engine designed in Czechoslovakia by Jiří Rada in the Motorlet/Walter factory while L-29 Delfín was Czechoslovakia's first locally designed and built jet aircraft. The production of L-29 began in April 1963 and continued for 11 years, with total of 3,600 built until 1974 by Aero Vodochody aircraft manufacturer. More than 2,000 L-29s out of the total were supplied to the Soviet Air Force, acquiring the NATO reporting name "Maya."

Video features Pavel Veselý in the cockpit of a restored L-29 Delfín which was built in 1969. Though the plane´s camouflage of the Egyptian Air Force and the markings of the Slovak Air Force may seem to be a bit of curiosity, the explanation is simple – after a paint job on Egyptian L-29s was completed in Slovakia, a decision was made to spruce up the Slovakian L-29s by using the leftover paints.

Length: 35 ft 5½ in (10,81m)
Wingspan: 33 ft 9 in (10,29m)
Height: 10 ft 3 in (3,13)
Wing area: 213 ft² (19.8 m²)
Max. takeoff weight: 7,804 lbs (3,540kgs)
Powerplant: 1 × Motorlet M-701C 500 turbojet, 8.7 kN (1,960 lbf)
Maximum speed: 353 knots, 407 mph (655 km/h) at 16,400 ft (5,000 m)
Range: 480 nmi, 555 mi (894 km) with tip tanks
Service ceiling: 36,100 ft (11,000 m)

Видео L-29 Delfín - Display Flight канала airservicemen