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eduard
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Info Eduard - November 2011
HISTORY
eduard
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Info Eduard - November 2011
wer. The umbilical chord was disconnected from
the aircraft, and the V3S left the vicinity. RPMs
and temperatures were checked to conrm nor-
mal operating levels, followed by a look at all
the instruments, and once satised all’s OK, the
pilot gave the crew chief the ‚thumbs up‘. The
tower gave the OK to leave the apron, and en-
ter the taxi strip, after groundcrew removed the
chocs. All involved took one nal look at all that’s
relevant to the situation The pilot and crew chief
exchanged nods and another ‚thumbs up‘, with
the crew chief also offering a salute. It’s not just
a gesture of boys and their toys - it’s a ‘see ‘ya
later’ to the pilot and machine, and an unspoken,
but well understood, ‘good luck’.
The engine then was revved up, and the bird
began to accelerate. The pilot applied pressu-
re on the brake lever, and the plane came to
a halt with a bow resulting from the transfer
of weight to the nose gear that almost seemed
to thank the brakes for their trustworthy effort.
The brakes and their pressures were OK, so ‚on‘
it was. A turn aligned the aircraft with the cent-
reline off the apron, and the plane was throttled
up to taxi, and the roll began. The apron taxi-
ways are left behind, and the pilot’s heartbeat
was as if he were running alongside the plane.
It’s difcult to keep the exhilaration in check,
even though its been preceded by a hundred
such events. The pilot spotted a cluster of ground
crew at the edge of the taxi way, who signaled
a stop at the end of the runway. It’s the nal
check of the aircraft, and the point of no re-
turn. The groundcrew buzzed around the air-
craft, disappearing beneath the wings, and
conducting their nal mandatory checks in
a well choreographed ritual. At this po-
int, there was no room for overlooking any-
thing. Everything here depends on the trust
between pilot and groundcrew, and that’s to
a very high standard in the air force.
Another thumbs up signied that all’s well,
and the pilot asked the tower for acce-
ss to the runway, and was granted same.
A few metres traveled brings him to the run-
way, and he assumes the position. He chec-
ked the brakes again, and his instruments.
Permission to take-off was obtained, and the
throttle is pushed quickly and smoothly all the
way forward. The afterburner begins to take
effect, and a battle between the aircraft and
the brakes ensues. The brakes are released,
and the pilot was pressed into the back of the
seat as the plane pushed forward. The speed
increased exponentially. The aircraft unsticks,
and begins its ascend towards the heavens.
At that moment, a loud bang reverberated
through the airplane, and that precipitated
a rapid rise in heart rate. It all took a fraction of
a second, and the inevitable questions ra-
ced through the pilot’s mind: ‘bird stri-
ke? What about the engine? What about
the machine? Abort the ight!’ The thoughts were
relentless in their speed, and the eyes were to-
ggling between the instrument panel and out the
clear canopy. The speed brakes were deploy-
ed, and the throttle was pulled back to normal
ight RPMs. The landing strip at Mosnov has
over four-and-a-half kilometers, and hopefully
that would sufce. However, ‘4127‘ was full of
fuel, and she sat down on the runway rather
hard. The brake chute was deployed, but the
end of the runway was coming up damned fast.
It became painfully clear to the pilot, that the
length of the runway would not be enough.
He braced himself for leaving the con-
crete, and this event approached rapi-
dly. Within moments, the aircraft screa-
med through the grass past the end of the
runway, and came to an unnatural stop.
The engine was shut down, and the tower con-
tacted. In the distance, emergency vehicles,
an ambulance, re ghting equipment and the
like, were already on their way. And in an in-
stant, it was all over. Actually, it’s a good en-
ding; the pilot was ne. After a preliminary in-
spection, it was clear that ‘4127‘ had, indeed,
suffered a bird strike. Marks on the fuselage are
a testament to what happened, and the engine
had not been affected, but the pilot could not
have known that he could have simply own on.
He was deemed to have made the right decision.
‘4127‘ did suffer extensive damage in this
incident. The intake was full of soil, and
the engine ingested dirt, and was written
off. To this, was added landing gear da-
mage. Her heart and legs are seriously hurt.
The engine could be changed relatively quick-
ly, but the landing gear damage would require
some time in a repair facility. The scope of the
required work dictated that ‘4127‘ would be
transported to the repair and overhaul facility
at LOK (Kbely Repair Works) in Kbely in Prague.
The subsequent fate of the plane is a bit
of a grey area. It’s not entirely clear wea-
ther or not ‘4127‘ ew after the repairs.
In all likelihood, she was stored at LOK,
and then brought out for general overhaul
in September, 1993. This was completed on March
28th, 1994, with a test ight, and was followed
by assignment to the 4th sslt in Prerov on April
29th, 1994, which was no more than a renamed
82nd Mosnov sslt that was reassigned here in the
meantime. In the scope of the general overhaul,
the plane was stripped of her paint, and so the
Eduard knight had disappeared. Unfortunately,
forever. I also was stationed at Prerov for a short
time around then, and had ample opportunity to
see my ‘4127‘ again, although I would’ve wit-
hout really being aware of it. With the 4th sslt,
‘4127‘ then moved on to Caslav, where this unit
disbanded, and its assets were transferred to the
4th zTL (Tactical Air Force Base), specically the
42nd slt (Fighter Squadron). This included, ofci-
Emblem of the 8. slp (not allowed before 1989)
was based on the historical RAF emblem of No. 313.
(Czechoslovak) Squadron RAF, from which this unit
was established in 1945. This emblem was applied
on the port side only (photo - archive of Michal
and Martin Janoušek).