Aero L-29 Delfín – Photos & Video

The Aero L-29 Delfín (English: Dolphin, NATO reporting name: Maya) is a military jet trainer developed and manufactured by Czechoslovakian aviation manufacturer Aero Vodochody. It holds the distinction of being the nations’ first locally designed and constructed jet aircraft, as well as likely being the biggest aircraft industrial programme to take place in any of the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (COMECON) nations except Russia itself

The Aero L-29 Delfín is a military jet trainer and light attack aircraft that was designed and manufactured by Aero Vodochody in Czechoslovakia. It was the first jet trainer to be produced in large numbers in the Eastern Bloc and served as the main training aircraft for the air forces of several Warsaw Pact countries in the 1960s and 1970s. The L-29 has a low-wing monoplane design with a tricycle landing gear and a tandem cockpit for two crew members. It is powered by a single Motorlet M-701 turbojet engine that provides a maximum speed of 820 km/h and a range of 900 km.
The L-29 can carry up to 250 kg of weapons on two underwing hardpoints, including bombs, rockets, and gun pods. The L-29 was exported to more than 20 countries and saw combat action in several conflicts, such as the Nigerian Civil War, the Yom Kippur War, and the Soviet-Afghan War. The L-29 was gradually replaced by more advanced trainers, such as the Aero L-39 Albatros, but some still remain in service or in private hands as warbirds.