On February 25, 2004 the author visited the sole fighter base of the
Czech Air Force
at Čáslav.
In the maintenance hall MiG-21MFN, MiG-21MF (seen here) ...
... and MiG-21UM were overhauled. The twin-seaters also show the current colour scheme but did not get new equipment.
Once a day the QRA takes off for a training flight. The MiG-21MFN shown here was the last MiG-21 upgraded by
LOK Kbely.
The QRA aircraft carry R-60 missiles on the inner pylons.
What else could be seen ...
... was the L-159 ALCA. The L-159 fleet is due to be reduced from 71 aircraft to a much smaller number.
The author wishes to thank all members of Czech Air Force who made the visit
possible, especially Ms. Jitka Macháčková and First Lieutenant Michal Prejzek.
Den Otevřených Dveří und Squadron Exchange Čáslav (Czechia) 2004
During the Open Day on June 26, 2004 and the subsequent squadron exchange with Belgian F-16s the Czech MiG-21s were
pretty active.
Strange: 4405 takes off with full afterburner and extended air brakes.
For the first time after a long break a Czech MiG-21 made a (albeit short) solo display.
In the static display beside a MiG-21MFN one of the two MiG-21UM in new colour scheme was shown.
In double pack even more impressive: Mi-24 from Přerov.
F-16 and L-159 operated together from the flightline.
The squadron exchange was a good opportunity to have a close look at MiG-21 operations.
Only to be seen in Čáslav: landing MiG-21 with church steeple.
