The Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum is now home to the Aero L-39C Albatros “American Spirit” Reno jet racer. The aircraft was donated by owner Ed Noel of the Noel Air Race Team (NART). Between 2002 and 2024, “American Spirit” achieved eight first-place finishes, nine top-five finishes, and three closed-course speed records.
The aircraft flew into the museum’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Virginia during its “Innovations in Flight” event Saturday, June 13, 2026, where it was formally transferred to the museum. It will be displayed at the Udvar-Hazy Center later this summer.
“Acquiring ‘American Spirit’ will allow the museum to tell significant stories,” said Jeremy Kinney, associate director for research and curatorial affairs at the museum. “It is a surplus Warsaw Pact trainer and foreign-built warbird enjoyed by many Americans in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. It is also the most common example of a jet used for air racing competition, which has not been represented in the National Collection. Additionally, this specific L-39 has an exceptional and unsurpassed competition history.”
The Aero L-39 Albatros was manufactured in Czechoslovakia by Aero Vodochody from 1971 to 1996. In the 1990s, many surplus L-39s were sold to private owners, especially in the United States, where they became popular for recreational flying and air racing. The L-39 became the primary aircraft used in the Jet Class of the National Championship Air Races following its introduction in 2002.
Ed Noel purchased “American Spirit” in 2007 and established NART, undertaking extensive modifications to optimize the aircraft for racing. Enhancements included aerodynamic refinements to the tail and wingtips, removal or replacement of heavy components with lightweight materials, and the addition of a water injection system. Altogether, these changes reduced the aircraft’s weight by approximately 1,100 pounds. NART and “American Spirit” came to represent a benchmark for performance in air racing, according to museum officials.
“It is the greatest recognition of an aircraft’s contribution to flight, pilot’s skills, and the race team’s efforts for ‘American Spirit’ to join the collection with the Wright brothers’ Flyer,” Noel said. “I view this event with the same wonderment and excitement of my first visit to the Smithsonian at the age of 9 in 1962.”
The Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center is located in Chantilly, Virginia, near Washington Dulles International Airport and is open every day except Dec. 25 from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Admission is free and parking is $15.
The National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C., is located at Jefferson Drive between Fourth and Seventh streets S.W. and is open every day except Dec. 25 from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Admission is free, but timed-entry passes are required to visit.
For more information: SI.edu
Leave a Reply