BOXART STORY

#82183

Happy crab

When the first prototype Z-326, serial number

301 with the OK-90 matriculation (later

changed to OK-LHA), took off at 9.20 a.m on

August 12, 1957, it marked a further extension

of the Z-26 series production. It was to

end with the Z-226 version, but persistent

interest abroad eventually exacted not only

the resumption of production, but also a fairly

significant modernization of the entire design.

The Z-326 with its retractable undercarriage

and new cockpit canopy moved further away

from the original design of a wooden wing

and tailplane underpowered aircraft with

a four-cylinder engine. In the form of the

Z-326 Trener Master, it was an all-metal,

six-cylinder aircraft with the aforementioned

retractable landing gear, which, like the

Z-226T, was also very good in aerobatics

(though not as good, being heavier) and could

also be used for basic training of both civilian

and military pilots, as well as for flying for

fun or towing gliders.

The Czechoslovak People’s Army ordered ten

C-305s, a slightly modified military version

of the civilian version, after good experience

with the previous C-5, C-105 and C-205

versions. These aircraft, delivered in 1960,

sported several minor changes. They had

small signal lights on the undercarriage leg

covers, illumination of the cockpit and flares

dispenser with a small control panel in the

cockpit. The undercarriage lights were not

there to illuminate the surface during taxi,

but to signal the undercarriage is down. As

the C-305s had all the instruments needed

April 2023

Text: Richard Plos

Illustration: Adam Tooby

for night flying, future military pilots did so.

A young pilot often had a full plate during his

first night solos, even with such an easy-tocontrol aircraft the Trener was. So, the risk

of forgetting to deploy the landing gear and

subsequently bellying the aircraft was high.

Two small lights therefore signaled to the

observer on the ground the landing gear of

the aircraft was down. In case no lights were

visible a flare was fired to “wake up” the pilot,

who either still had time to get the wheels

down or he had not and then retracted the

flaps, gave the full throttle and went for

another try.

C-305s were also used for training Indonesian

pilots in Czechoslovakia then nearly all of

them were gradually handed over to Svazarm

(organization for cooperation between civilian

sector and army) from 1970. The aircraft with

number 0610 was among the last to be handed

over. This was done in September 1972 and

the aircraft was assigned to the Kladno Aero

Club and obtained the OK-OTE registration. It

was one of the C-305s that were delivered

to the army in simple aluminum overpaint

instead of the more attractive green-blue

metallic supplemented with blue and white

stripes on the fuselage. And in this form the

former 0610 began its civilian career. Not long

afterwards, a cartoon of a cheerful crab was

painted on the left side of the engine cowling.

The painting was inspired by the wellknown author of animal-themed cartoons,

Pavel Kantorek. In addition, the front of the

engine cover was painted blue while the

wing tips and the upper part of the vertical

stabilizer were painted red. A little later, the

undercarriage covers got black paint with

two stripes (presumably white). Later still,

as part of the overhaul, OK-OTE received

a red paint job in standard Z-226, but it can’t

be said to have helped its appearance... In the

end, however, it got the attractive metallic

military coloring mentioned above. It was

done in the Zbraslav Aero Club in 2008 after

the aircraft was repaired from a previous

accident. Today it is in the possession of the

Military Historical Institute, unfortunately in

a non-airworthy condition.

In 1972, however, it was still in good shape,

albeit with one limitation: “OK-OTE was

classified in Normal category and thus was

not allowed to fly aerobatics. It was due to

the collision with another C-305 in which it

suffered major fuselage damage during its

military career. Before it was modified for

towing of gliders, we used it only for training

day and night and for navigation flights,”

recalls Jasoň Kučera, a long-time member of

the Kladno Aero Club.

On the boxart of kit No. 82183, made by Adam

Tooby, an unspecified aeroclub member

from Kladno is flying with OK-OTE over

the beautiful landscape of the Křivoklát

Protected Landscape Area. Apparently before

the OK-OTE got the towing equipment, and

also before the landscape below became the

PLA Křivoklát...

INFO Eduard

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