The Centre of Flight Training (CLV) of the state enterprise LOM PRAHA celebrates its 20th anniversary. It is a key workplace for the education and training of new and existing pilots of the Czech Army. It is here that the flying career of anyone who wants to become a pilot of an army helicopter or aircraft begins. Part of the Pardubice CLV is also the Tactical Simulation Centre (TSC), which meets the highest Alliance standards. Pilots can train here not only on tactical simulators for the JAS-39 Gripen or L-159 aircraft, but also for the F-16 type, for example. The centre will be part of the training of future pilots of H-1 helicopters (the UH-1Y Venom multirole helicopter and the AH-1Z Viper attack helicopter) or the 5th generation F-35 aircraft.

Video: LOM PRAHA Air Training Centre celebrates its 20th birthday / CZ DEFENCE

Prior to the establishment of the LOM PRAHA s.p. Air Training Centre on 1 April 2004, the 34th School Air Force Base had been operating at Pardubice Airport since 1994 and was renamed the 34th Special Air Force Base in 2000. It was closed at the end of November 2003. The then established CLV, part of the state enterprise LOM PRAHA, had two Mi-2 helicopters and subsequently most of the equipment of the former Special Air Force base. Currently, the CLV uses the EV-97 trainer aircraft, as well as Z-142C AF and L-39C aircraft, L-410UVP-T transport aircraft and Enstrom En-480B-G and Mi-17 helicopters.

Since 2017, the director of the CLV is Jaroslav Špaček, who is a former pilot on Mi-24 attack helicopters. According to him, the work at the centre is a permanent effort to build a modern training school and everything is subordinated to this. "The key is to meet the Air Force's training requirements. They are our main customer and partner," says Director Špaček, adding that changes are constantly being worked on: "We are introducing new equipment, especially helicopters, and we are preparing to introduce more. We are trying to make sure that we meet the needs of the army. The future new pilots are no longer flying Mi-2 helicopters, but American Enstrom En-480s, which have a glass cockpit and can better prepare pilots for the modern technology that is coming to the army today in the form of H-1 helicopters."

The L-410 trainer aircraft, on which future army pilots of transport aircraft train, also received a partially glass cockpit. The training requirements and the need for new machines, which correspond to the modernization processes of the Air Force, entail the replacement of the existing classic Z-142C AF trainer aircraft. Thus, a tender for the procurement of five new single-engine piston aircraft is currently underway.

According to Jaroslav Špaček, the CLV in Pardubice is unique in that everything is in one place: "We are unique in that we are the only military training centre that has all the necessary equipment. We train helicopter, transport and fighter pilots. We do everything in one place and the added value is the cooperation across the state enterprise, specifically with the Power Unit Plant and the Aircraft Plant," says Špaček. An important topic for the Aviation Training Centre is the training of pilots for the 5th generation F-35 aircraft and Pardubice is already preparing for this. "Jiří Protiva, director of the state enterprise LOM PRAHA, has signed a contract for the purchase of four L-39NG aircraft, which should be delivered to the CLV at the end of this year and the beginning of next year, with an option for four more aircraft. We are negotiating with Lockheed Martin for the L-39NG to be used for training Czech pilots before the transition to the F-35. And so far there seems to be no major problem, the L-39NG fully meets what the pilots will need for the F-35," says Jaroslav Špaček.

We wondered whether CLV would use another airport for its operations in the future, e.g. the one in Bochor near Přerov. It is owned by the state enterprise LOM PRAHA and CLV uses it during necessary shutdowns of Pardubice airport. The director of CLV says: "The fact that the airport in Přerov is owned by the state enterprise LOM PRAHA means that if we expand anywhere, it will definitely be there."

As elsewhere, staffing is important at CLV. "We are currently staffed according to current training needs. What we're more concerned about is age. When the L-39NG comes in, we will need instructors for the jets. As far as helicopters are concerned, I am happy there. We have experienced instructors here who have been through missions in either Afghanistan or Bosnia. We also have experienced gripen instructor pilots. As far as the experience of the instructors, I'm glad that today we can really choose. What I see as a problem is the aging of the technical staff. We would need significantly more young people," analyses Jaroslav Špaček.

We wondered whether CLV would use another airport for its operations in the future, e.g. the one in Bochor near Přerov. It is owned by the state enterprise LOM PRAHA and CLV uses it during necessary shutdowns of Pardubice airport. The director of CLV says: "The fact that the airport in Přerov is owned by the state enterprise LOM PRAHA means that if we expand anywhere, it will definitely be there."

As elsewhere, staffing is important at CLV. "We are currently staffed according to current training needs. What we're more concerned about is age. When the L-39NG comes in, we will need instructors for the jets. As far as helicopters are concerned, I am happy there. We have experienced instructors here who have been through missions in either Afghanistan or Bosnia. We also have experienced gripen instructor pilots. As far as the experience of the instructors, I'm glad that today we can really choose. What I see as a problem is the aging of the technical staff. We would need significantly more young people," analyses Jaroslav Špaček.

Since its inception, the TSC has served the Czech Army as a priority. However, since 2012, foreign pilots, for example from Slovakia, have also participated in training here. "Slovak pilots of the MiG-29 aircraft trained here on general supersonic aircraft simulators.  At the moment when Slovakia decided on supersonic aircraft (F-16, editor's note), they were here to learn about the capabilities of simulated tactical training for F-16 pilots and we believe that they will come to us again for training," says Jaroslav Šefl and adds that pilots from more than 10 countries have already passed the TSC, and some of them even repeatedly. As far as the alliance units are concerned, some of the training is repeated thematically within the MATC (Multinational Aviation Training Center), where selected alliance countries within Europe. Another area of interest is the involvement in the NFTE (NATO Flight Training Europe) initiative, which aims to streamline the training of pilots from NATO countries on the European continent. The CLV Pardubice Tactical Simulation Centre was selected, together with the Italian training centre in Sardinia, as one of the first official NFTE campuses.

The Tactical Simulation Centre is also undergoing regular upgrades in terms of simulators. "The centre is constantly being upgraded. The monitors on the simple simulators are being changed. Where originally there was a cockpit, a cockpit and one TV screen, today there are three screens. Last year we added a ninth simulator, which serves as a spare. We're constantly developing and looking very much ahead. And of course we would like to be involved in the process of training pilots on F-35 aircraft," plans Jaroslav Šefl, CLV's deputy director for tactical training.

Among CLV's significant investments is the construction of a brand new ground training centre, the so-called NG-1 facility, which will concentrate the main areas of ground training currently located on the premises of the Air Training Centre, in addition to the TSC, in one place.

The new facilities will allow for language training, technical training and improved pilot training on simulators as part of flight training, pre-flight and post-landing training and other activities. The facility will include classrooms for language training, a classroom for technical training and pilot training, progression simulators for Mi-17 and Enstrom 480 helicopters and a hall with a certified L-39NG flight simulator (Full Mission Simulator).

Hala je dimenzována i pro případné budoucí doplnění druhého certifikovaného simulátoru FMS pro letoun L-39NG, v případě zvýšených požadavků na výcvik. Dále v objektu budou k dispozici i prostory pro budoucí rozšíření výcvikových schopností. V současné době je zpracován projekt pro výstavbu a stavební povolení, probíhá stavební řízení a výběr dodavatele stavby. Samotný simulátor pro letoun L-39NG bude dodán AERO Vodochody, a to nejpozději jeden měsíc před dodáním letounů L-39NG (trupová čísla 0477, 0478, 0479 a 0480) a tomu odpovídají i všechny plánované termíny pro dokončení výstavby objektu.

The important parameters for the successful development of TSC, while maintaining all modernization trends, are the training of tactical pilots, the creation of complex scenarios, in any environment in the world, practicing flight procedures and familiarization with unfamiliar space. Last but not least, joint preparation, training and mission evaluation for pilots and other aircrew, airspace surveillance procedures, etc.

The celebration of the 20th anniversary of the Air Training Centre fell on 4 April, symbolically on the same day as the 75th anniversary of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. In addition to current and former employees of the CLV, the ceremony was attended by the Minister of Defence of the Czech Republic Jana Černochová, 1st Deputy Minister of Defence František Šulc and other representatives of the Ministry of Defence and the Army of the Czech Republic. The Air Force of the Czech Republic was represented by Brigadier General Jaroslav Falta, Commander of the 24th Air Transport Base. And of course, the director of the state enterprise LOM PRAHA Jiří Protiva and the director of the Air Training Centre Jaroslav Špaček were also present. The event also included a parade of aircraft and helicopters of the Czech Army, the LOM PRAHA Air Training Centre and the Military Historical Institute.

We asked CLV Director Jaroslav Špaček about his immediate plans, "For us it is mainly the introduction of L-39NG aircraft. This is a modern trainer aircraft for which we will have complete training facilities - whether it is a simulator or interactive classrooms. We are doing our best to ensure that the LOM Prague Flight Training Centre will continue to be a top flight school that can meet the requirements of Czech and foreign customers."

The importance of the Air Training Centre was then confirmed by the Minister of Defence Jana Černochová, who reminded us that the Centre is not only important for the Ministry of Defence or the state enterprise LOM PRAHA. "The Flight Training Centre is also very important for other allied countries, because pilot training is conducted here not only for pilots of the Czech Army, but also for allied pilots. It is a centre that is envied all over the world. There are not many such centres that have such a wide range of training options, simulators. It is something of which we are rightly proud and which is the showcase of the Ministry of Defence. And I am very appreciative of the fact that I can stand here alongside the Director and today together thank and celebrate the 20 years that this centre has existed and that it has helped not only the Czech Army but also our allies," said the Minister.

Jiří Protiva, director of the state-owned company LOM PRAHA, also confirmed her words and thanked the Ministry of Defence and the Czech Army for their support. "The Air Training Centre has been operating for 20 years and represents a national capability, a strategic advantage for this country, because there are few countries that can be proud of the fact that they can train their own pilots on their own territory in their own state-owned company. And that is what we are building on, building on," said Jiří Protiva.

"At CLV we are responding to modern trends, to the rearmament of the Czech Army, and we are offering these capabilities to other alliance countries that are responding with their demand as CLV modernises. Not only in terms of replacing equipment, for example the L-39C with the L-39NG, we are also building new infrastructure, new simulation centres, but we are also building on people. We have the so-called old bards, the heartthrobs, but at the same time we are managing to recruit young employees to a certain extent. I would be very happy to see this happen to an even greater extent. We have a big advantage now. We can attract new modern equipment and a modern approach in the Flight Training Centre," added Jiří Protiva, the director of LOM PRAHA.

Minister Jana Černochová also wished the CLV a successful recruitment of capable personnel: 'You can have the best technology, but if you don't have quality people, if you don't have the heartthrobs you see here, it's always wrong, because being a pilot, a technician, an air traffic controller - it's not just a profession. These are people who have aviation as a lifelong hobby and it's not just that they take it as a livelihood and it shows. And that's why I would wish to the Director that the generation of heartthrobs that we see here will be replaced by a younger generation of heartthrobs. I also wish that all those who fly up always come back down safe and sound," the Defence Minister said.