Let Kunovice

Aircraft Industries, a.s., operating as Let, n.p., is a Czech (formerly Czechoslovak) civil aircraft manufacturer. Its most successful design has been the L-410 Turbolet, of which more than 1000 units have been built. Its head office is in Kunovice, Uherské Hradiště District.

The company is owned by Ural Mining and Metallurgical Company, which is owned by Russian businessman and philanthropist Iskander Makhmudov.

History

Building of an aircraft factory in Kunovice started in 1936, as a part of the Škoda Works industrial concern. Before and during World War II the unfinished plant served only as a repair works. After the end of the war the factory was nationalized and in 1950-53 a new plant was built. In 1957-1967 it was named SPP (Strojírny první pětiletky - "Works of the First Five-year Plan"), and in 1967 it returned to the name LET. The works produced under licence were the Soviet trainers Yakovlev Yak-11 (under a designation C-11) and the Aero Ae 45 and Aero Ae 145 utility aircraft.