Author: Dušan Vrážel

At the end of the 1930s, a special courier aircraft was created under the direction of designer Jaroslav Lonek, which, due to its characteristics, was nicknamed “Baťa’s fighter”. With a weak Minor engine, it flew at up to 350 km/h and there were few pilots (we know of two) who would dare to pilot it. By coincidence, the prototype has survived to this day.

In 1938, the new Ba-222.1 was created by evolving from the aerobatic Avia Ba-122. A similar machine had already been built in Avia in 1937 with the NACA engine cowling Rk-17 and a modified fuselage. But it did not prove successful. That is why this new type was created, which no longer has the NACA cowling.

In 1923, a competition was held for a new fighter aircraft. Avia won with the BH-8 and after incorporating the required changes, the BH-17 was created, which was built in series. The model is created by 3D printing.

In the 1930s, after the success of the B-22 trainer, the Avia factory focused on training and aerobatic specials. The Czech army ordered a series of Bš-122s for fitness flights and pilot training. In 1937, the factory took two machines of this type and modified them into new versions of the B-322 and Bš-322. The main change to the Bš-322 was the installation of the Avia Rk-17 engine and the addition of wheel hoods.

When the old Kovozávody Prostějov released a model of the machine, I couldn’t resist as a kid and built it. Later, I found out about its influence on the history of the establishment of the state of Israel and decided to build one of these machines. And when Eduard released the model with the option to build an uncovered engine, I bought everything I needed and here is the result.

In 1924, the Avia factory built a single-seat special BH-9 for record flights. The machine was under military administration and had military markings, and for the most famous flights it received the civilian registration L_BONG, which was applied over the military one. In this article, I describe the pitfalls of building from the KP kit and the necessary modifications to the model.

The Aero factory organized a demonstration flight over Europe and Africa in 1926, where it presented its latest product, the Ab-11. The aircraft selected for the flight was serial number 17, which received the civil registration L_BUCD and a light blue paint job. The kit was published by Special Hobby.

The L-29A is an aerobatic version of the well-known Aero L-29 Delfín two-seater training aircraft.
It was originally marked as L-429 and was created in 1967 in Aero Vodochody in the number of only two pieces.
The aircraft was intended for the planned aerobatic competitions of jet aircraft and underwent considerable “defatting”. Thanks to this, his agility equaled the piston acrobatic specials. Now you can see it in the aviation museum in Kunovice.

For IV. year of the Challenge de Tourisme International race in 1934, the Aero factory prepared a special tourist airplane A-200. It was a machine specially adapted for easy take-off and landing on short and unimproved surfaces, which can be easily folded for transport behind a car. Speed ​​was sacrificed for this by choosing a weaker Walter Bora engine.

In 1929 year, the Š-20.103 aircraft from the fourth production series was handed over to VLÚS (Military Aviation Institute of Studies) for a set of tests. It was used for a number of tests, including with a ski chassis. This particular machine was also modified to be a “photo plane”, where a cutout was made in the lower part of the fuselage for a photo chamber that partially extended outward.

In 1926, the Czechoslovakian Army was conducting a series of complex military manoeuvres, which included a joint training with Czechoslovakian Air Force.
During the training, two opposite groups of aircrafts were created – the “Blues” belonging to LP2 located in Olomouc and “Reds” of LP1 located in Prague.
The plane I decided to build belonged to the Blues, which were equipped with Š-20s (designed by Ing. Antonín Šmolík), specifically Š-20.57 with registration number E1 from 33rd squadron of LP2.

The Praga E-114 was an excellent sports aircraft that was widely used in our flying clubs before and after World War II.
It has several records to its credit and, above all, a lot of trained pilots.
It was designed in the Praga factory in 1934 by Ing. Jaroslav Šlechta as an all-wooden high-wing aircraft and his trademark was the atypical tilting of the upper part of the cabin to facilitate boarding.

In 1916, the French Air Force issued a specification for a new plane, capable of filling reconnaissance and light bomber role.
In response, Emil Samlson submitted his design, later known as Samlson 2.
This design won the trials and after few improvements was put into service starting at 1917. It was produced in two versions – 2A2 as a reconnaissance plane and 2B2 as a light bomber. The Samlson 2 entered the service in our Air Force in 1919, when 49 planes of 2A2 versions, manufactured by Latécoere company, were given out by France. They served until 1923.