Albatros L-39 - Jet Fighter Flight - Florida 2013

Video from the channel Markus Bikker about Aero L-39 Albatros, linked on its Above Ten Thousand entry. Duration: 35:12. Language: English. Video type: Onboard.

The video documents a flight of around 45 minutes in the back seat of an Aero L-39 Albatros in Florida, with a passenger who had no previous flying experience. It starts on the ground with harness adjustment, radio checks and the warning about the ejection handles, continues with the checklist and start-up, and goes on with the climb, an aerobatics session over the gulf, a low pass along the coast, a low pass over the runway and the landing.

The pilot runs through the pre-flight checklist out loud: pins removed, air conditioning and anti-ice, batteries, warning lights, fire detection and generators; the fuel computer shows 300 gallons. He explains that a small starter motor spins up the main engine and that it first does a dry start. He also clarifies that the female voice heard is the stall and gear warning, which sometimes triggers for no reason even though the three green lights confirm the gear is down.

After climbing to about 16,000 feet, the pilot requests traffic following from air traffic control for aerobatics between 12,000 and 17,000 feet. He shows the passenger the effect of the stick, lets him do 45- and 60-degree turns, which require 200 knots, and explains the vibration that signals a stall. He then shows the aileron roll: diving to 200 knots, nose 15 degrees above the horizon, stick to neutral and stick fully to one side without pulling or pushing; the passenger does two. A double roll follows, a pull with a maximum of 3.4 g and a tail slide, in which the accelerometer reaches 4.0 g.

During the rapid descent, a low-altitude alert triggers at air traffic control, which asks for the aircraft type. The flight follows the beach at low altitude, passes through isolated showers and makes a pass at about 100 feet in front of the tower before landing on runway 18 left. The recording shows how the L-39 is used today for experience flights with basic flying instruction.