L39 Info?? Anyone??

[Huggyu2]

Patmack,
I disagree. It's a great idea. The L-39 I flew (for a whopping 5 hours) had cold seats. Shortly thereafter, the engine coughed and got the owner's attention. Last I heard, he was installing hot seats.
Lutz is a former military jet pilot, and knows what he's getting into (and, yes, I know he landed an L-39 gear up years back).
As for it's record, if you eject in 90 degrees of bank while low and slow, you're going to have a tough day. About 4 years ago, an L-39 departed the surface at KIWA and one of the pilots ejected.... and lived. Plenty of eastern European pilots have jumped out too.
L-39 training: go to Pride Aviation. They specialize in the L-39. I know one of the IP's, and he's a great stick AND a great IP. They have the training aids you would want. There are other good firms to fly with, too. But, when I win the lottery, I'm using Pride.
In any case, it's a neat jet. I'd love to fly one on a regular basis.

 

[Ill Mitch]

From what I'm told, you don't eject from the airplane unless it's on fire or it's breaking apart. Aside from those things, ride it in. Anyone know if the L39 that crashed in Washington back in October has been found yet?

http://www.ntsb.gov/ntsb/brief.asp?ev_id=20041028X01711&key=1

The question that comes to my mind is the crashworthiness. Single engine jet, unless I have a long narrow stretch of pavement in front of me, I think I will chance punching out. High performance jets (even the seriously low end ones) aren't really made to land in some farmers field.
Anyone know best glide in the L-39? That would be a major factor in deciding to stay with it or not.

 

[Ill Mitch]

I did a brief search back to 1990 and found only one incident where someone ejected from an L-39 in the United States and he survived.

http://www.ntsb.gov/ntsb/brief.asp?ev_id=20001211X11106&key=1

 

[hawg2hawk]

There's a horrible idea...

Good thinkin'. Single seat fighters are a lot sportier with hard-mounted seats.

An any event, I think the rich doctors might prefer the option to jettison the aircraft, whether out of the envelope or not, as opposed to the alternative when the engine sh!ts.

The yellow striped handle ain't rocket science, however much you might like to think it is. And believe it or not, there are plenty of civilians out there that know how to maintain a seat.

 

[FN FAL]

I know Don Kirlin down at UIN, he's a fellow ex-Cessna 320 owner. He wouldn't remember me by name, but he would remember that I brought my Cessna 320 down to World Freefall Convention a couple of times. He's an airline pilot and a really nice guy...at least as far as I could tell. Here's a link to his operation and there are some buttons on the side of the page so that you can navigate the site. Note that a lot of phrases are underlined, those are hyperlinks to pictures...

http://www.air-usa.com/AboutUs.htm

One of our strengths is that we have the only factory trained ejection seat maintenance person in the United States. In addition, Air USA is the source for new pyrotechnics (pyro, rocket motor) for the L-39 ejection system and we are the sole source for the new parachute (front, side) designed specifically for the L-39.

Here is the link from the site with a picture of the L-39 ejections seats on a dolly...

http://www.air-usa.com/ejection_seat.htm

 

[Lead Sled]

I think the rich doctors might prefer the option to jettison the aircraft, whether out of the envelope or not, as opposed to the alternative when the engine sh!ts...

It's funny you say that. The owner of the L39 in our hangar is a doctor. Hmmm... maybe we'll have to rethink the phrase "V-Tailed Doctor Killer".

Personally, I thought it strange not to have the seats hot. If I had enought dinero to afford one of those things I'd want the option. The survivability of an off airport landing is a function of how quickly the kinetic energy is dissipated. If you’re lucky you’ll have a flat smooth surface, but throw in some rocks, trees, etc. and you quickly see why survivability, if you stay with it, is a big question. On the other hand, compressed spines aren't a lot of fun either. Oh well, I was just reporting what the owner told me.

By the way, a couple of weeks ago he let me climb up into the front cockpit - it was all Glass. I only wish our airplane was as nice.

'Sled

 

[RockyMnt1]

Best glide is around 135 kts.

 

[GVFlyer]

L-39

It's underpowered...

GV

 

[Huggyu2]

Underpowered? Compared to your Gulfstream: yes. But your G-V is "undermaneuverable" in my book.
If one engine quits, the L-39 is WAY underpowered compared to your ride! So, I'd like the ejection seat.
Also, save judgement on the seat for not saving a life when it was used out of the envelope. Every seat has it's limit.

Need a place to have former Eastern Euro maintenance guys working on your ejection seat? Pride, International Jets, and plenty of others. Like most things in the USA, if there's an interest, there's an entrepreneur willing to sell the service.