L-13 Blaník 'Military Service' (2in1) (RAF, DOSAAF, Italian AF, Uruguayan AF, Lithuanian AF, Brazilian AF) (Mark1 MKM14495)

Category Aircraft Scale Modelling, Subcategory Aircraft Scale Modelling, Scale 1 : 144, ISBN/Box MKM14495, Publisher/Brand Mark1, Version injection

The L-13 Blaník is a two-seater glider produced by the Czechoslovak company Let Kunovice. Designed at the VZLÚ Aeronautical Research and Test Establishment in Prague in 1954-56, its prototype first flew in March 1956. It is an all-metal monoplane, with the fuselage of a semi-monocoque construction and high set wings with characteristic forward sweep. Its cockpit is enclosed by a two-piece acrylic glass canopy. The flaps and control surfaces are fabric covered and the fuselage is provided with a single-wheel semi-retractable landing gear and a fixed tail skid.
The L-13 entered production in 1958 and quickly gained popularity as an inexpensive and durable type, which was easy to fly and operate. It was widely adopted in the former Eastern Bloc countries and was also exported in large numbers to Western Europe, North and South America. In total, more than 2600 Blaník gliders had been produced by 1978, while a small batch of a modernised L-13A variant was built in 1981-82. It became the most numerous and widely used trainer glider in the world.
Colour schemes included in the kit:
1) Let L-13 Blaník, Black R11 (c/n 026258), RAF Gliding and Soaring Association (RAFGSA), Aboyne, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, U.K., autumn 1980
2) Let L-13 Blaník, Red 21, DOSAAF Volunteer Society for Co-operation with the Army, Aviation and Navy, Aeroclub Novosibirsk, the Soviet Union, early 1970s
3) Let L-13 Blaník, No.23 outlined in Black, MM100047 (c/n 027009), CVV-14 Gliding Centre (Centro Volo a Vela), Italian Air Force (Aeronautica Militare), Frosinone Air Base, Italy, 1985
4) Let L-13 Blaník, Black 690 (c/n 0717), Military School of Aeronautics (Escuela Militar de Aeronáutica), Uruguayan Air Force (Fuerza Aérea Uruguaya, FAU), Gen. Artigas/Pando Air Base, Uruguay, 2014-15
5) Let L-13 Blaník, Blue 08 (c/n 1420), Voluntary Border Defence Service (Krašto Apsaugos Savanriskos Paj?gos, KASP), Lithuanian Air Force, Silute Air Base, Lithuania, 1998
6) TZ-13 (Let L-13 Blaník), White 13 (8013), Clube de Vôo ŕ Vela (Sailing Flight Club), Air Force Academy (Academia da Força Aérea, AFA), Brazilian Air Force (Força Aérea Brasileira, FAB), Pirassununga Air Base, Brazil, the 1970-80s

Two injection-moulded kits are supplied in this box and each kit contains 13 parts and one clear part (the cockpit canopy). A comprehensive decal sheet is included.