What it's like to fly an Albatros L-39 fighter jet

Video from the channel Aero Por Trás da Aviação about Aero L-39 Albatros, linked on its Above Ten Thousand entry. Duration: 15:03. Language: Portuguese. Video type: News.

The host of the Aero channel talks with Carol Capel about the flight she took as a passenger in an Aero L-39 Albatros of the Baltic Bees aerobatic display team, in Latvia. On that flight she endured around 7.5 G.

Capel was invited by a Swiss luxury experiences company, which in exchange asked her to record a video in Portuguese for its website. Before the flight she trained for weeks with aerobic exercise and core work. On the day of the flight there were about two hours of safety briefing: how to breathe and brace the abdomen against G-forces, and how to use the ejection seat. She also had to go through passport control, since the departure was over the Baltic. She flew in formation with the rest of the display team, with a pilot who asked her how she was feeling during each manoeuvre. After a low pass, a turn took her to around 7 G and her vision went grey, though she did not lose consciousness. Another passenger ended up feeling unwell and was attended to after landing.

The host compares it with his own flights with the Esquadrilha da Fumaça and in an Extra 300. He explains the difference between positive and negative G-force, the importance of exposure time and the help provided by an anti-G suit. Both insist that anyone can book these flights, either through the display teams themselves or through intermediary companies, although the price is high: at the time it was around 10,000 euros.