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Albatros in Detail

By Chris Banyai-Riepl

L-39 Albatros Variants C, V, ZA, MS/59, 59E/T, 139 & L-159 Alca
Frantisek Koran & Jan Martinec
Wings & Wheels Publications, ©2001
Present Aircraft Line No. 5
ISBN 80-86416-16-X
Softbound, 120 pages

A good reference book on the most successful jet trainer has been a long time in coming, but with this title we finally have a book that does the L-39 Albatros family the justice it deserves.  First flying in November of 1968, the L-39 and its subsequent variants have ended up in air forces around the world, training pilots of all types.  Nearly 3,000 airframes have been built to date, with an accumulated total of over 4 million flight hours.

This book is up to the usual standards of WWP Photo Manuals, which means that if you want to open up every hatch on the MPM 1/48 L-39 kit, this book will show you a picture of what's behind them.  The book starts out with a general type breakdown of the different L-39 variants, then goes into close detail of various areas, starting with the wing & tailplanes, then the fuselage.  Engine, cockpit, fuel tanks, even the protective covers for various intakes all get photographic treatment here.

If you're interested in the L-39 Albatros, this is an excellent book that both covers the history of the type as well as provide a detailed photo reference for the modeler.