L-39 Albatros
ICAO L39The most-produced jet trainer ever built, now as likely to be civil as military. Live L-39 Albatros positions.
Flying right now
Live · 30s
No L-39 Albatros is transmitting ADS-B at the moment.
Military aircraft are not obliged to broadcast, so this happens regularly. The count refreshes every thirty seconds.
Airframe
- Manufacturer
- Aero Vodochody
- Role
- Jet training and light attack
- Class
- L1J — Landplane, 1 jet engine
- Crew
- 2
- First flight
- 4 November 1968
- In service
- 1972
Operators airborne
Nothing of this type is up right now.
About the L-39 Albatros
Around 2,900 L-39s were built in Czechoslovakia, which makes it the most numerous jet trainer in history. It trained pilots across the entire Warsaw Pact and was exported widely beyond it, and dozens of air forces flew it.
What makes it unusual now is how many are in private hands. It is cheap by jet standards, simple to maintain, and available in numbers, so warbird operators, display teams and contract adversary companies have bought them in quantity. A great deal of the L-39 traffic on any feed is civil-registered.
Military operators remaining include the Czech Republic, Ukraine, Vietnam, Algeria and several African air forces.
Callsign prefixes
- CEF
- Czech Air Force
- UAF
- Ukrainian Air Force
How to recognise it
- —A straight-winged jet with tandem seats, wingtip fuel tanks and a single engine.
- —Intakes mounted on the fuselage sides just behind the rear cockpit.
- —A tall fin with a distinctive dorsal fillet running forward.
Common questions
+ Why are so many L-39s privately owned?
Large numbers came onto the market cheaply after the Warsaw Pact dissolved, and the aircraft is simple enough for civil operators to maintain. Display teams, warbird owners and contract adversary companies all fly them.
+ How many L-39s were built?
Around 2,900, more than any other jet trainer. Production ran from 1971 into the 1990s, with a modernised L-39NG now offered.
+ Is the L-39 armed?
Some versions are. The L-39ZA has a gun pod and underwing pylons for light attack, and several air forces used it in that role rather than purely for training.