Enhanced L-39NG trainer makes maiden sortie

摘要

Aero Vodochody made the first flight with an updated L-39NG trainer from its Odolena Voda facility in the Czech Republic on 14 September. Enhancements include a new Williams International FJ44-4M engine, Genesys Aerosystems avionics and head-up displays from Speel Praha. The wings have also been modified, with the wing-tip fuel tanks on earlier generations of the Albatros replaced with new composite structures. Company president Ladislav Simek says the flight came just three weeks after it received the aircraft's engine. "By using the best available components, we have brought to the market an un-precedentedly effective type of aircraft, accessible to a broad spectrum of users," Simek says.