The Aero 45 is as much art as it is aircraft. How can I explain this Czechoslovakian aeroplane? Here is an amorphous, yet beautiful, thing that confounds simple description. In profile the Art Deco fuselage, with its arching roof, and flat belly, appears dolphin-like. Yet from the front, the large cabin windows give it an almost arthropodic or insect-like appearance. When viewed from above or below, it takes on the form of yet another animal; the long, narrow wings give it the look of a graceful, soaring shorebird.

The elegant Aero 45 was Czechoslovakia’s first aircraft after the German occupation had ended. The aircraft was a clear and bold statement that the small country’s aviation sector was ready to reclaim its pre-war glories, that it had lost none of its ability to produce a world-class aircraft.

There is true harmony in the design of this aircraft and in all of its equally gorgeous descendents. Every airframe element fits smoothly with the next and there is not a sloppy line or compromise to be seen. The designer clearly intended for the air to embrace this design to the utmost, and it’s difficult to see a spot on it where the air would not do just that.

Kevan ‘Pickled Wings’ Vogler