HISTORY

and myself

PERFECT TRAINER

I’d like to write about my experience in

Treners but it may turn into the reflection

from the point of view of an ATP and CFI

rather than point of view of the veteran Aero

Club member or „vintage aviator“ who has

a bunch of true, sometimes not-that-true

and sometimes funny stories to tell. I’d like

to focus on the historically enormous utility and importance the Trener-series aircraft

had on training the ATPs and in that way

contributed to the enhanced commercial

flight safety.

I think that up until today, the aircraft radiates the technical talent of the

designers, Mr. Karel Tomas, Svatopluk Zamecnik and others. And the

old saying that if the aircraft looks good it also flies well seems to be

particularly true about this airplane. Another very strong feature of the

Trener series concept is the great versatility which supported the pilot’s

curriculum from basic to advanced training, night flying, basic instrument flying, glider towing, intermediate and advanced maneuvering and

aerobatics.

Like a slightly under-performing glider

I graduated from the University of Zilina from commercial pilot program

flying Zlin aircraft series- 42/142/43 which replaced Trener family. I think

it’s a very good airplane for the basic training even though it neither looks that good nor flies that well. While practicing the engine failure procedure it glides „as a falling stone“ so no long decision-making, let’s go

land straight in front of you, maybe one turn at the higher altitude but

that’s it. Same thing with the landing: throttle back, pull the stick, flare at

the right altitude and you’re down. But C-105 (military marking for Z-126,

translator´s note) is a different animal, it’s like an under-performing glider. I personally experienced flying Trener, mostly Z-126 OM-PLP, after

I finished the primary training. The airplane is very sensitive in the air, it

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eduard

TEXT: TOMÁŠ HRUŠKA

demands 110 % hands-feet coordination to keep the ball in the center of

the turn-and-bank indicator to avoid the skidding or slipping turn.

Also, the power of its four-cylinder Minor engine is marginal, so the

throttle has to be handled sensitively. The most challenging maneuver in

Trener is the landing. Three points landing is recommended. There is a

saying among the veteran pilots that once you master landing in Trener

everything else is easier from that point on. Thanks to its clean aerodynamic shapes it glides beautifully for the landing. You need to make

your precise calculations ahead of time and carefully apply throttle and

controls. Once you are close to the ground, at the flare altitude, throttle

back slowly and control the flare as close to the ground as possible. Any

sudden move will induce ballooning and thanks to the ground effect the

C-105 can float for over the half of the runway. And then, when the speed

bleeds off, the pilot hits the ground heavily, „as a sack of potatoes“. To

learn how to gently land the C-105 at the specific point of the runway is

like gently fondle a young lady. Many veteran instructors believe that the

PPL check rides should be flown in Trener so as the pilot can demonstrate if he or she possesses the talent for flying and can perform the

perfect landing as opposed to a half-controlled crash landing.

With the most valuable passenger, daughter Anette (possibly the future modeler or pilot)

in the Boeing 737 cockpit. A little side note for CAA inspectors: pictures were taken after

the landing!

INFO Eduard - November 2021