Flight Training Center (, CLV) is a

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus *Czech (surnam ...

civilian provider of military training programs for both

fixed-wing A fixed-wing aircraft is a heavier-than-air aircraft, such as an airplane, which is capable of flight using Lift (force), aerodynamic lift. Fixed-wing aircraft are distinct from rotorcraft, rotary-wing aircraft (in which a Helicopter rotor, r ...

and

rotary-wing aircraft A rotary-wing aircraft, rotorwing aircraft or rotorcraft is a heavier-than-air aircraft with rotary wings that spin around a vertical mast to generate lift. Part 1 (Definitions and Abbreviations) of Subchapter A of Chapter I of Title 14 of the ...

based at

Pardubice Airport Pardubice Airport () is both military and civilian international airport in the city of Pardubice, Czech Republic. Apart from the military purpose, it is used for scheduled services, charter flights to Southern Europe during the summer season ...

. CLV is a division of the

state-owned enterprise A state-owned enterprise (SOE) is a business entity created or owned by a national or local government, either through an executive order or legislation. SOEs aim to generate profit for the government, prevent private sector monopolies, provide goo ...

LOM Praha whose

common stock Common stock is a form of corporate equity ownership, a type of security. The terms voting share and ordinary share are also used frequently outside of the United States. They are known as equity shares or ordinary shares in the UK and other C ...

is 100% owned by the Ministry of Defence of the Czech Republic. Since April 2004, Flight Training Center Pardubice has been providing complete training for pilots of the

Czech Air Force The Czech Air Force () is the air force branch of the Army of the Czech Republic, Army of Czechia. Along with the Czech Land Forces, Land Forces, the Air Force is the major Czech military force. With traditions of military aviation dating back to ...

but it also offers its services to foreign customers. Courses are thought and supervised by retired military pilots, such as former

JAS 39 Gripen The Saab JAS 39 Gripen ( ; English: ''Griffin'') is a light single-engine supersonic multirole fighter aircraft manufactured by the Swedish aerospace and defence company Saab AB. The Gripen has a delta wing and canard configuration with rela ...

and

Red Bull Air Race The World Championship Air Race is a series of air races sanctioned by the World Air Sports Federation (FAI). Originally established in 2003 as the Red Bull Air Race, and created by Red Bull GmbH, the event involves competitors navigating a ...

pilot Martin Šonka.

History

In 2000, the 34th Training Air Base based at Pardubice Airport was renamed as 34th Special Air Base. On 1 April 2004, the military base was transformed into civilian Flight Training Center. On 2 December 2021, the Flight Training Center (CLV) and the International Flight Training School (IFTS) were selected as the initial two

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

Flight Training Europe (NFTE) Training Campuses. L-39NG 0478 CLV

In May 2024, LOM Praha and

Lockheed Martin The Lockheed Martin Corporation is an American Arms industry, defense and aerospace manufacturer with worldwide interests. It was formed by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta on March 15, 1995. It is headquartered in North ...

signed a cooperation agreement, which includes plans to establish a European

F-35 Lightning II The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is an American family of single-seat, single-engine, supersonic Stealth aircraft, stealth strike fighters. A multirole combat aircraft designed for both Air superiority fighter, air superiority and att ...

training center within the CLV facility in Pardubice. The training will be focusing on Czech Air Force F-35 pilots but accommodating foreign aviators in a 75-25 ratio. Lockheed Martin approved Zlín Z-142 and

Aero L-39 Skyfox The Aero L-39 Skyfox, also known as Aero L-39NG ("Next Generation"), is a turbofan-powered military Trainer aircraft, trainer and light combat aircraft developed and produced by the Czech aircraft manufacturer Aero Vodochody. It is a successor ...

as suitable platforms for F-35 training.

Aircraft

CLV aircraft used for the training of military pilots are registered in the military aviation register administered by the Department of Military Aviation Authority of the Czech Ministry of Defence. One Z-142 and one Z-43 intended for additional civil training are registered in the Civil Aviation Register kept by the Civil Aviation Authority as OK-PNE and OK-WOI respectively.

Ordered

Current inventory

References

External links