At first glance, the aircraft resembles a World War II fighter. According to Hrabec, this is no coincidence. "It is indeed a training aircraft, but it is structurally based on the Soviet fighter Yak-3. When our army was looking for a suitable aircraft for advanced pilot training after World War II, the choice fell on the Yak-11, which began to be produced here in Kunovice under the designation C-11. It was one of the first aircraft manufactured here, which led to the establishment of an entirely new factory," explained the museum director the significance of the aircraft for Kunovice.
And in the same area where this aircraft was produced nearly 70 years ago, its restoration also took place. The project involved Aircraft Industries, which is the successor of the then manufacturer – the national enterprise Let. "Aircraft Industries provided not only the necessary facilities for the renovation but also the required know-how. Without them, we could hardly imagine such an extensive project," claims Hrabec.
The museum received most of the funding for the restoration from the Ministry of Culture. "We would like to thank the ministry very much for the trust it has placed in us, after all, it was not a small amount. Just in the second phase, it was more than 400 thousand. We have been preparing the restoration of this very important aircraft for us for several years, and we are very pleased that it has finally succeeded," emphasized the museum director.
However, the project was not only worked on in Kunovice. "Our colleagues from the Military Historical Institute in Prague helped us a lot with the preparation of the materials. But actually, it was an international project because whether it was about fine-tuning the colors or some technical matters, experts from Poland were also involved," added Lukáš Skláda, secretary of the Historical Commission of the Aviation Museum in Kunovice.
The completed aircraft would be ideally exhibited by the museum next summer. "This is really an exceptional aircraft for us, and we want it to last in this form for as long as possible. Therefore, we decided that we would only exhibit it during the part of the season when our museum is visited by the most people, which is precisely during the summer," plans Hrabec. In other parts of the year, the museum staff would like to keep the aircraft under a roof. However, they do not have their own exhibition hangar, so they must seek shelter with neighbors.
"The official unveiling of the aircraft will take place 70 years after its first flight. At the same time, we would like to link its presentation with the celebrations of the 90th anniversary of the establishment of the local aircraft factory," Skláda then added regarding the planned exhibition of the aircraft.
