Bochkor And The Dragon

“The L–39 is the training aircraft of the Hungarian Defence Forces", started 1st Lieutenant Róbert Sárai the instruction. On this day, the young officer took Gábor Bochkor ‘under his wings’ at the Kecskemét military airfield and gave him detailed information on the geometrical data and parameters of the Albatros.

Dragon, air, cabin – the three magic words of Monday afternoon. The host of Radio Sláger’s morning show acquainted himself with these parts of the airplane. "Dragon is the structure of the plane. It is the same as a bodywork for a car. We have walked around it and discussed it so that I can get to know it well – we have checked almost every square centimetre of the aircraft and my instructor told me about the essential components in detail. Then we carried on with the examination of the air system and that of the most important parts of the cabin", said Bocsi, who takes his preparation very seriously, naturally. For two weeks, he will be spending 4 hours at the Kecskemét aviation base every afternoon in order to be ready for the exam – due 14 August – for which he is doing his best to prepare.

"The flight with the Albatros fighter aircraft is preceded by a very intense theoretical preparation process and exam", told us Brigadier General István Petõ, commander of ’Dezsõ Szentgyörgyi’ Aviation Base. We may even call the general Gábor Bochkor’s instructor since following the Jak–52 flight of last week, on 14-15 August they will be flying the L–39 together.

Defence Minister Dr. Imre Szekeres has also inspected the training, and upon the question of journalists he said the preparation of Gábor Bochkor is basically a demonstration. In the course of the 3-week preparation procedure, the showman is to perform the same tasks the fighter pilot candidates of the Hungarian Defence Forces complete during their preparation phase in Hungary, in roughly 2 years. This is why the ’daredevil’ of the morning show Boomerang had to participate in the basic training in Szentendre last week, then two days later in Szolnok, where following the theoretical preparation he spent an hour in the air with a propeller-driven training aircraft.

"Gábor’s training has a dual purpose. On the one hand, we would like to demonstrate the tough preparation of pilots with his assistance, and in addition to that, with the demonstrative training we want to propagate the Hungarian Defence Forces among young people. This is exactly why I have asked Bocsi to complete this training, since he is a role model for today’s girls and boys", told Imre Szekeres, who also confided to us that he himself has been in love with flying for a long time, and perhaps one day he will rise in the air with a fighter aircraft. Actually, he made the first step necessary for that this morning: he has completed the examination carried out by flight surgeons at the flight surgery and medical examination research institute of Kecskemét. The doctors performing the check-up have found him eligible to fly.

After the 4-hour preparation, Gábor Bochkor told honvedelem.hu that Albatros is a very sympathetic aircraft even for first sight, and its beauty lies in its simplicity. However, rising into the air with an L–39 requires very thorough preparation.

"They say in this aircraft even the ignition of the engine is a big task in itself. Obviously, all this is still ahead for me, just like rolling or takeoff, which I can hardly wait for, of course", said Gábor, who – following our conversation – focused on the aircraft and the words of the instructing 1st lieutenant alone.