Since we are an international civil airport not many military aircraft land here. However, sometimes the Slovak air force Alenia C-27J Spartan or the Czech air force CASA C-295M appear here - mostly on training flights. More prominent military visitors were, for example, planes with USAF or Luftwaffe markings. One of the rarest military aircraft which used our airport in September 1999 was transport aircraft CASA CN-235 belonging to the fleet of the Turkish air force. The CN-235 type is a medium-range twin-engined transport aircraft that was jointly developed by Construcciones Aeronáuticas SA (CASA) of Spain and Indonesian manufacturer IPTN, as a regional airliner and military transport. Its primary military roles include maritime patrol, surveillance and air transport. Its largest user is Turkey, which has about 60 aircraft. Design of the plane began in January 1980 with the first flight on 11 November 1983. Spanish and Indonesian certification was on 20 June 1986; the first flight of the production aircraft was on 19 August 1986. The aircraft entered service on March 1st in 1988. 

CN-235 is a high-winged tactical transport plane, its length is 21.40 m, wingspan is 25.81 m and height is 8.18 m. Aircraft can transport 51 passengers, 35 paratroopers, 18 stretchers or four HCU-6/E pallets. Empty weight of the plane is 9,800 kg, maximum takeoff weight is 16,100 kg. Aircraft is powered by two General Electric CT7-9C3 turboprops, each producing 1,305 kW on take-off. Cruise speed is 450 km/h, range is 4,355 km. In addition to Turkey, the CN-235 is used by air forces of about 25 countries, including, for example, Nepal, Oman, Gabon and the United States. 

By the way, the C-295M used by the Czech air force was developed from CN-235, showing stretched fuselage, more payload capability and new turboprop engines.

Text and photo Rado Mlýnek