Here's your chance to pick up a cheap Czech-built L-29 Delfin Trainer Jet on eBay. This aircraft was built in 1967 and flew with the Romanian armed forces until 1999. It has just under 3000 hours on the airframe and the engine has 181 hours since its last major overhaul in 1990.
It was imported into the USA in 2005 but needs professional restoration to make it flight worthy. It apparently includes new landing gear, new front and rear canopies, new rubber and has been stripped to bare metal for repainting. The seller will even throw in a zero-time engine for an extra five grand.
In addition to a healthy bank account (this thing burns 150 gph, at a current cost of about $575), you'll need a fair amount of flying experience to qualify for a US type rating - a minimum of 1000 hours, preferably including aerobatic training and experience in high-performance aircraft. The L-29 has a reputation as a tough and forgiving workhorse, but the ground can come up and smack you in an awful hurry at a few hundred knots.
Here's your chance to pick up a cheap Czech-built L-29 Delfin Trainer Jet on eBay. This aircraft was built in 1967 and flew with the Romanian armed forces until 1999. It has just under 3000 hours on the airframe and the engine has 181 hours since its last major overhaul in 1990.
It was imported into the USA in 2005 but needs professional restoration to make it flight worthy. It apparently includes new landing gear, new front and rear canopies, new rubber and has been stripped to bare metal for repainting. The seller will even throw in a zero-time engine for an extra five grand.
In addition to a healthy bank account (this thing burns 150 gph, at a current cost of about $575), you'll need a fair amount of flying experience to qualify for a US type rating - a minimum of 1000 hours, preferably including aerobatic training and experience in high-performance aircraft. The L-29 has a reputation as a tough and forgiving workhorse, but the ground can come up and smack you in an awful hurry at a few hundred knots.
