Helicopters with “Mi-24 pilots”

For the first time at Hradec Králové Airport, the 34th edition of Aviatická will take place over the weekend of May 30–31, 2026. Within the more than five-hour flying program, helicopters will also appear alongside fixed-wing aircraft. Interestingly, the pilots of two of them share a similar professional background.

“Among the helicopters included in this year’s flying program at Aviatická will be the Enstrom 480B-G and the Bell TAH-1P Cobra. Both are American-made aircraft, and while the combat Cobra dates back to the late 1960s, the Enstrom is a modern helicopter used, among other roles, for training military helicopter pilots at the Flight Training Centre in Pardubice,” says Petr Kovačka from the Aviatická organizing team, and continues:

“The Enstrom helicopters have been flying in our skies since 2014, and at CLV they began operations four years later. Over the years they have proven their quality, and at CLV they have already accumulated more than 15,000 flight hours. The Cobra attack helicopter is well known from films and could also be seen near the former Czechoslovak western border before 1989. It is a true helicopter legend, as it was the first purely combat helicopter in aviation history, and its design influenced many later types built around the world. It has also taken part in numerous armed conflicts, the first of which was the Vietnam War.

What connects both helicopters at Aviatická is an interesting detail—the professional history of their pilots. Both Jaroslav Špaček from CLV, who will fly the Enstrom, and Jiří Podolský from the HeliCzech company in Hradec Králové, previously flew the well-known Mi-24 attack helicopters, where Cobras once represented their potential adversaries. Today, they meet the Cobra again at airshows, and one of them even flies it. With both aircraft, they will demonstrate not only their piloting skills but also the capabilities of two completely different helicopter categories. It will definitely be worth seeing,” adds Petr Kovačka.

Aviatická remains a traditional full-day event for the whole family. Both Saturday and Sunday will feature a varied ground program with numerous presentations and activities for children and adults alike. The flying display itself will last more than five hours.

More information and updates about the upcoming program can be found at www.aviatickapout.cz.