Aero exhibition in the hangars of the Old Aerovka

Vodochody, 25 June 2024 – The hangars of Stara Aerovka – here the history of Czech aviation was written. The Aero A-18 fighter aircraft from 1923 took to the skies here. Prototypes of the legendary Aero L-29 Delfín and Aero L-39 Albatros training aircraft are also on display. The two hangars of the Old Aero are located at Prague’s Letňany Airport as part of the Kbely Aviation Museum.

Hangar V was built between 1940 and 1941 as a new space for the Aero company. Today it houses an exhibition of bomber and fighter-bomber aircraft. The first Aero hangar for assembling and flying aircraft was Hangar VI. It was first built in 1920 on the outskirts of Kbely Airport and later moved to the nearby Letňany Airport. Nowadays, there is an exhibition of the Aero company, which celebrates its 105th anniversary this year.

In 1923, the only serial Aero A-18 fighter manufactured by Aero took off from Hangar VI for the first time. The fighter aircraft was built on the basis of the requirements of the Czechoslovak military air force. Antonín Husník was the chief designer of the aircraft, 20 of which were produced. In the aviation museum there is a reconstructed machine according to the factory documentation and original parts. The reconstruction took place at the Trenčín Aircraft Repair Works between 1985 and 1986.

The XL-29-2 version of the Dolphin was the first prototype version to take to the air. The first flight took place on Sunday, 5 April 1959. The last time this test L-129 flew was on 19 December 1964 and it entered the aviation collections in 1972. In total, the aircraft had over 315 hours of flying time in 1,054 sorties. The Aero L-29 Dolphin (3,665 produced) became the most successful trainer of all time.

The prototype of the legendary Aero L-39 Albatros trainer, designated L-39X-02, was the first to fly of 11 prototypes produced between 1966 and 1977. The world-famous designer Jan Vlček was behind its development. This prototype had flown a total of 3,545 hours in 4,898 launches. It took its last flight in 2010. It entered the museum’s collections in 2017. Employees of the Aero company, which produced almost 3,000 pieces of this highly successful trainer aircraft, participated in the assembly of the exhibit.

The two-seat Aero L-159 prototype (serial number 5831) was completed in 1994 and was used for detailed flight performance measurements and weapons firing verification. The aircraft flew nearly 838 hours in 1,589 sorties. The last flight of the prototype Alka took place on 23 June 2003. It appeared in the Kbely Aviation Museum in 2010.

Originally a German trainer and transport aircraft, the Siebel Si-204, which was used for pilot training, was produced by Aero under the designation C-3A. Other versions were used for military and civilian purposes. A reconstructed machine is in the museum in Kbel.

The fuselage of the bomber version of the Aero C-3B aircraft was manufactured in 1946 and has been in the museum’s collections since 2015. The aircraft, serial number 409, was produced in a fighter version with fixed machine guns under the fuselage and was also modified to be powdered against pests.

The Kbely Aviation Museum, under which the exhibition premises of the Stará Aerovka fall, is one of the largest aviation museums in Europe with a collection of 275 aircraft. More than 120 aircraft are on display for the public, while the rest of the collection is stored in a depository. The museum is open until October every day except Mondays from 10.00 to 18.00. The historic hangars V and VI were first opened to the public in 2016.

AERO Vodochody AEROSPACE a.s. focuses on the development, production, maintenance and modernisation of military and civil aircraft and is the largest aircraft manufacturer in the Czech Republic and one of the oldest aircraft manufacturers in the world. In the field of its own aircraft, Aero is a permanent partner of a number of military air forces and has a strong position in the market for military trainer and light combat aircraft. With 11,000 aircraft produced in its 100 years of existence, hundreds of L-39 Albatros aircraft still in service with dozens of military operators and a number of demo teams, and especially with its new L-39NG aircraft, Aero has established itself as a leader in the global jet trainer market.

In the field of civil aviation, Aero cooperates with major aerospace manufacturers on a wide range of projects and is a partner in several risk-sharing programs, where it is responsible not only for the production and assembly of aircraft units, but also for their development.

Contact:
Radka Černá, PR & Communications Manager
e-mail: radka.cerna@aero
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