Baltic Bees Jet Team
4 × Aero L-39C Albatros · Civilian jet formation aerobatics
Latvia's blue-and-yellow civilian jet team continues its post-hiatus return as a four-ship in 2026. Its official fleet contains nine L-39Cs, but the current public display is flown by four aircraft.
- Formed
- 2008
- Aircraft
- Aero L-39C Albatros
- 2026 display
- Four aircraft
- Official fleet
- Nine L-39Cs
- Base
- Jūrmala Airport · EVJA
- Status
- Active international team
The team
A Latvian civilian team rebuilt after a four-year interruption and now flying a refined four-aircraft display.
Baltic Bees was formed in 2008 at Tukums, Latvia, under the leadership of Artyom Soloduha. It began with small L-39 formations and developed into a full six-aircraft act, wearing the blue-and-yellow scheme that became its international identity.
The organisation is privately operated and civilian, although its pilots draw on military jet experience. It is not part of the Latvian Air Force. The team now operates from Jūrmala Airport, where its wider activity also includes flight experiences, pilot training and aircraft maintenance.
The current published core
The team's current website names four core pilots: leader Artyom Soloduha, call sign Maverick; Nikita Feafanau, Snowball; Anatoliy Perekriostov, Maestro; and Valerii Sobolev, Godfather. That public roster should not be assumed to represent more pilots than the current four-ship requires.
Nine aircraft, individually supported
Official team material lists a fleet of nine L-39Cs. Each aircraft is permanently assigned to a pilot and has a designated engineer, supported by the team's larger technical staff. The nine-aircraft fleet is therefore wider than the four jets used in the current display.
From enforced pause to active programme
After appearances in China in 2017 and 2019, several team aircraft remained there in anticipation of further work. Pandemic restrictions then made their return exceptionally difficult. The last stranded jet came home over the winter of 2023 to 2024, allowing the team to resume displays in 2024 and rebuild its programme around the four-aircraft format that remains in use during 2026.
The display
Four blue-and-yellow jets combining close formation with energetic breaks and solo work.
The 2026 programme continues the four-ship presentation developed after the China hiatus. Close formation is mixed with breaks, opposition passes, a solo sequence and smoke, usually choreographed to music. Exact content can still vary by event.
Close formation
Matching L-39Cs hold compact spacing through turns, climbs and rolling manoeuvres, making formation geometry the visual foundation of the routine.
Four-ship geometry
The current formation creates compact diamonds, echelons and line-abreast shapes while keeping each aircraft easy to follow from the ground.
Formation changes
Aircraft move between positions and configurations while the group remains in motion, turning each transition into part of the presentation.
Breaks and crossovers
Formation breaks create expanding fans, opposition passes and higher-closure crossings before the jets regroup for the next sequence.
Solo contrast
A solo aircraft can use the L-39's speed and vertical performance between formation passes, keeping action in front of the crowd as the main group repositions.
Smoke and soundtrack
Smoke makes each flight path visible and reinforces symmetry, while the team's musical choreography gives the routine its festival-style identity.
The aircraft
A tandem-seat Cold War trainer whose handling and performance made it an enduring civilian display jet.
The L-39C Albatros
Designed at Aero Vodochody by a team led by Jan Vlček, the L-39 first flew in 1968 and entered production in 1971. The C model is the standard basic and advanced trainer: an all-metal, low-wing jet with tandem seats, a raised rear cockpit and tricycle landing gear.
AI-25TL turbofan power
One Ivchenko-Progress AI-25TL turbofan provides 1,720 kgf, equivalent to 16.87 kN or about 3,800 lbf, of maximum thrust. The side intakes keep the nose clear, while the broad canopy and stepped seating give both occupants good visibility for training, formation work and experience flights.
A practical formation platform
The L-39C was built as a military trainer rather than as a purpose-built competition aerobatic aircraft. Its predictable handling, two-seat cockpit and robust operating design nevertheless make it well suited to civilian formation displays and jet-experience work.
Use the correct variant and speed
Baltic Bees flies L-39Cs, not the armed L-39ZO or L-39ZA variants and not the modern L-39 Skyfox. Aero's reference data gives a maximum level speed of 700 km/h at sea level and 750 km/h at 5,000 m. The higher number should not be described as the sea-level maximum.
Nine-aircraft fleet
The team's current website lists nine L-39Cs across the wider operation.
Four-aircraft display
The team continues to perform with four aircraft during the 2026 airshow season.
Tandem cockpit
Two seats support both operational training and the team's passenger flight experiences.
Assigned engineers
Official material says every aircraft has a designated engineer as well as an assigned pilot.
The story so far
From a new Latvian team to international six-ship displays, an enforced hiatus and a measured return.
2008
Baltic Bees is formed
Artyom Soloduha establishes the civilian jet team at Tukums, beginning with small formations of Aero L-39C Albatros trainers.
2009
Early public displays
The new team starts appearing before public audiences and develops the blue-and-yellow identity that will represent it internationally.
December 2014
The sixth aircraft flies in team colours
The arrival of another L-39C completes the equipment needed for the larger formation presented during the following season.
2015
Full six-ship display
Baltic Bees expands to six aircraft, adding broader formations and more complex breaks to its international routine.
2017 and 2019
Displays in China
The team performs near Chengdu. After the second visit, aircraft remain in China in expectation of further activity.
July 2019
A rare seven-ship
A one-off seven-aircraft appearance at Wings Over Baltics briefly takes the formation beyond its familiar six-ship format.
Late 2019 to 2023
The China hiatus
Pandemic restrictions strand team aircraft abroad and largely halt the display programme. The interruption is operational, not the end of the organisation.
Winter 2023 to 2024
The last jet returns
Recovery of the final aircraft from China clears the way for a staged return to public display flying.
2024
Back on the circuit
Baltic Bees returns with two- and four-aircraft appearances, rebuilding formation currency after the long interruption.
2025
A larger international season
The four-ship flies a broader programme and becomes the first Latvian and Baltic aerobatic team to appear at Dubai Airshow.
2026
The four-ship continues
The team remains a four-aircraft display while flying an active multi-country programme across the Baltic region and Poland. A return to six aircraft has not been confirmed.
Identity & context
Four distinctions keep the current team, its aircraft and its recent history accurate.
Civilian, not military
Baltic Bees is a private Latvian civilian organisation. Military backgrounds among its pilots do not make it a Latvian Air Force display team.
L-39C, not every Albatros
The team flies the trainer-model L-39C. Specifications for armed ZO and ZA variants or the new-generation L-39 Skyfox should not be substituted.
Fleet and display differ
Nine aircraft are listed across the wider fleet, but the 2026 display uses four. The public team page also names four core pilots.
A hiatus, not a disbandment
The long gap after 2019 followed the difficulty of retrieving aircraft from China. The 2024 return and current schedule establish the team as active.
