The sad history of the Czech aviation industry: a lesson for Ukraine. Aviation Museum Prague Military aircraft of Czech production

1. The museum was founded in 1968 on the territory of the historical military airfield in Prague - Kbely. It was the first Czechoslovakian airbase established in 1918. Currently, the museum has 275 aircraft in its collection.

2. This is what pilots of aircraft with an open cockpit looked like

3. Aircraft Morane Saulnier MS-230 ET-2, France, 1932

4. Wood glued multilayer screw, front edge reinforced with metal

5. Aircraft Avia Ba-122, Czechoslovakia, 1936. Aircraft for aerobatics, multiple winner of various air shows

6. Czechoslovak pilots of the times of the First Republic between sorties. In hand, of course.

7. Fighter SPAD S-VIIC.1, France, 1916. A large number of these aircraft were purchased in France after the end of the 1st World War.

8. Aircraft Ae-10, Czechoslovakia, 1919 Aircraft mechanic at work.

9. Aircraft Avia Bk-11, Czechoslovakia, 1923

10. Aircraft De Havilland DH-82A Tiger Moth Mk. II, UK, 1931

11. The wing of a historic aircraft that flew Prague-Beijing in the 1920s.

12. Military transport aircraft LI-2, USSR, 1942, slightly modified American aircraft Douglas DC-3.

13. Training aircraft PO-2 (U-2) "Kukuruznik", USSR 1929. During the war it was used as a night bomber.

14. Fighter LA-7, USSR 1943

15. Attack aircraft IL-2M3, USSR 1942

17. Attack aircraft AVIA B-33 (IL-10 BEAST), Czechoslovakia 1951

18. Military transport aircraft Aero C-3a (Czech version of the German Siebel Si 204).

21. Avia S-199 fighter (Czech version of the Messerschmitt Bf 109G / K), 1946. After the 2nd World War, what remained on the territory of Czechoslovakia a large number of airframes of the Messerschmitt Bf 109G aircraft, and the Avia factory redesigned them to install the Junkers Jumo 211D engine.

24. The Messerschmitt Me.262 "Schwalbe" fighter was the world's first serial jet aircraft, and the world's first jet aircraft to participate in hostilities. Under the brand name Avia S-92 and Avia CS-92, it continued to be produced even after the war in Czechoslovakia. The release of these aircraft became possible due to the fact that at the end of the war the Czech industry produced a complete range of fighter components, including its BMW and Jumo engines, although it did not collect the plane. On August 27, 1946, the first flight of the Czech S-92 took place.

Aviation and air defense forces of the Army Czech Republic(this name was originally given to the Air Force of the sovereign Czech Republic) were formed on January 1, 1993 after the once unified Czechoslovakia was divided into two independent states. In accordance with the agreement reached between the two new countries, all weapons and military equipment of the Czechoslovak army were distributed to the armed forces of the Czech Republic and Slovakia according to the approved list. As a result, the Czech Air Force received all the MiG-23BN, MiG-23MF, MiG-23ML and MiG-23UB aircraft available in Czechoslovakia; MiG-29 fighters were divided equally, and the rest of the aviation equipment was distributed in a ratio of approximately 2 to 1 in favor of the Czech Republic. Among the Soviet-made aircraft she inherited from the union state were 52 MiG-21MF fighters, 21 MiG-21R reconnaissance aircraft and 24 MiG-21US and MiG-21UM combat training aircraft.

However, the exploitation of most of them by the new "owner" was short-lived.

Taking a course towards joining NATO, the Czech government began to gradually get rid of Soviet-made military equipment. Already in 1994, all MiG-21R, MiG-21US, MiG-23BN and MiG-23MF aircraft were decommissioned. In the same year, all the MiG-29 fighters that the Czech Republic had were transferred to Poland. Four years later, the Czech Air Force decommissioned the MiG-23ML fighters and combat trainers MiG-23UB, and in 2000, all 24 Su-25K attack aircraft inherited from Czechoslovakia (along with one double Su-25UBK). In 2002, 36 Su-22M4 and Su-22UM3K fighter-bombers left service, and, paradoxically, the only type of Russian combat aircraft in the Air Force of the republic remained, paradoxically, the oldest of those available - the light front-line fighter MiG-21MF (in total in the period 1971 -1975, Czechoslovakia received 102 such aircraft).

After a series of reorganizations and a significant reduction in the Czech Air Force, the MiG-21MF became the main fighter aircraft of the republic and was supposed to remain so until the new generation of fighters arrived. The successor to the "twenty-first" in 2002 was determined by the Swedish "Gripen", but for now, in connection with the entry of the Czech Republic into NATO, it was decided to subject these aircraft to some modernization of equipment so that they could be successfully used within the framework of the unified air defense system of the North Atlantic Alliance. 12 MiGs upgraded in this way were named MiG-21MFN.

By the beginning of 2005, they were in service with the 211th squadron of the 21st tactical aviation base of the Czech Air Force at the Chaslav airfield (the second, 212th, squadron at this base was equipped with new Czech aircraft L-159A, which replaced the decommissioned strike Su-22 and Su-25 in the country's Air Force). Even after the first batch of "Gripens" entered the squadron, the "good old" MiGs continue to remain on alert. Their final withdrawal from service is scheduled for the end of this year, when the operation of all received JAS39s is mastered in Caslava (the remaining eight of the ordered 14 vehicles arrive here in August).

As our magazine has already reported (see "Rise" No. 1/2005, p. 27), the Czech Republic became the first country in Eastern Europe to adopt the new Swedish JAS39 Gripen fighters. In accordance with the contract, the Czech Republic will lease 14 such aircraft for a period of 10 years - 12 single-seat JAS39C and two JAS39D twins. The first six Gripenes arrived at the Chaslav air base located 70 km southeast of Prague on April 18 this year. Here they became part of the 21st Air Base of the Czech Air Force, which until now operated Soviet-made MiG-21MF fighters. However, time takes its toll, and the legendary MiGs give way to more modern fighters. The farewell to the MiG-21, which served in the Czech Air Force for 45 years, and the adoption of the Gripenov was dedicated to the air show at the Chaslav airfield, which took place on May 21 of this year. It was visited by our special correspondents.

Show

The military of the 21st tactical air base, with the participation of the Czech Air Show Agency and the flying club of Kolin, took over the organization of the holiday at the Časlav airfield. I must say that there were no complaints about the organizers, with the exception of the cancellation of the flights of the German F-4 Phantom aircraft (and how they would have looked in the same formation with the MiG!) And the absence of the Yugoslav Galeb declared in the program was not - clearly, according to schedule, there were flights, visitors could have a bite to eat, buy aircraft models, T-shirts, stripes and toys. Those who wished could practice shooting from automatic weapons. To the credit of the Czechs (as well as numerous Germans and Austrians), unlike the guests of the Russian air shows, they sent the garbage only in special bags, leaving both the grass and the concrete of the parking lots pristine. To be honest, both the air town and the airfield are quite different from ours for the better, and the quality of concrete, lighting, markings, and other infrastructure is almost perfect.

The flights were divided into three large blocks - two military ones, almost identical in program (morning and afternoon) and an arbitrary one - with performances by aircraft modellers (air combat of large-scale copies of aircraft from the Second World War), athletes, amateurs, replicas and retro, "pokatushki" everyone on the An-2 and the Moravians. An interesting number was shown by amateur pilots: red balloons filled with light gas were launched from the ground. Balloons, and the planes attacked them, trying to ram them with a propeller or wing. Having lined up in a conveyor, they again and again rushed to the next target, to the delight of the audience, keeping a "battle score" of each of the participants.

The symmetry of the military parts of the show contributed to the fact that the spectacle was perceived without tension - if something was overlooked in the first part, being distracted by other things, you can see it in more detail in the second, change the point of observation and angle. The organizers gave the journalists this opportunity - after the first part of the flights they were taken to the parking lot, where they could film in detail the flying equipment, the process of servicing it by technicians (with one exception - they were asked not to film the parking lot of MiGs on combat duty). By the beginning of the second military block, two buses with photographers were transported to the other side of the airfield in order to shoot from the side of the sun.

in a single formation - the past, present and future of the Czech Air Force. The leader is the trio of "Gripenov", in the center - the link of the MiG-21 MFN, the pair of L-159A closes the line

a pair of Czech MiG-21MFN in a demonstration flight

takes off combat training MiG-21 UM. Several "sparks" are still in service with the 21st Air Base of the Czech Air Force

MiG-21 MFN aircraft were still on combat duty in Chaslav in May. The picture shows a plane with two R-60 missiles and two external tanks

this MiG-21 MFN has an unusual camouflage and bears the symbols of the 45th anniversary of the Chaslav air base

To us, spoiled by demonstrations of aerobatic pilots and test pilots, the flight program of combatant MiGs, L-159s and Gripenovs did not seem particularly difficult - mostly passes in groups, slides with afterburner, loops, rolls and dissolutions with a combat turn, although it looked quite spectacular. The cars flew with hanging tanks, and the pair of “twenty firsts” on duty under the NATO NATINEADS program also carried missiles. Much more lively was the show of the factory tester of the Aero-Vodokhody company Miroslav Shitsner on the L-159B.

The helicopter pilots were frankly pleased, demonstrating the evacuation of a wounded paratrooper on the Polish Sokol, accompanied by excellent dynamic aerobatics, and vigorous combat maneuvering at low altitudes on the Mi-24V.

I must say that the MiGs are leaving the Czech Republic, leaving a noticeable mark in the aviation history of the country. In 1951, the director of the Aviation Research Institute, Frantisek Horak, obtained Stalin's permission to produce the MiG-15, after which in 1953 a new plant with a capacity of up to 1000 vehicles per year was built in Vodokhody near Prague, and in early 1954 the first of the MiGs built at the enterprise took to the air. In total, 3405 MiG-15s of various modifications were produced in Czechoslovakia, and then 103 MiG-19s and 194 MiG-21F13s. Few people know, but it was on one of the UTI MiG-15s built at the Aero plant that Yuri Gagarin and Vladimir Seregin went on their last flight in 1968 ...

The baptism of fire of the Czechoslovak MiG-15s took place on March 10, 1953, when Yaroslav Shramek shot down an F-84 near Pilsen, and soon Yaroslav Novak opened a battle account of destroyed reconnaissance balloons. Exactly one year later, Zdeněk Woleman chalked up an American twin-engine intruder. About five thousand Czech and Slovak pilots served in MiG aircraft.

Pilots and technicians, with whom they managed to talk at the Chaslav airfield, noted the exceptionally high reliability of the outgoing Soviet equipment. The only accident in the unit with her participation - a mid-air collision between MiG-21MF and MiG-21U - occurred in June 1999. Two pilots - Jaromir Zbranek and Ivan Kaiser - died, and Zdenek Svoboda ejected safely.

In the spring of this year, 21 Czech MiG-21 modifications MF, MFN and UM, along with spare parts, were sold to a private company (its name and contract amount are not disclosed). The remaining 12 vehicles of the same type were planned to be sold after receiving the Gripen, but their service life was once again extended - this time until June 30. Expert opinion about future fate"MiGs" disagree - some talk about the exhaustion of the resource, others insist on the possibility of its extension. But everyone agrees that in the near future these machines will be sold abroad.

compared to the MiG-21MF, there are fewer pointers in the Gripen's cockpit, but there are liquid crystal indicators

preparation of the Czech "Gripen" for flights at the air base "Caslav". It is noteworthy that, unlike the MiG-21MF, you need to get into the cockpit of the Swedish fighter from the starboard side

to increase the flight range, "Gripens" almost constantly fly with a large ventral outboard tank

after a demonstration flight, the Czech JAS39C lands on the runway of the Časlav air base (in the background is the Tu-154M of the Czech Air Force). In August, the remaining eight of the 14 Gripen ordered by the Czech Republic should arrive at the base.

As for the 14 multifunctional Swedish-British JAS-39s, which are supplied under a leasing contract with a total value of about $ 850 million, all our interlocutors said that this technique requires a completely different approach. The role of software is so great that the entire system of operation and training had to be rebuilt. Finding out the features of the programs with the search for an answer in multi-volume manuals and calls to the support service, previously uncharacteristic for aviators, take up more and more of their time. However, the advantages of the approach laid down in the creation of the aircraft, which combines the possibility of data exchange between attacking vehicles of the same group, ground-based radars and command posts, AWACS aircraft, an on-board system for monitoring the state of units, with maximum automation of the piloting process, should bring their combat capabilities to fundamentally new positions.

Answering the question why the "Gripens" did not show anything on the show that was very different from the aerobatics of the "twenty-first", the Air Force representatives referred to a small flight time - 50 hours on a new type for each of the pilots, which does not allow them to perform a complex program yet.

One of the numbers of the program became symbolic - a group pass of the three "Gripenov", the four "MiGs" and the pair of L-159s. Dissolution - and new machines go up, now standing in service remain on the horizon, and those being removed from service leave - reorganize into bearing and alternately come in for landing.

The instructive respectful attitude of Czech aviators towards the outgoing generation of combat vehicles, the show arranged in honor of this event, free access to almost all the equipment participating in it, combined with a festive atmosphere, the friendly attitude of our interlocutors towards guests from Russia, made up a very good memory of visiting Caslav.

Photo report by Andrey Zhirnov

The L-410 plane, which crashed in the Khabarovsk Territory killed six people, is widely known in the former Soviet Union, despite its Czechoslovak past. It was developed in the late 1960s at the Let Kunovice aircraft factory. The history of the aircraft plant dates back to 1936 as a branch of the Avia Letnany plant, built as part of the development of the military-industrial complex of Czechoslovakia. During the occupation, the plant was engaged in the repair of fighter aircraft.

After the war, the plant was nationalized and car repairs began. In 1948, the company became part of the newly created Let company, and serial production of the Zlin 22 single-engine aircraft began in Kunowice.

In 1953, already at the new aircraft plant, licensed production of Soviet Yak-11 training fighters and twin-engine civil aircraft Aero Ae-45.

In 1955, Kunovice began to produce the first model of its own design, created by Czechoslovak engineers under the leadership of Ladislav Smrchek, a light passenger aircraft Let L-200 Morava. The plant produced the Z-37 Cmelak ("bumblebee") agricultural aircraft, gliders and the L-29 jet trainer, which in 1961 became the main training aircraft of the Warsaw Pact member countries.

However, a landmark for the Czechoslovak aircraft was an order from the USSR for the development and production of a 19-seat turboprop aircraft L-410.

By the end of the 1960s, there was a need in the USSR for a small short-haul passenger aircraft of a new generation with a capacity of up to 10 people, capable of taking off and landing on unpaved airfields. And since the emphasis was on high efficiency, the aircraft had to be built with turboprop engines.

Despite the fact that the Beriev Design Bureau had an aircraft with the necessary characteristics (Be-30),

within the framework of cooperation between the CMEA member countries, it was decided to transfer the project to Czechoslovakia.

And this was not the only example of such cooperation. So, at one time the USSR transferred to Poland the production of the Mi-2 helicopter and the An-2 aircraft. Thanks to the course towards the integration of the CMEA member countries, the fleet of airlines of "friendly" countries was constantly replenished with Il-62, Tu-154, Tu-134 aircraft and Soviet-made helicopters, Czechoslovak L-410 aircraft and agricultural M-15, produced in Poland .

The USSR became the main customer of the L-410, where it became the most massive turboprop aircraft,

operated on regional routes, the first foreign-made aircraft to enter domestic air routes.

The L-410 is made according to the classical scheme of a twin-engine high-wing aircraft with a single-fin tail unit. The first prototype aircraft equipped with Pratt & Whitney PT6A27 engines took off on April 16, 1969. The first regular use of L-410A aircraft was started by the Czechoslovakian Slov Air (Bratislava) on local routes. In 1973, tests of the L-410M aircraft with Czech Walter M601A engines began. Until the end of 1978, the USSR received about a hundred L-410 aircraft.

“As conceived by the designers, this turboprop machine in the future will local airlines CMEA member countries will replace the An-2, Li-2, ”wrote at that time.

In 1979, the aircraft was modified, and the L-410UVP model became the main serial one. The aircraft was distinguished by a longer fuselage, the use of spoilers and increased wing dimensions, which made it possible to improve one of its main characteristics - the abbreviation "UVP" meant "short takeoff and landing."

In total, more than 1200 units of L-410 were produced, most of which (862) were sent on flights Soviet Union, where they rightfully earned popularity for their reliability and unpretentiousness. L-410s could carry up to 19 passengers at a cruising speed of 380 km/h and were not very demanding on the runway - a normal dirt strip was enough.

The geography of their routes covered the entire territory of the USSR, from Sukhumi to Omsk. Having paid for a ticket not much more expensive than for a train, passengers could, for example, fly

from Krasnodar to Kerch, from Rostov-on-Don to Donetsk, from Sukhumi to Kutaisi, from Ryazan to Mariupol or Poltava.

By the beginning of 1992, about 750 such aircraft remained in the former USSR. Among them were transport, airborne and training aircraft used by the military, including in the USSR. After the collapse of the Eastern Bloc, the Kunovitsky plant fell into decay, the mass production of the L-410 was curtailed and the plant changed owners several times. The pace of production fell tenfold - from 50 cars a year to two to five. In 2008, a 51% stake in Let Kunovice (Aircraft Industries) was bought by the Russian company Ural Mining and Metallurgical Company, after which the production rate was eight to ten aircraft per year. Today, the company, having purchased the remaining shares, is the sole owner of the production.

In 2017, preparations for the production of L-410 aircraft in Russia were announced, which should begin in 2018.

According to the Russian State Research Institute civil aviation by 2020, from 604 to 822 aircraft with a capacity of 4 to 19 seats will be sold in Russia.

Aero (Odolena-Water). The largest Czech aircraft manufacturer Aero Vodochody was founded in 1919 and will soon celebrate its centenary. Aero primarily produces military equipment, and the two flagships of the company - a light fighter and training aircraft L-39NG and its older analogue L-159. The picture shows a classic - Aero L-159 Alca of the Czech Air Force (first flight in 1997, mass-produced since 2000).

AirLony (Steti). A small manufacturer founded in the mid-1990s. Builds the only model AirLony Skylane UL - a licensed copy of the four-seater Cessna 182. Actually, she is in the picture.

Airsport (Zbraslavich). A small company that makes motor gliders from composite materials. On this moment there are three models in the line - Sonata, Sonet and Song, differing in physical dimensions (wingspan from 10.2 to 15 m). The picture shows the most technically advanced Airsport Song model.

Skyleader (Jihlava). Pretty big building company. sports aircraft- 6 models with piston engines and one jet (!), Which is a serious request for a private manufacturer. The company also has various flight simulators for training, summer school, research projects. The picture shows the old piston model, the spectacular Skyleader 600.

ATEC (Libice nad Cidlinou). Founded in 1992, it is a very successful company that manufactures light sport aircraft in fully assembled form, as well as in kit format for self-assembly. Today the range includes 7 aircraft models, including one flying boat. The photo shows the flagship model ATEC 321 Faeta.

Czech Sport Aircraft (Kunovice). One of the oldest Czech companies producing small aircraft. It was founded in 1934, and today it is one of the divisions of the American Piper Aircraft. There are two licensed Pipers in the range. Pictured is a Czech Sport Aircraft PS-28 Cruiser model.

Let (Kunowice). And here is the second aircraft manufacturing company from Kunovice, and also historical - founded back in 1936. The main model of the company is a large business jet (or a small transport aircraft, depending on the configuration) Let L-410, it is in the picture. To replace him back in the 1980s was preparing new model, Let L-610, but as a result, the 410th is still being produced.

TST (Brno). A company that makes motor gliders is, in principle, pretty standard. There are three models in the line. The picture shows TST-14 Bonus.

Direct Fly (Gluk). Czech manufacturer of ultralight aircraft in small series. There are no kits in the range, the aircraft are delivered only in a completely finished form. The picture shows the Direct Fly ALTO 912 model, one of the ALTO line.

TL-Ultralight (Hradec-Králové). And this company, on the contrary, specializes in the production of kit kits (fully assembled cars - only by special order). The picture shows the TL-3000 Sirius model.