BLANIK AMERICA delivers to the USAF Academy . . .
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Past milestones:
USAF receives another L33 Solo. Blanik America delivered in September 2003 another L33 Solo to the U.S. Air Force Academy. The Air Force designated it as TG-10D. It is equipped identically as the L33s previously delivered to the Academy.
The USAF Academy received all the Blaniks originally ordered. On November 21, the USAF Academy received the last of the 21 gliders they ordered from Blanik America, exactly thirteen months to date after the supply contract was signed.
The USAF Academy officially switched to Blaniks. On August 30, 2002, the USAF held the unveiling ceremony at the Cadet Parade Field, introducing the new glider fleet to the gathered crowds of cadets, their parents and other official visitors to the Academy. The fleet designation for the new gliders is TG-10B for L23 Super Blaniks, TG-10C for L13AC Blaniks, and TG-10D for L33 Solos. The USAF Academy instructors and cadets have been flying in the new gliders since the Spring of 2002 already, gradually transitioning from the old Schweizers 2-33s, as the new gliders keep arriving (most of them have been delivered already). The Academy now has switched to Blaniks exclusively.
In early April 2002, the United States Air Force received the first three of the twenty one gliders it ordered from BLANIK AMERICA, INC., to replace its aging fleet of training gliders at the Air Force Academy in Colorado. The gliders delivered were one L23 Super Blanik, one L13AC Blanik, and one L33 Solo, with their respective TV-1 and TV-2 trailers, and related accessories. The gliders were delivered at the Edwards Air Force Base for evaluation, certification, and acceptance. The approval of these first three gliders now triggers the definite acceptance of the remaining eighteen gliders. Of those, three left the factory already in April, to be delivered this time directly to the USAF Academy near Colorado Springs. The rest of the order is to be filled in a steady stream of monthly deliveries, with the last units arriving by Fall of 2002.
The gliders are manufactured by LETECKE ZAVODY a.s. in the Czech Republic (known previously as LET Aeronautical Works, which adopted its new name Letecke Zavody in August of 2001.) This factory has been making gliders for over fifty years continuously. The factory's main products are twin turboprop commuter airliners of which the L-410 is the most known. The factory has manufactured over one thousand L-410s and over three thousand gliders so far.
The trailers are manufactured by AEROSPOOL SK s.r.o. in the Slovak Republic. This factory has also expanded beyond trailer manufacturing (having delivered over one hundred trailers already), and is now a major composite glider refurbishing and components manufacturing center. Most recently Aerospool has developed a racy two-place composite power plane named "Dynamic".
Other suppliers involved in the USAF contract include the Czech instrument manufacturers LUN (airspeed indicators, compasses, varios), Japanese United Instruments (altimeters), German Walter Dittel GmbH (radios), ILEC Gmbh (flight computers and varios), Garrecht GmbH (data loggers), Gadringer (seat belts), American manufacturers Mountain High (oxygen) and Ameri-King (ELTs)
The USAF military designations for the new trainers are TG-10B for the L23 Super Blanik, TG-10C for the L13AC Blanik, and TG-10D for the L33 Solo gliders.
The USAF has ordered eight TG-10B (L23s) in the basic configuration for the main training program. Both panels include the LUN airspeed indicator, UI altimeter, LUN compass, and LUN mechanical variometer, with the AM-10 G-meter, Dittel FSG-71M VHF radio, ILEC SN-10B flight computer with an additional RAZ analog indicator and the repeater in the rear panel, VL-01 Volkslogger GPS data logger, a data port, power management panel with fuses, master switch, switches for batteries, and battery state indicator.
Additionally, the USAF has ordered four more TG-10B (L23s) in the enhanced configuration for the wave flying training program. These TG-10Bs have, in addition to the equipment listed for the basic TG-10Bs, also the EDS oxygen system and the ELT emergency locator transmitter with the remote control unit on the front panel. For the TG-10B gliders, two Aerospool TV-2 glider trailers were ordered.
The five TG-10C (L13AC) gliders, certificated in the standard aerobatic category, have identical panel layouts and instruments as the basic LG-10Bs, however, are equipped without the electronic navigation instruments (less the ILEC and Volkslogger). They do have in addition also a smoke system, triggered by a secure switch in the aft instrument panel. Each TG-10C comes also with its own Aerospool TV-2 glider trailer so that the Academy can participate at air shows and aerobatic contests around the country.
For solo training the USAF has ordered four TG-10D (L33s). Their equipment consists of LUN airspeed indicator, UI altimeter, LUN compass, ILEC SB-9 electric audio vario, Dittel FSG-71M VHF radio, ILEC SN-10B flight computer with an additional RAZ analog indicator, VL-01 Volkslogger GPS data logger, data port, power management panel with fuses, master switch, switches for batteries, battery state indicator, the EDS oxygen system and the ELT emergency locator transmitter with the remote control unit on the front panel. For the TG-10D (L33s) gliders, four Aerospool TV-1 glider trailers were ordered to enable them to travel to contests around the country.
| On Tuesday April 9, 2002, the first of the new gliders for the USAF Academy were delivered at the Edwards Air Force flight testing base in California. |
Photo reprinted with permission of the U.S. Air Force and the U.S. Air Force Museum at Edwards AFB
Photo printed with permission of the U.S. Air Force
| Vitek Siroky of Blanik America handed over the three gliders to the representatives of the USAF Academy at this huge hangar. Delivered were gliders L13AC Blanik, L23 Super Blanik, and the L33 Solo; trailers TV-1 and TV-2 for each glider, and a supply of spare parts and accessories. |
Photo reprinted with permission of the U.S. Air Force and the U.S. Air Force Museum at Edwards AFB
| The gliders were shipped inside their trailers inside marine containers from the factory in the Czech Republic via truck, rail, and ship and unloaded at the Edwards AFB warehouse (a). From there the trailers were driven to the assembly hangar (b) where the gliders were unloaded and assembled.The FAA certificated the gliders there. The gliders were then aerotowed to the flight testing location (c) during the acceptance flights by the USAF Academy representative. After acceptance, the gliders were handed over to the Edwards Test Pilot School. The school assigned the gliders to six of its students as their graduation project. |
LETECKÉ ZÁVODY performs the test flights at its factory airport in Kunovice, Czech Republic...
| (The text below refers to
the pictures above) "On Wednesday March 6 of this year at the Kunovice airport, test pilot Stanislav Sklenár performed the factory certification flights of the first three manufactured gliders L13AC Blanik (ser. no. 028902), L23 Super Blanik (ser. no. 029005), and L33 Solo (ser. no. 020520) of altogether 21 units destined for the United States Air Force. The same day here the Czech Civil Aviation Authority inspectors Ing. Svatopluk Vlcek and Ing. Tomáš Shrbený performed their airworthiness certification inspection flights. The production samples were then disassembled, and together with their transport trailers loaded into three marine containers, and shipped to the Edwards Air Force flight testing base in California where Letecké Závody's commercial representative in the U.S.A., Mr. Vitek Siroky (of Blanik America, Inc.) will ultimately deliver them to the USAF 94th Training Squadron." Reprinted with permission from the Czech Aviation bi-weekly "AVIATION AND COSMONAUTICS" 2002 Issue No. 7, page 2 (inside front cover), published March 29, 2002. |
The above two photos are from the March 2002 factory test flight of the first L33 Solo for the USAF Academy. |
OPERATIONAL EVALUATIONS prior to the supply contract award:
BLANIK AMERICA
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