Czech mates

Accusations of bias aren’t something we’re keen of at carsales.com.au. With a combined 83 centuries of experience (joke!), the team prides itself on being able to impartially assess all manner of vehicles.

Me? Well, I’m the same -- to a point… And that point is when it comes to the products from the most prestigious of all the Volkswagen Group brands.

Not Bugatti… Skoda!

Guilty. I am a real fan of Skoda products. Simply Clever is what the brand claims and with some rare exceptions, it’s what it’s delivered since it arrived Down Under in around 2007.

In that same time, the Skoda Octavia has carved itself a small but committed following in Australia – I’m one of them. I’ve unashamedly recommended the bread and butter Skoda to family, friends and workmates.

At the top of the Octavia line-up the Skoda Octavia RS has built a reputation as the most versatile ‘hot hatch’ sold. Pretty clever, since its most popular variant is a wagon!

Part of the Octavia’s recipe for success is that it’s essentially a Golf GTI underneath. There’s a decent chassis, great turbo four that responds particularly well to aftermarket tuning and, in its latest versions, no shortage of comfort and convenience items… And perhaps one of the best driver’s seat in the business.

The practicality that comes with the RS is almost a bonus.

But as the #1 Skoda ticketholder in the auto press, I’m honour bound to inform you that there’s a cloud on the legion of Octavia RS fans’ collective horizon.

And I now officially have some bad news for them… Even in its latest 245 ‘powered-up’ version, it is no longer the fastest Czech Down Under.

That title now goes to this… The Aero Vodochody L-39 Albatross, a Czech-built military jet trainer that Aussie Skoda owners (and non-Skoda owners, for that matter) can experience with (almost) the same convenience as a new-car test drive.

While the latest powered-up Skoda Octavia RS wagon will probably get close to 240km/h with a long enough run-up, the Aero Vodochody L39 Albatros (one ‘s’ in Czech) can add about 600km/h (!!!) to that figure.

And while thanks to sticky low-profile rubber, a decent adaptive damping equipped suspension system and electronic front diff, the RS 245 will likely get to around +1.4g when really provoked on the racetrack (based on our ABDC Baskerville testing experience, most hot hatches can pull this in that track’s awesome Turn One); the Aero L39 is good for +8g and a gut-wrenching -4g.

About the only thing the Skoda owner’s likely to win in a bar-room tech-off is fuel economy.

The L39 can burn up its 1000-litre fuel load in a period best measured in minutes if it’s really provoked. Even in high-altitude, best economy cruise, it’ll need to refuel to travel from Melbourne to Brisbane…

Today is not about economy runs, however. I’ve driven to the home base of Melbourne Jet Fighters to show off the Octavia RS and get to know the L-39 better.

And in preparation, I’ve left the RS 245 in full Sport mode, enjoying the extra sharpness of the dual-clutch gearbox’s crisp changes and the 2.0-litre turbo-four’s (electronically enhanced, granted) added warble.

It takes a reasonable distraction to get people’s eyes away from the arresting blue and silver paint job of Melbourne Jet Fighters’ L-39, but the angular good looks of our pair of RSs does a decent job and a few of the base’s pilots and crew are pretty quick to jump into the cars to take a closer look.

I’m happy to throw them the keys, in return for a better look at the jet which, as the cliché goes, looks like it’s doing 1000mph just standing still.

This L-39 is the flagship of Melbourne Jet Fighters, which was set up to deliver military-style flying experiences and training. A number of factors set the operation apart, not the least of which is it operates within sight of the Melbourne CBD (and a Skoda dealership!) at Essendon Airport.

Operating and flying military aircraft requires an adeptness at jumping through hoops. In the heightened security regimes in which we live, authorities take a dim view of individuals owning and flying planes that, with a few relatively easy modifications, could perform strafing runs on Parliament House (Now, there’s an idea!).

Fortunately, the crew behind Melbourne Jet Fighter have been there and done that (not the strafing, the operating). And with an eye on safety and proper operational organisation, they have pulled off the equivalent of getting number plates for a GT3 racecar.

Thus this L-39 can effectively be operated under the same rules and regimes as a business jet.

A fast, sexy, two-seater business jet that can do loops and stutter rolls.

If you think dual-cab 4x4 utes have a long model life, you’ve never researched military aircraft. While it might look like a 21st century fighter, the L-39 was designed in the 1960s.

The trainer (and sometimes ground attack aircraft) was signed off in about 1966 and first flew in 1969 (50th anniversary this year!).

Series production of the Albatros commenced in 1971 and the following year it officially became the default choice as the primary jet trainer for a swag of eastern European air forces – including the USSR’s.

The Czech Air Force itself was a sizable customer for the L39. But once the Berlin Wall came down, so too were others as far afield as Israel.

In fact, the aircraft remained (effectively) in production until the Noughties – an aerial equivalent of the Mitsubishi Lancer or Nissan Navara!

The latest version, called the L-39NG (Next Generation), first flew in September 2015, and deliveries are due to start next year (2020).

That aircraft has been upgraded to compete with the likes of the Hawk -- the trainer the RAAF uses to buzz the Bathurst 1000 grid each year.

With high levels of production (about 200 per year, for more than 25 years), a fair number of L-39s have since made it into civilian hands – there’s even racing classes for them in the USA… And if you think car racing’s expensive, perhaps consider the costs of actively campaigning a jet!

Melbourne Jet Fighters’ L-39 was reputedly the personal aircraft of a very senior officer in the Czech Air Force.

As is sometimes the case with shiny bums -- err, I mean officers -- duties other than flying must have kept the General busy. This L-39 is a spring chicken and even now has less than 1000 hours on its flight log.

Fast forward almost two years and $1 million worth of modifications and negotiations, and Melbourne Jet Fighters’ Czech mate is now officially in action.

So, having cunningly constructed an excuse to get my bum in a jet fighter (oh, did I mention I was the official crash test dummy?), the time came to preflight me and the L-39.

First lesson was getting out of the aircraft in the case of an emergency.

Rules require the two-seater’s ejection seats to be disabled for civilian use. That means to get out, you need to know how to jettison the canopy, disconnect yourself from your seat (but not your parachute!), roll the aircraft on its axis, and fall out… Gulp!

Lesson two was what NOT to touch. As a training aircraft, the rear cockpit is where candidate pilots sit for the first couple of flights, so it has all the controls you need to fly the plane.

Or not fly it, as could be the case for people who put their hands and feet in the wrong spots… Oops!

Mike Falls is the Chief Pilot of Melbourne Jet Fighters and the mastermind behind the L-39’s transformation for its new role. Falls has flown jets for decades and more often is at the controls of a Falcon (business jet, not AU) or his own beloved Porsches.

While there’s a degree of gravitas in his pre-flight lectures and checks, there’s also a glint in his eye, reflecting the amount of fun a high-performance aircraft can be – especially for those that like fast cars.

The performance of the L-39 also requires the use of a G-suit – at least for aerobatics. At its very simplest, a G-suit can be described as a whole of body (well, lower half) tourniquet.

Connected to the aircraft’s pressurised air supply, the G-suit inflates during high-g manoeuvres to help keep your blood in the right spot – the torso and head.

Without the G-suit, the high g loadings of loops, wing-overs and hard turns can make a pilot or passenger pass out…

If you need further proof, google my mate Grant Denyer’s adventures in a piston-engined aerobatic aircraft and watch the video… Jets build g faster and hold it on for longer.

After briefings, suiting up and a full pre-flight, all of a sudden I’m actually strapped into the L-39. I lock down the canopy, plug in the helmet and intercom and keep quiet as Mike deals with air traffic control (ATC) and the start-up checklist.

Later, there are a few items I have to check off for him in the rear cockpit, which adds to the impression that this is getting very real.

Although I’ve flown in plenty of conventional aircraft, this is my first time in a proper military jet. And while it’s no FA-18, the L-39’s performance is right at the peak of what mere mortals are likely to get the chance to experience.

The single Russian-built turbofan Ivchenko AI-25TL engine develops around 3800 pounds of thrust – the boffins say this equates to around the same number in horsepower.

As the L-39 weighs in at around 4200kg ready for take-off, it’s not far off the magic (for hypercars) 1000hp/tonne.

Start-up is on the button and the engine is smooth and quiet – even as Mike brings the thrust up prior to take-off. The take-off roll itself is much shorter than I expect and in what seems like an average 0-100km/h run, we’re wheels up and gathering speed just a few metres off the runway surface.

As the piano keys at the end of the runway come into view, the L-39 bounds skywards and rolls into an effortless left-hand bank and we’re on our way. A few moments later, we’re climbing as quickly as ATC will allow, flying southwards, past Melbourne CBD, and heading for the bottom end of Port Phillip Bay.

The refit and modifications Melbourne Jet Fighters’ L-39 has undergone means there’s a modern electronic suite that isn’t very far removed from the Audi-style virtual cockpit that Skoda offers now in the top of the range Octavia RS.

Like a super cruise control, the Garmin autopilot takes care of our progress, climbing the plane and locking in our heading on a highway in the sky defined virtually by rectangular boxes that appear on the large display ahead of me.

The system even alerts us to traffic, depicting other aircraft on the screen with icons that clearly show whether they may cross our path. At the speed we’re going not much around today is going to bother us.

The L-39 can fly almost as high as airliners but we’re only looking for 6000ft -- our designated transit altitude -- and almost as quickly as we climb to it, we are in our defined maneuvering area above Queenscliff and across to Ocean Grove.

The L-39’s cruise speed of approaching 300kts might not sound like much but it’s around 540km/h – or 9km per minute.

Mike gives me control to experience a few 2 and 3g turns and when I’m OK with those he asks for the controls back and the proper Melbourne Jet Fighters experience commences.

I do my best to contain the squeals of delight (hardly becoming when you’re being videoed) but the grin (and journalistic objectiveness) is hard to contain. What a hoot.

Truth is 4.8g gets your attention – even for short periods. I can fully appreciate how some people might feel a little worse for wear, but all the time Mike’s on the intercom to check in on my welfare – tailoring the ride to suit.

After a series of manoeuvres, including a mock strafing run on Parliament (err… I mean, Mud Island), as a ‘candidate pilot’ I’m offered control of the aircraft again.

With a little bit of familiarisation now, I’m able to put aside the ‘wow’ and appreciate the weighting and accuracy of the controls.

Like a very well honed sports or racing car, the L-39 responds instantly to driver input.

The lateral response needs only pressure, rather than aggressive movement on the stick. Pitching the nose up or down requires significantly more effort – just what you want when trainee pilots are sometimes prone to forgetting where the ground is!

Throttle response is not what we’d expect from a lifetime of piston engines – turbines require a little time to spool up and down. Think of an old-school turbo engine with its old-school turbo lag and you get the idea.

My time at the controls gives me the thrill of taking the L-39 down to about 1000ft, where the near-600km/h speed starts to become apparent.

The view from the L-39’s elevated rear seat is amazing – with plexiglass in almost every direction, it’s more akin to sitting on the plane than in it.

Lower still would really liven things up but I’m not sure the residents of the Surf Coast would be smiling as widely as me.

Accordingly, I don’t request permission to buzz the Ocean Grove surf lifesaving tower. Instead I complete a long looping turn out to sea, arrow back through The Heads and Mike requests control of the aircraft back for the trip home.

There are a significant number of parallels between well-wrought performance cars and the L-39 and, I’m guessing, other performance jets.

What surprised me with the Albatros was the refinement. Perhaps I expected more vibration, more fumes, more compromises. What I experienced was a relatively quiet, smooth and polished experience.

You strap the L-39 on (almost literally) but you do so in a cockpit that’s relatively roomy, has a view bettered only by the front seat, and in air-conditioned and pressurised comfort. Most race cars are more claustrophobic and hard to get in and out of.

But for an extreme novice pilot like me, the ‘driving’ experience was the most compelling. The sense of control was very similar to a very best-sorted racers and sports cars. Sure, you can get in over your head, but the craft is telling you how you’re performing every inch of the way.

We’ve spent much longer in the air than I’d expected or even perceived – time flies when you’re having fun. As we touch down and taxi back to base, I’m still buzzing…

But also, I’m instantly weary – it’s a bit like your first race or even first serious racetrack laps. The amount of energy you’re expending catches you out.

The canopy, already heavy and requiring a proper technique to open, is now like lead. As I press it open and the fresh air flows into the canopy, I sit quietly to gather my thoughts.

The first of which is… When can I do this again?

Hot hatches and even hot wagons are fun. Fast jets are in a different league…

You can experience the L-39

Melbourne Jet Fighters offers a range of fast jet experiences from its base at Essendon Airport, in Melbourne’s north-western suburbs.

The Flight Crew Observer Program is designed for “those who primarily wish to experience the sensations of military jet flight, without necessarily exploring the associated flight crew aspects”. It includes pre-briefings, a 30-minute (approx) flight and costs $2950.

The Flight Crew Candidate Program is 60 minutes (approx) in duration and includes aspects of flight crew operation. The Candidate Program mirrors our experience – without the Skodas!

Says Melbourne Jet Fighters: “[The Candidate] flight is wider ranging and is designed to show you some of the aspects of jet flight that a flight cadet would be exposed to at this stage in their training, together with a more comprehensive discussion of technical matters during the pre-flight phase.”

The cost for the Flight Crew Candidate Program is $3950.

For more information on the range of Melbourne Jet Fighters experiences, tel (03) 9379 9299 or visit its website.