Pete Fleischmann

It’s a pretty cool place for sure- some big-brain people there making all the magic happen. Grateful to be a part of it. cheers P

No worries Mark- Yes! Moved out west to Iowa right before Christmas. P

great question! But I suppose if you grew up with that system and that’s all you ever knew..it’d be no big deal. I keep telling myself “19 year old Russian kids do this!” once you get it though- you GET it. I tell everyone transitioning to the L-39 from other jets that Taxiing will be the most frustrating part of training; and then one day it magically clicks. cheers P

the L-39, L-29, and many other Eastern European aircraft have systems to steer the aircraft on the ground that are unfamiliar to western pilots. To steer the L-39 and L-29, for example, there are no toe brakes. There is instead a brake lever on the stick (you can see the silver lever forward of the grip in the image above). To steer the aircraft, kick the rudder pedal fully in the direction you want to turn, then squeeze the brake lever. The system will meter brake pressure to the main wheel corresponding to the rudder you displaced..and you turn! but wait- it gets better- the nosewheel free casters..so you are constantly swinging the rudder pedals left/right to stay on centerline, with corresponding brake input. The brake lever is not on/off either. More brake lever displacement gives more brake authority. learning how much lever displacement you need takes practice. it’s kind of like trying to taxi a taildragger backwards. a little taxi speed helps a lot. Get the old girl rolling at a good clip and the ocillations dampen out. Stopping with the nose wheel centered takes some practice. Stopping straight ahead? Easy in theory- just center the pedals and squeeze the lever..but that assumes your free castering nose wheel is already straight. the L-39 used hydraulic pressure for the brakes. The L-29 brakes are pneumatic, and they are more squirrelly than the L-39. there you go! P

the L-29 is a very honest airplane..what you see is what you get. Well balanced flight controls, simple systems, and overall easy to fly and very forgiving. underpowered; but for a trainer that’s not such a bad thing. visibility is good. Lands slow. Ground handling is tricky like the L-39. Speedbrakes are not very effective; but no pitching moment due to their location. All of this is good; because the OPL jets I’m flying have some pretty cosmic systems installed to mirror the F-35…and that is taking up most of my bandwidth! Haven’t flown with the F-35 helmet yet, but that is coming- cheers Pete

Hi Ali- I’d be very interested! And would throw money at that! cheers Pete

Running an F-18 grip in the L-29 cheers P

1st two training sorties in the L-29 today! little different; but also very similar to the L-39 good stuff P

Good read. Certainly resonates with me. I find the whole contest thing absolute agony from start to finish. With regard to LSP; I teach a little, learn a little..but certainly get way more than I give. Grateful for that. cheers P

Preach it Woody! P

The Tomcat was no dogfighter though. Trust me- I fought the Tomcats from Oceana many times. I’ve got miles of HUD tape of that jet. Awesome build Crew Dog! Looks like a few Trumpeter challenges to overcome, and enjoying watching it come together! cheers Pete

outstanding brother! Very psyched for you! best of luck on your checkride! Remember the checkride rule of 3 “D’s”: as long as you don’t do something “dumb”, “different “ or “dangerous “ you’ll be good! let us know when you are done! best P

I think if you’ve soloed , you’re a pilot. If you took off, flew around, and landed without dying- then you’ve done something that most people haven’t. My wife’s uncle Mike owned a Cherokee 140. He only ever had a Student pilots Certificate. He kept the aircraft on my wife’s family’s 1000+ acre ranch in Nebraska, and used the aircraft to check the wells on the ranch. He got to solo and quit taking lessons. Flew that damn airplane like that for years- kinda surprised he didn’t kill himself. cheers P

Apparently today is world pilot day? So if you are a pilot, have a great day! Click me cheers P