Today our team performed a baseline thrust test of the L39’s factory installed AI-25 turbofan engine. The engine has a factory thrust rating of almost 3800 lbf of thrust. We wanted to see what our net thrust rating is here in Uvalde, TX.
The results came in a little under-whelming, but not unexpected that our max net thrust of 2750lbf would not be uncommon for many L39s with original engines installed. The TFE731-3 that is the planned replacement also has a factory thrust rating of 3800lbf, so we will have to wait and see the comparison results!