Avia Ba.122.8 Czechoslovak Aerobatic Aircraft - Berlin 1936 - Petr Stroky

Avia Ba.122.7 Lt. Petr Siroky, Price of the nations, Berlin-Rangsdorf 1936

In the spring of 1934, the army leadership decided to have Czechoslovak pilots participate in the international aerobatic competition Coupe Mondial, which was to be held in Paris in June. Under the leadership of Eng. Novotný and with the help of acrobats Rtm. Novák and Štkpt. Ambruž, a new aerobatic aircraft B-122 was created in six weeks. 

In Paris, Novák took fourth place and Ambruž eighth. The aircraft was further modified, the rudder was enlarged and the upper wing was equipped with winglets. This version was already designated Ba.122. For the aerobatic competition "Prize of Nations" before the Berlin Olympics at the end of July 1936, OK-AWA and AWE were equipped with a more powerful nine-cylinder Avia Rk-17 engine and OK-AVI with a Walter Pollux engine. Here, Široký came second, Novák third and Ambruž eighth. In June 1937, during aerobatic training, Sergeant Šimek collided in an OK-AWA aircraft with an Avia Ba.122.14 piloted by Sergeant Půda. The latter landed with a damaged aircraft, Šimek escaped by parachute and the aircraft was destroyed after hitting the ground.