Aero Ae-45

The Aero 45 was a twin piston-engined civil utility aircraft produced in Czechoslovakia after World War II. It was the first product of the nation's post-war aviation industry and proved a great success, with many of the 590 produced being exported.

Design and development
The development began 1946 and was accomplished by the technical designers Jiři Bouzek, Ondřej Němec and František Vik. The design bears a superficial resemblance, viewed nose-on, to the German Siebel type Si-204 which, among other German aircraft like the Bf 109, were produced in Czechoslovakia while under German occupation. The prototype (registered OK-BCA) flew for the first time on 21 July 1947, the second, registered OK-CDA, one year later. Flight testing ran without incidents and the type was released for series production in 1948. The model number of "45" was not a continuation of Aero's pre-war numeration scheme, but a reference to the 4/5 seats in the aircraft.

Operational history
Ae-45 prototypes were widely advertised abroad. In August 1949 Jan Anderle won Norton Griffiths Race in Great Britain (Ae-45 registration OK-DCL). They also set several international records. As a result, apart from Eastern Bloc countries, the plane was also bought by Italy and Switzerland. On 10-11 August 1958 an Italian Ae-45 flew 3000 kilometers from South America to Dakar across southern Atlantic (as the first Czechoslovak-built aircraft), in 1981 Jon Svensen flew Ae-45S from Europe to the USA.

This type was used in Czechoslovakia and was exported to the People's Republic of China, East Germany, France, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Romania, Soviet Union and Switzerland. Hungary was a major customer, where the aircraft was known as the Kócsag (Hungarian: "Egret").

Variants

 * Aero 45
 * First production version built in Aero factory, 200 built between 1948 and 1951.


 * Aero 45S "Super Aero"
 * Improved variant produced by Let in Kunovice factory, among others with better navigational equipment. 228 aircraft built between 1954 and 1959.


 * Aero 145
 * Version with engines changed to supercharged Motorlet (Walter) M332, produced later as Avia M332s. This version was developed and built by Let, 162 aircraft built between 1959 and 1963.


 * Aero 245
 * Experimental version, not produced.


 * Aero 345
 * Experimental version, not produced.


 * Sungari-1
 * Chinese unlicensed copy of the Aero Ae 45S, produced from 1958.

Civil operators

 * Interflug
 * Hungarian Police
 * Malaya
 * LOT Polish Airlines operated 3 Ae-45 in 1952-1957
 * Polish Air Ambulance Service operated Ae-45 and Ae-145
 * 🇷🇴 Romania
 * Aviasan
 * Aeroflot
 * Aeroclub Ajdovščina
 * Vietnam Civil Aviation Department - later as Vietnam Civil Aviation (now Vietnam Airlines)
 * 🇷🇴 Romania
 * Aviasan
 * Aeroflot
 * Aeroclub Ajdovščina
 * Vietnam Civil Aviation Department - later as Vietnam Civil Aviation (now Vietnam Airlines)
 * Aeroclub Ajdovščina
 * Vietnam Civil Aviation Department - later as Vietnam Civil Aviation (now Vietnam Airlines)
 * Vietnam Civil Aviation Department - later as Vietnam Civil Aviation (now Vietnam Airlines)
 * Vietnam Civil Aviation Department - later as Vietnam Civil Aviation (now Vietnam Airlines)

Military operators

 * People's Liberation Army Air Force operated license-built Suingari-1 variant.
 * Czechoslovak Air Force operated aircraft under designation K-75, for liaison purpose.
 * Czechoslovakian National Security Guard
 * Czechoslovak Air Force operated aircraft under designation K-75, for liaison purpose.
 * Czechoslovakian National Security Guard


 * East German Air Force
 * Hungarian Air Force
 * Indian Air Force operated a single aircraft gifted by the Czech government
 * 🇷🇴 Romania
 * Romanian Air Force
 * Vietnam People's Air Force – 3 Ae-45 from 1956 (acquired from China)
 * Romanian Air Force
 * Vietnam People's Air Force – 3 Ae-45 from 1956 (acquired from China)
 * Vietnam People's Air Force – 3 Ae-45 from 1956 (acquired from China)

Description
The Aero 45 had a sleek, teardrop-shaped fuselage, with a rounded, extensively-glazed nose affording excellent visibility. It had a low wing on which the engine nacelles were mounted, and a conventional tail. The main undercarriage was retractable but the tailwheel was fixed.