Some Fine Jets At The Show

Thunder Over Michigan had quite a few privately owned jet warbirds in all their glory on the field.

More on some of the jet stars later, but I really wanted to Czech a few out:

No, that's not another A-4 Skyhawk.

It's an L-39 Albatross.

A Czech advanced jet trainer, it was the mainstay of the Warsaw Pact Air Forces trainer fleets.

She's quite the beauty of a plane.

A two-seater with a top speed of 466 mph, a range of 683 miles without external tanks and 1,087, miles with externals and a service ceiling of 36,000 feet, she'd be my pick for a jet trainer warbird.  These birds are quite available at the moment and while out of my price range are relatively affordable.One day I'll get a pilot's license, build up time and one of these shall be mine.

The L-39s little brother was also present at the show - The L-29 Delfin.

Designed in the late 1950s as a jet trainer, the L-29 was a very effective 2-seat jet trainer.

With the L-29 having a top speed of 407 mph,  555 mile range, and service ceiling of 36,100 feet, grass field capability and currently going for much cheaper than the L-39s, she'd do nicely as well.

Unfortunately, neither the L-39 nor the L-29 performed during the show, but they sure were nice to look at and dream about.