3 June 2019:AERO Vodochody AEROSPACE a.s. has been contracted by Czech Ministry of Defence for maintenance of 16 L-159 aircraft in four years. The PP16 contract is worth CZK1.6 billion.
The PP16 is the second regular maintenance check of single seat L-159s. The first ever check was which was performed by Aero in 2009-2013. The PP16 contract consists of the renewal of the operating period for the next eight years. The maintenance work comprises of checking all parts of the aircraft including all the equipment.
Several other upgrades are part of the contract besides the necessary maintenance. One of the upgrades is making adjustments to use of NVG (night vision goggles): adaptation of the cockpit and installation of internal and external airplane lighting (positional, anti-collision and formation lights). Aero will work with the Czech army to make the whole L-159 fleet NVG compatible. All L-159T2 aircraft, which will enter service of the Czech Air Force in the coming days, are prepared for training in night vision; adaptation for NVG is also part of upgrade of L-159T1 to T1 .
Also another important upgrade is installation of ESIS - Electronic Standby Instrument System, able to substitute different standby instruments and provide the pilot with attitude, altitude, airspeed, vertical speed and heading data in the event of a panel failure. Aero has already installed ESIS to L-159T1 aircraft operated by the Czech Army.