Aircraft model
AEROVODOCHODY L-29 DELFIN
Everything here is true of every aircraft of the type, not of any one aircraft.
The Aero L-29 Delfin was the standard jet trainer of the Warsaw Pact, built in Czechoslovakia in numbers of around three and a half thousand, and surplus examples are now the cheapest way an individual can own a jet. A hundred thousand dollars buys a two-seat jet aircraft with a pressurised cockpit and tandem ejection seats.
That price is the hook and the running cost is the reality. The Motorlet M-701 has a very short life between overhauls and its parts come from finite Eastern European surplus stocks with no production behind them; when those run out the aircraft stop. It burns around 140 gallons an hour. In the United States these fly on experimental exhibition certificates with operating limitations, and a pilot needs a Letter of Authorization from the FAA rather than a type rating. It is a serious undertaking, not a cheap aeroplane.
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Put AEROVODOCHODY L-29 DELFIN side by side with up to two other models.
- AEROVODOCHODY L-29 DELFIN
What it is
| Seats | 2 |
|---|---|
| Landing gear | tricycle |
| Engines | 1 |
| Engine | Motorlet M-701 |
| Horsepower | — |
| Fuel | JetA |
| Certification basis | military-surplus |
| Production start | 1963 |
| Production end | 1974 |
| Endorsements required | — |
Performance
| Cruise speed | 300 KTAS |
|---|---|
| Range | 480 nm |
| Service ceiling | 36,000 ft |
| Climb rate | 2,750 ft/min |
| Stall speed (Vso) | 75 KCAS |
| Takeoff over 50 ft | — |
| Landing over 50 ft | — |
Load and fuel
| Seats | 2 |
|---|---|
| Useful load | 2,777 lb |
| Full-fuel payload | 928 lb |
| Max takeoff weight | 7,804 lb |
| Empty weight | 5,027 lb |
| Usable fuel | 276 gal |
| Fuel burn at cruise | 140 gal/h |
Cost of ownership
| Price, low | $60,000 |
|---|---|
| Price, high | $150,000 |
| Prices as of | 2026 |
| Engine TBO | 500 h |
| Overhaul cost, low | $80,000 |
| Overhaul cost, high | $150,000 |
The fleet and its record
| Registered, all time | 119 |
|---|---|
| Active fleet | 67 |
| Median year built | 1967.0 |
| NTSB events, last 10 years | 3 |
| Fatal events, last 10 years | 1 |
| Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years | 44.78 · thin base (low)1 |
| Personal-flying events per 1,000 active | 0 · thin base (low)2 |
| Ownership transfers, last 24 months | 14 |
| Transfers per 100 active | 20.9 · thin base (low)3 |
| Airworthiness directives | 4 |
| Directives, last 5 years | 0 |
| Rate confidence | low |
- Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 67 active.
- Personal-flying events per 1,000 active: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 67 active.
- Transfers per 100 active: per 100 active aircraft · base 67 active.
Peer scores6
| Peer class | Fixed wing single-engine, turbo-jet, 1 engine, 1-2 seats |
|---|---|
| Accident record | —1 |
| Severity | —2 |
| Access | —3 |
| Support | —4 |
| Liquidity | —5 |
- Accident record: class median 0 · 1 models in class.
- Severity: class median 33.33.
- Access: class median 2,654.5.
- Support: class median 67.
- Liquidity: class median 20.9.
- Each of the five categories places the model within its peer class, from 0 (the worst of the class) to 10 (the best): a position among comparable models, not a grade. The overall score is the sum of the categories shown that are scored, out of 10 for each (50 when all five are); it is given only when at least 4 of the five are scored, and it can be set against another model's only when both are in the same peer class and scored on the same categories.