Buying a fighter jet...

You can do aerobatics anywhere you want, as long as it's not in certain types of more restrictive airspace, or over congested areas, or too close to the ground. You don't need to ask anyone for permission.

Fred, why was it such a lousy airplane for going anywhere? Would a 500 mile trip be problematic? And what sort of altitudes could you fly at?

Thanks for the writeup!

 

Nice, crotch rockets in the sky

 

Hi Guys:

While the sea lawyers in the aviation community will undoubtedly point out that I did something wrong, I just checked my log and can verify that I got my rating in a little over a month (In two intense 10 day periods, mainly) in 26 hours of flight time. For me, and my transitioning to turbine aircraft, the toughest thing was hitting the books. On the other hand, I did my first private solo in 1969 after only 5.5 hours of flight instruction, so maybe my obsessive personality pays off in certain areas! At the end of the day you are tested on how well you do, not how many hours or how much money you've spent.

To the comment that my relatively high flight time helped, while I'm sure it did in certain ways, I also think that this industry has a somewhat indiscriminate devotion to flight hours. I have been flying now for over forty years in exclusively single engine aircraft, although lots of different ones, including an amphibious homebuilt in the seventies. I've flown (business) from Boston to the west coast at least two dozen times now in my Bonanza, as well as 4 trans Atlantic trips and all through Europe. And flying slow airplanes long distances WILL BUILD HOURS!

A LOT of that time was spent just looking at the yellow needles on my HSI with the autopilot on, trying to estimate whether my bladder was going to beat me to the next airport! So while I've definitely seasoned my judgement about weather and learned to recognize the little personal weaknesses of my own behavior, I also think that it's neither accurate nor particularly helpful to put too much stock in flight hours. I kind of think that it's like "the runway behind you": if you've used it wisely, presumably you're now in a good position. But if you're not, the only thing that matters is what you do next.

In other words, for all our flying, the airplane doesn't care, and any time or place is as good to die as the next. I try to remember that. That's all about attitude, not your "CV" or your logbook. It seems to me a reasonable proposition that anybody who can do a good job on a track with a Ferrari could probably pilot an L-39. (But then I've never been in a Ferrari. hint, hint.... it's on my "bucket list")

While the L-39 is a reasonable plane to fly, there is a pretty complicated list of sequential routines and diagnostic logic necessary to figure out whether you're about to lose an engine, have no brakes (and ground steering) and that sort of thing while you're burning fuel like a gulf oil rig and traveling at a relatively high rate of speed. In other words, while you're enjoying the thrill you have to be able to shift focus onto a real crisis quickly and get it right.

Fortunately (for your pocketbook) this is as much about systems knowledge as flying, and can be drilled into the cranium by going over it again and again. I did my best to tackle the manuals before I went to ground school so that I used ground school in part to clear up some things I didn't understand rather than leave my patient instructor starting from absolute scratch. for those of you who do this, there will be a lot of time spent on flameout landings, touch and gos, and all the little tricks associated with flying them safely and consistently.

I found the cockpit "switchology" a little confusing. Essentially this airplane has a nasty mix of inconsequential and critical toggle switches all over the damned place on both the left and righthand consoles, a situation not helped by the fact that subsequent owner/restorers can and have made permutations on what was an illogical placement standard by the Soviets in the first place. The solution? Hours of sitting in a quiet cockpit wit the manuals in your lap.

One of the things to remember is that in the US, the L-39 is an uncertificated airplane. Therefore the "type rating" is really just an upgraded LOA, even though it does wind up printed on your license. The fact that the airplane is uncertificated puts the L-39 in the "experimental for demonstration purposes" category, which was primarily intended for airshows. While you can fly it forever for "proficiency" training, including with a passenger, you have to assemble an annual demo "program" for the local FAA FSDO office tp sign off on. Included in that will be your 500-600 (I can't remember) mile "proficiency training" operating radius, exemptions to which include your maintenance facility (Like Pride Aircraft in Rockford, IL) and the airshows on your program. (You also cannot fly into any airport that is the hub of any class B airspace, like logan, O'Hare, etc. So while it would be possible to fly on a business trip from Teterboro, NJ to Atlanta (Peachtree or Fulton Co., not ATL) , you'd have to time it so that your business trip coincided with the "Wings Over Atlanta" airshow, and have also included that destination in January on your demo program. You'd also have to stop someplace in Virginia and maybe again in the Carolinas for fuel. I could get there sooner in the Bonanza because I could go nonstop!

Of course you could fly from Richmond to Charlottesville, suit up an old friend for the back seat, do some stiff aerobatics, then let him take a "trick at the helm," come back and conduct the aforementioned overhead approach, and give your buddy something to talk about 'til he's old and gray. I think that's what this fabulous machine is all about!

On the point of aerobatics, BTW, while one of you correctly pointed out that all you need is unrestricted airspace, like everything else in life...practically speaking it depends. This really isn't like going out and thrashing around from 3000 to 6000 in an Extra or a Pitts. I happen to be in the crowded NE corridor, where any flight west of Boston from 10,000 to 18,000 (or you'll break the speed limit below 10,000!) in a jet (there aren't many emergency landing areas to the east!) puts you smack in the way of domestic airline arrivals into Logan. So, to be safe I would always get advisories and when I did things like loops that involve a lot of vertical airspace, i started only after ARTCC had suggested a lull in the traffic. Still, I've had some unique conversations with Boston Center this way:

"Boston, Experimental jet 139PM is going to be conducting maneuvers here from 10,000 feet up to 17,500. Are we free of traffic now in a westerly direction out to 40 mile west of Quabbin?" Uh, roger that. Let me know when you're finished, 139PM." "Wilco., Poppa Mike."

"Uhhhhh....139 poppa Mike, I see you're going up pretty fast, you've got a 767 at your two o'clock eastbound, can you give me a visual on that?" "Grunt, Grunt, grunt....Negative, Boston, I'm on my back right now, and we're about to come down as fast as we went up. What's his altitude?" "pause.............uh, 139 poppa mike, do you want to declare an emergency?"

The point is, ARTCC frequently doesn't get it with jet aerobatics - too fast, too much airspace needed. you're best off, despite the rules finding a sandbox to go play in like an MOA that's not "hot" at the moment. Everybody else has the airspace clearly depicted on their GPS maps, and while they won't reserve for you, all ARTCC has to do (and they will) is suggest that "there's a fighter in there doing maneuvers" and everybody else will avoid you like the plague.

That makes it a lot easier to concentrate on your flying!

Fred Gevalt

 

Hi Guys:

While the sea lawyers in the aviation community will undoubtedly point out that I did something wrong, I just checked my log and can verify that I got my rating in a little over a month (In two intense 10 day periods, mainly) in 26 hours of flight time. For me, and my transitioning to turbine aircraft, the toughest thing was hitting the books. On the other hand, I did my first private solo in 1969 after only 5.5 hours of flight instruction, so maybe my obsessive personality pays off in certain areas! At the end of the day you are tested on how well you do, not how many hours or how much money you've spent.

To the comment that my relatively high flight time helped, while I'm sure it did in certain ways, I also think that this industry has a somewhat indiscriminate devotion to flight hours. I have been flying now for over forty years in exclusively single engine aircraft, although lots of different ones, including an amphibious homebuilt in the seventies. I've flown (business) from Boston to the west coast at least two dozen times now in my Bonanza, as well as 4 trans Atlantic trips and all through Europe. And flying slow airplanes long distances WILL BUILD HOURS!

A LOT of that time was spent just looking at the yellow needles on my HSI with the autopilot on, trying to estimate whether my bladder was going to beat me to the next airport! So while I've definitely seasoned my judgement about weather and learned to recognize the little personal weaknesses of my own behavior, I also think that it's neither accurate nor particularly helpful to put too much stock in flight hours. I kind of think that it's like "the runway behind you": if you've used it wisely, presumably you're now in a good position. But if you're not, the only thing that matters is what you do next.

In other words, for all our flying, the airplane doesn't care, and any time or place is as good to die as the next. I try to remember that. That's all about attitude, not your "CV" or your logbook. It seems to me a reasonable proposition that anybody who can do a good job on a track with a Ferrari could probably pilot an L-39. (But then I've never been in a Ferrari. hint, hint.... it's on my "bucket list")

While the L-39 is a reasonable plane to fly, there is a pretty complicated list of sequential routines and diagnostic logic necessary to figure out whether you're about to lose an engine, have no brakes (and ground steering) and that sort of thing while you're burning fuel like a gulf oil rig and traveling at a relatively high rate of speed. In other words, while you're enjoying the thrill you have to be able to shift focus onto a real crisis quickly and get it right.

Fortunately (for your pocketbook) this is as much about systems knowledge as flying, and can be drilled into the cranium by going over it again and again. I did my best to tackle the manuals before I went to ground school so that I used ground school in part to clear up some things I didn't understand rather than leave my patient instructor starting from absolute scratch. for those of you who do this, there will be a lot of time spent on flameout landings, touch and gos, and all the little tricks associated with flying them safely and consistently.

I found the cockpit "switchology" a little confusing. Essentially this airplane has a nasty mix of inconsequential and critical toggle switches all over the damned place on both the left and righthand consoles, a situation not helped by the fact that subsequent owner/restorers can and have made permutations on what was an illogical placement standard by the Soviets in the first place. The solution? Hours of sitting in a quiet cockpit wit the manuals in your lap.

One of the things to remember is that in the US, the L-39 is an uncertificated airplane. Therefore the "type rating" is really just an upgraded LOA, even though it does wind up printed on your license. The fact that the airplane is uncertificated puts the L-39 in the "experimental for demonstration purposes" category, which was primarily intended for airshows. While you can fly it forever for "proficiency" training, including with a passenger, you have to assemble an annual demo "program" for the local FAA FSDO office tp sign off on. Included in that will be your 500-600 (I can't remember) mile "proficiency training" operating radius, exemptions to which include your maintenance facility (Like Pride Aircraft in Rockford, IL) and the airshows on your program. (You also cannot fly into any airport that is the hub of any class B airspace, like logan, O'Hare, etc. So while it would be possible to fly on a business trip from Teterboro, NJ to Atlanta (Peachtree or Fulton Co., not ATL) , you'd have to time it so that your business trip coincided with the "Wings Over Atlanta" airshow, and have also included that destination in January on your demo program. You'd also have to stop someplace in Virginia and maybe again in the Carolinas for fuel. I could get there sooner in the Bonanza because I could go nonstop!

Of course you could fly from Richmond to Charlottesville, suit up an old friend for the back seat, do some stiff aerobatics, then let him take a "trick at the helm," come back and conduct the aforementioned overhead approach, and give your buddy something to talk about 'til he's old and gray. I think that's what this fabulous machine is all about!

On the point of aerobatics, BTW, while one of you correctly pointed out that all you need is unrestricted airspace, like everything else in life...practically speaking it depends. This really isn't like going out and thrashing around from 3000 to 6000 in an Extra or a Pitts. I happen to be in the crowded NE corridor, where any flight west of Boston from 10,000 to 18,000 (or you'll break the speed limit below 10,000!) in a jet (there aren't many emergency landing areas to the east!) puts you smack in the way of domestic airline arrivals into Logan. So, to be safe I would always get advisories and when I did things like loops that involve a lot of vertical airspace, i started only after ARTCC had suggested a lull in the traffic. Still, I've had some unique conversations with Boston Center this way:

"Boston, Experimental jet 139PM is going to be conducting maneuvers here from 10,000 feet up to 17,500. Are we free of traffic now in a westerly direction out to 40 mile west of Quabbin?" Uh, roger that. Let me know when you're finished, 139PM." "Wilco., Poppa Mike."

"Uhhhhh....139 poppa Mike, I see you're going up pretty fast, you've got a 767 at your two o'clock eastbound, can you give me a visual on that?" "Grunt, Grunt, grunt....Negative, Boston, I'm on my back right now, and we're about to come down as fast as we went up. What's his altitude?" "pause.............uh, 139 poppa mike, do you want to declare an emergency?"

The point is, ARTCC frequently doesn't get it with jet aerobatics - too fast, too much airspace needed. you're best off, despite the rules finding a sandbox to go play in like an MOA that's not "hot" at the moment. Everybody else has the airspace clearly depicted on their GPS maps, and while they won't reserve for you, all ARTCC has to do (and they will) is suggest that "there's a fighter in there doing maneuvers" and everybody else will avoid you like the plague.

That makes it a lot easier to concentrate on your flying!

Fred Gevalt

 

Fred-- thanks for the posts!

I'm fortunate to live on the west coast, where I can fly 10 minutes (or less in an L-39) and do all the aerobatics I want, without speaking to anyone-- although it always pays to keep your head on a swivel and a good lookout!

I didn't realize that the L-39 was subject to such restrictive operating limitations. Is there any way to get one into a more normal "experimental" category?

Regarding training, 10 days seems entirely reasonable to me. I've gotten almost all my jet type ratings in that time or less (with one exception)-- but it does require a period of intensive study.

 

Hi:

I am a couple of years out of date, but I can say that it varies a lot from district office to district office. Although EAA has tried to help standardize this, in some ways one might benefit from the luck of the draw and just get a very reasonable P.O.I. (principal ops inspector) from the FAA district office who likes and trusts you, and just doesn't overload the restrictions (usually accompanied by a map with the flight radius on it) I know I did.

So if on the exceptional occasion when you want to make a long cross country you can call him up and get a signoff for the trip, does it really matter? Again, this is assuming that not being able to go farther than 500 nautical miles is a problem. I had to do that only between Rockford Il, and Bedford, MA (for which my FAA guy gave me a blanket signoff) and it's always something of an ordeal. The L-39 is an unstable instrument platform, and it's tough to find a 900 mile stretch of the US without SOME weather in it. From Rockford I always planned a fuel stop at Youngstown OH or Pittsburgh's Allegheny County Airport. Both are about halfway, long runways, and I usually negotiated the fuel price before takeoff!

You have to cruise this thing in the flight levels (above 18,000) or you'll be stopping two to three times along that route for gas - altitude makes a huge difference. If you pick up any ice you have to get out of it - the Albatros' tail section is critical in this department, and RVSM restrictions don't allow you to go above 26,000 or 27,000 in order to fly above the weather and get out of it. Unless you plan your flight very carefully, you can find yourself mooching around in the soup looking for an adequate runway length with an ILS in a hot airplane that's rapidly approaching "bingo" fuel - not a place you want to be.

All in all, I always thought of this as a VFR airplane, even though I installed US flight gauges so I could do an IFR flight. (Russian artificial horizon is backwards and always caught me off guard, though one could argue that it's a better reference during some aerobatic maneuvers)

This airplane is so much fun to fly it's incredible. I got three hours in a P-51 before I got it, and I'd rather fly the L-39 any old day - better balanced, faster, better visibility (being ahead of the wing) It's too bad it burns so much fuel. But as usual it's all relative. If you guys go to pride Aircraft's website you'll see that they have two supersonic Sukhoi SU-27 "Flankers" for sale at a cool $5MM apiece. I can't remember, but my instructor, who's test flying during the video, told me that with the burners lit it's something like 260 gallons a minute! Check out the video: full throttle to airborne in about 9 seconds! http://www.prideaircraft.com/flankerflight.htm Now that's an airplane. And it makes the L-39 look positively placid and reasonable in every other respect!

Fred

 

wow, great write up indeed!

 

damn that is uber cool. thank you, and thank him for allowing you to share the pics.... WOW !