Blatná-Tchořovice

49°25'52"N 013°47'50"E

runway: 08/26 - 2000x30m - concrete

Blatna-Tchorovice airfield (Czech: letište Blatná-Tchořovice, ICAO: LKBL) was an airfield 80 kilometers southwest of Prague.
The airfield was built before 1966, which is the earliest time I could find of a mention of the airfield. In September 1966 the airfield was used during an exercise involving Soviet Mi-6 helicopter units from Plasy and Plzen-Bory, as well as personnel from Líne, Tábor and Jihlava. The exercise involved four Mi-6 and a total of 12 Il-14 aircraft. The occasion was taken to test the new Czechoslovak HC-3A helicopter.
In 1975 an Mi-4 Helicopter crashed at the airfield.
During the 1980s the airfield was used during exercises by several units, flying helicopters and jets. Fighter types known to have operated from the airfield are MiG-23 'Flogger' and MiG-29 'Fulcrum'. The unintentional touch of a switch caused the launch of an unguided rocket at the airfield in 1989, resulting in two injured soldiers and a destroyed private vehicle halfway down the airfield. The airfield was last used in 1992, when MiG-29s visited the airfield during an exercise.


Prototype HC-3A OK-VZB was fitted with UB-16 rocket pods during the exercise of 1966 (vrtulnik.cz).


Mi-4 'Hound' that crashed at the airfield in 1975 (geocaching.com).

The airfield is still government owned, but in practice it is freely accessible. It is mainly used for carsports and car tuning events. The only aviation taking place at the airfield in the 21st century is paragliding and aviation modelling. The fact that it has always been little more than concrete with some floodlights at the parkings, means it is still intact. Several plans exist for the airfield, ranging from aviation to a photo-voltaic plant.


Tchořovice airfield in 2007 (awdoc.cz).


View of the platform heading east in 2010 (geocaching.com).