We are proud to fly one of the few Aero Vodochody L29 Delphin aircraft currently on the South African register. Our L29, ZU-AUX, was formerly flown by the Sasol Tigers Aerobatic Team and was added to our fleet in mid-2016. The L29 was designed in 1959 as jet-powered trainer for the Soviet Air Force and is powered by a single Motorlet M-701C 500 jet engine that produces 1960lbs of thrust. The L-29 was intentionally designed to possess stable and docile flight characteristics and was praised for its ease of handling.

Specifications

General characteristics

• Crew: 2: student and instructor
• Length: 10.81 m (35 ft 5½ in)
• Wingspan: 10.29 m (33 ft 9 in)
• Height: 3.13 m (10 ft 3 in)
• Wing area: 19.8 m² (213 ft²)
• Empty weight: 2,280 kg (5,027 lb)
• Loaded weight: 3,280 kg (7,231 lb)
• Max. takeoff weight: 3,540 kg (7,804 lb)
• Powerplant: 1 × Motorlet M-701C 500 turbojet, 8.7 kN (1,960 lbf)

Performance

• Never exceed speed: 820 km/h (442 knots, 510 mph)
• Maximum speed: 655 km/h (353 knots, 407 mph) at 5,000 m (16,400 ft)
• Stall speed: 130 km/h (71 knots, 81 mph) flaps down
• Range: 894 km (480 nmi, 555 mi) with tip tanks
• Endurance: 2 hours 30 min
• Service ceiling: 11,000 m (36,100 ft)
• Rate of climb: 14.0 m/s (2,755 ft/min)