L-39 Skyfox is a military trainer jet and light combat aircraft designed and manufactured by the Czech company Aero Vodochody. It is a successor of the legendary Cold War era Aero L-39 Albatros; whilst the successful basic concept remains, it is a completely new design using composite materials, a modern turbofan engine and the latest avionics including HUD displays. The new “wet“ wing featuring an integral fuel tank makes the Skyfox recognizable at first sight - the signature wing tip tanks of the Albatros are no longer there.
The L-39 Skyfox is powered by the low-consumption Williams International FJ44-4M turbofan making the operating costs comparable to contemporary turboprop trainers. Five external hardpoints under the wing and fuselage can carry up to 1360 kg payload: 2 external fuel tanks, 12.7mm or 20mm gun pods, unguided rocket blocks, 227kg Mk. 82 free-fall bombs, laser-guided GBU-12 Paveway bombs, training CATM or AIM-9 Sidewinder infrared air-to-air missiles, reconnaissance pods etc.
The serial production started in May 2023 with aircraft for the Czech, Hungarian and Vietnamese Air Forces; at the same time, the upgrade program for the original L-39 Albatros using the Skyfox engines and avionics is running. Well, it seems Czech trainer jets are not going to be missing in the sky in the future... And now you can enjoy flying with our 1088 mm wingspan semi-scale model of this beautiful jet powered by an EDF fan.
The EPO foam fuselage, thoroughly carbon-reinforced, comes with the 80mm EDF fan with C3552-2000 brushless motor, and KAVAN R-100SB Plus ESC featuring a powerful switching SBEC stabilizer necessary to feed all 8 servos aboard. The removable upper tail part of the fuselage secured with screws offers easy access to the fan and motor. The detachable canopy is secured with a pin at the front and one latch in the rear. The cockpit compartment offers a lot of space for your receiver and flight pack
The one-piece EPO wing is reinforced by carbon spars and joined together with a carbon tube joiner. The wing is secured by bolts to the fuselage. The ailerons and flaps are controlled by two pairs of servos installed in the wing driven with short wire push rods; there are position and landing LED lights installed as well.
The empennage is made of EPO foam. The elevator and rudder servos are installed in the fin and fuselage.
The tricycle retractable undercarriage has a steerable nose leg; all legs are telescopic and spring-loaded.
L-39 is powered by the 80mm EDF fan with 11-blade rotor, C3552-2000 brushless motor with the KAVAN R-100SB Plus 100A ESC.
You will need a 22.2V 3700–5000mAh flight pack (at least 40C, 60C preferred) to fly your Skyfox.
You will need at least a 6-channel RC set to control your Skyfox; even a non-computer radio would work as the aileron, flap, rudder and steerable front undercarriage servos are controlled by a single channel each (linked via the pre-installed connection board). The board feeds the LED lights as well; the connected sequencer controls the retracts. The instruction manual contains a thoroughly tested set-up table in order to help you set up the L-39 easily.
ARTF set contents: EPO fuselage with the EDF, brushless motor, 100A ESC, and 4 servos installed, EPO wing with 4 servos and LED lights installed, EPO empennage and instruction manual.
Online instruction manual: wiki.kavanrc.com
Wing span [mm] | 1088 |
Length [mm] | 1369 |
Weight [g] | 2550 - 2750 |
Wing surface [dm2] | 25 |
Controlled functions | S,V,K,M,P(3),F,Noseleg |
Build difficulty | S0,S1 |
Operating difficulty | P3 |