Aero L-39 Albatros demo aircraft

L-39 Albatros G-OTAF, disguised as Russian air force trainer '111'

With the fall of the Iron Curtain, the need (and the money !) for vast numbers of new pilots diminished dramatically and many eastbloc countries started to sell off part of their trainer fleet. This meant that a sizeable number of L-39's, the standard training aircraft in most of these countries, became available on the civil market, which in turn explains why so many Albatroses are flying around in civvies.

L-39 Albatros 2341, Czechoslovak Air Force

L-39 Albatros 0006, Czech Air Force

Aero L-159 6006 of the Czech Air Force

As a gradual development of the basic L-39, the L-59 and L-159 versions saw the light of day. This Czech L-159 is a dedicated single-seat ground attack aircraft.