94 // JULY 2018 #364 http://www.airforcesmonthly.comCroatian Air Force
Force
Report
he capabilities of the small
but effective Hrvatsko
ratno zrakoplovstvo (HRZ,
Croatian Air Force) rest upon high
standards of pilot training, which
takes place at Zemunik near Zadar,
on the Dalmatian coast. The Zadar
area offers ideal conditions forpilot education, with 300 days of
sun each year, while Zemunik air
base has two runways angled at
90° to each other, enabling student
pilots to experience different
conditions. The 1st Pilot School
was established at Zadar in 1945
with guidance from the British
Royal Air Force. In the coming
decades it served as the cradle
of military aviation in the region.
Today, future military aircrew
are trained at the pilot school
of the Središte za obuku HRZ
‘Rudolf Perešin’ (SzO, Air Force
Training Centre ‘Rudolf Perešin’)
at Zemunik, with support from
the co-located Eskadrila aviona
(EA, Fixed-Wing Squadron)
and the Eskadrila helikoptera
(EH, Helicopter Squadron)
of the 93. zrakoplovna baza
(93.ZB, 93rd Air Base).The
regular
curriculum
is implemented in co-operation
with the Fakultet prometnih
znanosti (FPZ, Faculty of Traffic
Sciences) in Zagreb. As soon as
the candidates are accepted for
aeronautical studies at the FPZ,
they are invited to attend a five-
week theoretical and practical
flight screening programme at
Zemunik. The flying itself
comprises around nine hours
on small Zlin Z 242L dual-
seat trainers. The HRZ has
five of these, purchased in- The aircraft are part of
the EA squadron that also
operates 14 Pilatus PC-9M
advanced turboprop trainers.
After screening, candidates
attend military boot camp.
Antonio Prlenda
concludes his overview
of the Croatian Air Force
with an assessment of
its training programme,
firefighting fleet and
prospects for the future.LookingLooking
West
PART TWO
Five diminutive
Zlin Z 242L two-
seaters are used
for pilot screening
and basic training
at Zemunik. The
aircraft, which
are capable of
aerobatics, serve
alongside the
Pilatus PC-9M
with the Eskadrila
aviona. Jadranko
EćimovićT