KITS 10/2022
Z-326M, No. 612, private owner, Točná airfield, Czech Republic, summer 2022
The ČSLA (Czechoslovak Air Force) took delivery of ten
C-305s, the military modification of the Z-326. It was
handed over to the Army on December 14, 1960. During
the service it underwent two overhauls, the second one
was completed just seven days before the handover
to the Prievidza Aero Club on July 29, 1971. There the
A/C received the matriculation OK-OTP and on December 29, 1979, it was converted to the Z-326M standard
by installation of the M-137 engine. It stayed in Prievidza after the dissolution of Czechoslovakia with the
Slovak matriculation OM-OTP. The aircraft made its
last flight in red, white and black paint on May 25, 2008,
when the crew Jánošík/Chupek flew it from Prievidza
to the new owner. The aircraft was to be hung from
the ceiling of a private museum and the green paint
was planned to imitate Bf 109. Before the wing spars
could be irreversibly damaged, as it was planned to
anchor the cables to them, the A/C was purchased and
transported to Prague by Karel Toman. He planned to
bring it back to airworthy condition. In 2012 the project
was taken over by Milan Mikulecký. After a complete
overhaul by Zlin-Avion Service, the aircraft received
some military equipment and paintwork according to
the factory drawing for C-305. According to contemporary documentation and testimonies, the 0612 was
delivered in this livery, but only photographs of simple
silver paint finish are known. The alternative marking
0610 can be used to build historically documented
C-305 in these colors.
Z-326MF, No. 925, private owner, Yverdon, Switzerland, 2018
The aircraft from the last production run of Z-326 is
one of those exported to France. There it received the
F-BORV matriculation in 1967. After retirement from
service in France it was put into storage for some
time and later sold to a private owner in Switzerland.
There it was repaired and operated in a new livery,
but with the original powerplant. In 2015 and 2016
the aircraft was converted by Zlin-Avion Service to
the Z-326MF version and returned to its home base
in Yverdon consequently. The livery evokes the look
of American Navy aircraft from the 1930s.
Z-326, No. 908, private owner, Reykjavik, Iceland, 2020
This Z-326 became the first ever aerobatic aircraft in
Iceland. It set off from Czechoslovakia to the island
country on July 14, 1966, first by rail, then by ship.
It has changed several owners in Iceland. Today, it is
owned by Helgi Rafnsson. Among the pilots who put
October 2022
their hands on the controls of this aircraft is also one
of Icelandic most famous pilots, Magnus Norðdahl. The
former airline commercial pilot and DC-4 captain was
born in 1928 and even after his 80th birthday he was
still performing great aerobatics with TF-ABC inclu-
ding the famous “Lomcovac” on various occasions.
The aircraft got an unusual livery in Iceland. The painting overlays all the stencilling; it was not restored.
The number 168 on the vertical fin does not correspond
to the serial number, as usual with other Treners.
INFO Eduard
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