Air Show. In the late 1950s, the
Soviet Air Force commenced the search for a suitable jet-powered replacement for its fleet of
piston-engined trainers; over time, this requirement was progressively broadened towards the goal of developing a trainer aircraft that could be adopted and in widespread use throughout the national
air forces of the
Eastern Bloc countries. Around the same time,
Czechoslovakia had also been independently developing its own requirements for a suitable jet successor to its then-current propeller-powered trainer aircraft. The second prototype, which flew shortly thereafter, was instead powered by the Czech-designed
M701 engine. The M-701 engine was used in all subsequent aircraft. During 1961, the third prototype of L-29 plane (prototype "03") was evaluated against the
Polish PZL TS-11 Iskra and the
Russian
Yakovlev Yak-30, the main rival submissions for the
Warsaw Pact's standardised trainer. The thorough 2-months-long examination of all the three planes took place in
Monino airfield near Moscow. The evaluation consisted not only from the test flights themselves but also from assessment of all the technical and tactical criteria expected from the standard jet trainer, as well as from evaluation of other functional and operational aspects like access to individual instruments and aggregates, cockpit ergonomics, ease of service and maintenance, time for engine replacement, and many others. The examination was organized in a very sophisticated manner and managed by a commission composed of representatives of all three countries, headed by Lieutenant General Matveyev from USSR. According to aviation author John C. Fredrikson, this outcome had been highly unexpected and surprising to several observers. Due to the fact that the production of the trainer aircraft was considered in Czechoslovakia anyway regardless of the contest's results (based on Agreements on delimitation of production within the
COMECON), the victory of the domestically designed L-29 was a huge advantage. Regardless of the result, Poland chose to continue to pursue the development and procurement of the TS-11; however, all of the other Warsaw Pact countries decided to adopt the Delfín under the agreements of
COMECON. During April 1963, full-scale production of the L-29 commenced; 3,600 aircraft were manufactured over a production run of 11 years. During its production life, several derivatives of the L-29 were developed, such as a dedicated, single-seat,
aerobatic version, which was designated as the '
L-29A Akrobat
. Another model, an armed reconnaissance version complete with multiple downwards-looking cameras installed in the rear cockpit position, referred to as the L-29R', was also under development; however, during 1965, the L-29R project was terminated. Optional armaments could be installed upon some models, consisting of either a detachable
gun pod or a pod containing up to four unguided
missiles, which could be set upon
hardpoints underneath each wing. ==Design==