KITS 01/2022

Z-126, OK-JHD, No. 817, private owners, Chotěboř airfield, 2021

This Z-126 was test-flown on March 3, 1955 and stored afterwards until February 1, 1957. At that time it was given the OK-JHD matriculation, and the military commission took over this trainer a week later. It was then used by Regional Aero Club Liberec. Due

to its intense service, it had to undergo its first overhaul in 1959 by LOTN (Trenčín Aircraft Repairs). The second overhaul followed

in 1966 and the third in 1974, this time at Aerotechnik Kunovice, where the aircraft received a brick orange livery with a dark red

stripe. In this form it was serving until September 1979. A year later it was deleted from the register and remained disassembled

in the hangar of the Liberec Aero Club where over the years became a spare parts source. Then, two members of the Chotěboř

Aero Club found it there some 20 years later and decided to buy it and make it to fly again. They also wanted their Trener to be given

a historically accurate marking. Their first choice was the design in which the Z-126 OK-IMB flew in the 1970´s in Chotěboř and

neighbor Aero Clubs. However, as they lacked good reference materials, the choice fell on the color scheme based on the coloring

of the aircraft of the famous Olomouc woman aerobatic group which was flying in 1957. The OK-JHD was test-flown in this form on

October 13, 2007 in Otrokovice. Since then, it has been operated on the Chotěboř airfield and used not only by its owners but also

by other pilots of the local Aero Club.

Z-126, D-EYGL, No. 796, private owner, Straubing Airport, Germany, 2020

The aircraft was manufactured in 1954 with wooden tail surfaces, but already as Z-126. It was handed over to the Svazarm (Union

for civilian cooperation with army) on December 17 the same year. From that time on it was serving with Kralupy nad Vltavou, Gottwaldov and Holešov Aero Clubs (there until 1978). In 1992 it was bought by Emmax Uherské Hradiště company and a year later sold

to a private owner from Strážnice. After overhaul by ZLIN-AVION Service in 1994, the OK-IGL was operated at Kunovice airfield

and changed hands again around 2000. After a few years the owner sold it to German taker and the aircraft was given German

matriculation D-EYGL, as more appropriate D-EIGL was not available.

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eduard

INFO Eduard - January 2022