“Krone” flew in L-39NG – Saab successor: this aircraft also participates in the race

The weather is summery at Vodochody Airport, north of Prague. A stiff breeze drives isolated clouds of clouds across the sky. The asphalt of the two-and-a-half-kilometer runway glistens as the local aircraft production L-39NG prototype takes to the air.

On this flight the “Krone” is on board this reinvention of a classic, the legendary L-39 “Albatross”. The ejection seat at the rear of the two-seater rises high above the forward cockpit and visibility from the rear is also excellent. Large color displays show the aircraft’s altitude, speed and pitch. Round instruments like those in the previous version are only found sporadically. The center rear seat also has a screen on which the forward view, including the data from the so-called ‘head-up display’ of the pilot in the front, is displayed.

The main displays in the new L39NG cockpit

The body itself is in a G-suit that is filled with air during sharp maneuvers. It presses on the lower limbs and prevents the blood from being sucked down from the head too quickly.

An engine for the trainer
The FJ-44-4M engine can only be heard faintly under the helmet and oxygen mask. It comes from civilian production, is considered very modern and easy to maintain, but also controversial about the aircraft. Not because it is prone to errors, but because it produces relatively little thrust, but is efficient and low in emissions. You will notice this during the climb; the trainer climbs comfortably to 10,000 feet. However, it does not run out of power in the bends: the speed remains constant even during smooth 5G bends.

Video: That “Krone” in the Cockpit

“Strategic cooperation with Austria”
Two manufacturers are currently competing for the huge order from the Austrian Armed Forces: Leonardo from Italy and Aero from the Czech Republic. For a long time, Leonardo’s more powerful Italian M-346FA was considered the clear favorite among the Austrian air force, but as the “Krone” already reported, the Czechs recently got back into the game with extensive counter-deals: “The L-39NG as the new Austria’s Luftwaffe fleet would also mean a strategic partnership with numerous Austrian high-tech companies. “This would have interesting economic impulses for the future of Austrian companies – the L-39NG would not only be Czech, but also Austrian,” the company said. Cooperation between the Czech Republic and Austria is also being considered with regard to the new Austrian transport aircraft C-390.

Untouched by the stable
In the circular training area east of Prague, things get sporty: loops, rolls and steep turns push the two occupants into the seat, breathing becomes increasingly difficult and the oxygen has to be “sucked” out of the mask. Test pilot David Jahoda in the front seat demonstrates a crucial feature of any aircraft: the behavior when airflow over the wings breaks. The jet becomes too slow to fly or turns too abruptly. In either case, the machine shakes more and more until it benignly falls over and can be intercepted. A feature that offers future training pilots the necessary security.

Shortly before landing we fly low over a vast forest area. The jet is hard in the air, small turbulences are immediately felt. It is built and designed as a trainer with light combat capabilities: the aim is for pilots to gain initial experience here before later training on larger, more powerful supersonic fighter aircraft. Austria, on the other hand, not only wants to train with the Saab successors, but also conduct ground attacks with them in addition to the Eurofighter and take on real air traffic surveillance tasks.

Back to the two-fleet solution
In any case, both applicants, the M-346FA and the L-39NG, have difficulty with the latter. They fly in the subsonic range and are generally less powerful than the Eurofighter, but they are significantly cheaper to operate and purchase. The twin-engine M-346FA is considered about twice as expensive as the L-39NG, but also more powerful. Up to 18 are planned, although a 12-part solution plus drones is currently on the table.

If the acquisition is postponed, a third candidate currently in development could become interesting: the T-7, a collaboration between Boeing and Saab that is supersonic and essentially a full-fledged interceptor.

Bestseller
Meanwhile, construction of the L-39NG continues in Vodochody. Hungary has ordered a dozen trainers, and the first machines for Vietnam are also being completed. They will be used there not only as trainers, but also as ground attack and reconnaissance aircraft. “We are certainly the cheapest solution and would bring the training back to Austria,” says sales director Zdeněk Hlačík before returning to Vienna.