/ AERO VODOCHODY L-39 ALBATROS / EASTERN JET WITH A WESTERN MAKEOVER Museum-quality reinvention of a former foe THE SL ENDER NOSE of the L-39 Albatros jet rises sharply into deep blue Florida sky while I strain against the Gs and glance at the spinning digits on the altitude readout. " Keep pulling, " L-39 owner and pilot Jimmy Hayes advises from the front seat of this sleek, fully westernized former Warsaw Pact jet. " Make sure you stay below 18,000 feet. " BY DAVE HIRSCHMAN PHOTOGRAPHY BY CHRIS ROSE T-10 AOPA PILOT / September 2024