L-39 Solo IFR in the Flight Levels

Video from the channel Matt Guthmiller about Aero L-39 Albatros, linked on its Above Ten Thousand entry. Duration: 17:08. Language: English. Video type: Onboard.

The video follows a winter repositioning flight. The pilot flies an Aero L-39 Albatros solo from Alpine airfield, where it is about one degree Fahrenheit on the ground, to South Valley Regional Airport, near Salt Lake City. Moving a single jet takes four aircraft in the day. A fellow pilot flies a Beechcraft Bonanza, both return to Alpine in a Cessna 172, a Mitsubishi MU-2 then drops off, and the Bonanza flies the pilot back home.

We see taxiing over snow, where differential braking is tricky, and takeoff from runway 31. Then comes the instrument climb to flight level 240. The pilot explains that the aircraft has no autopilot. He also says it is very maneuverable, somewhat unstable, and sensitive in pitch and trim, and estimates about 300 knots true airspeed. They continue with the descent, an altimeter setting change, and cancelling the IFR flight plan near Salt Lake's Class B airspace. The flight ends with the airbrakes, landing configuration, and touchdown on runway 16 at South Valley.

The repositioning aims for a drier runway than Alpine's during the winter. On the last leg, the MU-2 serves as a comparison: it is somewhat slower than the jet but burns about 100 gallons less per hour.