JMB Visit Logistics (Trains, Planes, and Automobiles)

[Matt Ricciardi]

JMB is headquartered in the Czech Republic, about 125 km east of Prague.  Much of the airplane building work (e.g., composites, painting, and upholstery) is completed at a facility in Choceň.  Final assembly, flight testing, and flight training are in Vysoké Mýto.

The nearest commercial airline service is in Prague.  Regional trains run hourly between Prague and Choceň.  Local trains run hourly between Choceň and Vysoké Mýto.  You can check train schedules and buy tickets online through the Czech Railways website.  When booking tickets, enter "Praha hl.n." for the main train station in downtown Prague.  First class offers quieter and less crowded train cars with reserved seats for only a modestly higher price.  You'll receive an e-mail with a QR code; show it to the conductor checking tickets on the train.  In my experience, JMB will pickup visitors at the train station for the short drive to its facilities.

If you already have a VL3 (or another small airplane), you could also fly into Vysoké Mýto Airport (LKVM) directly.  Radio calls are not usually answered by airport staff, so pilots need to self-announce and coordinate amongst themselves.  You must also close your own flight plan upon arrival.  There is a sharp dip in the taxiway between the runway and the ramp, so taxi slowly.

[Lukas Bestajovsky]

Matt, fantastic write up! Thank you for your efforts to get this community going!

 

[Michael Hodes]

You can also use the Muj Vlak app to purchase and manage the tickets.  The app is available in an English version.  I used it when I was in Prague and going back and forth to the factory for the build and it works great.

[Jim Badalamenti]

Returned this week from my factory build experience... fantastic experience! My travel different than others as my wife and I made it a 2 week vacation. We live in Charlotte, NC and took advantage of a direct flight to Munich and with points did the Business Class "pod" thing for the overnight which was an experience in itself, showed up well rested in the early AM to start our European journey. We rented an autobahn capable car and headed to our first stop in Cesky Krumlov. First, if you want to travel on a budget don't rent a car... between the rental, the extra insurance we were advised to get, the many parking fees, the high price of gas compared to the U.S., the hassle portion of finding your way around (though that part really not bad for us, today's navigation systems with automatic speed zone indications and other automation take away the hassles)... anyways it's not cheap. But for us it made sense as we had many stops and enjoyed the countryside, the experience, and yeah the occasional autobahn high speed thrill (120 mph once, mostly 100 or so... but understand we are buying VL3's, enough said, we're somewhat high speed educated/calculating risk takers right?). 

As for the tour of Europe, started with Cesky Krumlov and it was a nice preview of an old world cobblestone somewhat poor town with castle and great views, stayed at the Hotel Dvorak which I'd highly recommend. Next off to Prague and basically Prague was the highlight of the visit spots. Too much to say, but a down to earth not completely pristine old world cobblestone town (Cesky Krumlov on steroids) with much to see and experience. Spent the weekend, stayed at a 9 room hotel that was awesome and relatively cheap (very cheap compared to Vienna!), recommend it... Hotel Clementin. Castle, St. Charles bridge, the Astronomical clock, etc. awesome.

Off to the factory... we stayed beyond Vysoke Myto in Litomysl ("Little Michelle") which is where the factory folks recommended, at Aplaus Hotel which based on one other traveling was way better, this hotel again very nice and affordable. And let me say the hotel breakfasts at every stop were amazing European spreads... so spoiled, one of the highlights of the day, my mornings will never be the same here in the states. Anyways Litomysl is a quaint old world cobblestone town as well, not as pristine as Prague and certainly minus the size and architecture but interesting and nice in its own way. Small restaurants and shops but nothing to do in the evenings which to us wasn't a big deal except we found ourselves going to bed ridiculously early considering it should be the opposite with the time zone difference!

The factory visit wonderful. Won't go on about that except to say it was mentioned between the 3 pilot Americans including me there for the build (I hear unusual, typically 1 or maybe 2?)... "kid in a candy store"... the new facility with the balcony looking out over 20+ final assemblies in progress, walking out there and seeing all the details, the changes day to day and experiencing some of it as you start the week with a somewhat empty shell transforming to nearly completed airplane. We all, including my wife who is a hard sell, came away with a deeper appreciation for the airplane. Everyone great to work with, Francois in particular a gem. We were fortunate also to spend time with not only the team but also with 2 of the others building their VL3's. Great experience to say the least.

Next stop after a few hour journey Vienna. Vienna is huge, but stayed in the old town area, hotel was the Romischer Kaiser right in the heart of the old town area which again was really nice and somewhat affordable compared to others, but Vienna is more like big city pricing and the hotel triple that of anywhere else. I would say Vienna is sensory overload, so much to see, so much architecture, etc. Very clean. The Red Bus tour very beneficial to do the full ride and then use for access to go to stops you want to tour. Took way too many photos, every time turn around see something better. Could go on and on about what seen.

Next stop Salzburg, the Sound of Music city. Again an old world cobblestone town square kind of place, we stayed right in the heart of things at Hotel Elefant (yes named after an elephant tour that one of the royals rode through the country visiting towns). Castle at the top of the hill with amazing views of a town that has views amazingly similar today as those in a painting we found from like the 1700's or early 1800's. The town started in the 600's... incredible. But 1 day enough there frankly. After a while they all start to look alike! (stupid American I know)

Off to our return flight at Munich that is when the autobahn experience was in full swing. You think you're going fast over 100 mph and then passed by a family car going way faster. I'm conservative so like I said cranked our little BMW up to 120 once just to do it, and except for the lower speed zones I'd say averaged around 100 or so. In Munich we only had the afternoon so visited the BMW museum which was a great choice in my opinion. Motorcycles galore, of course automobiles, and even aircraft engines (their start). Really cool. The hotel experience was not great, we chose to be at the airport at a little place that was intended to be a bedroom with an early exit and it worked. Still clean and of course... the breakfast!

So that's maybe a one-off factory visit experience to share. These factory builds probably a thing of the past soon with MOSAIC, who knows. 

Finally just one more plug... we're fortunate to be pilots, and to be one of the few (for now) experiencing this lightweight beautiful little "Ferrari."

[Jim Harris]

Thanks again Jim to you and Debra for the taxi service that week.  What a fun week!   Hope to see you guys at SnF or at OSH!

[Matt Ricciardi]

Great write-up, Jim!  I did European Delivery on an M3 in Munich back in 2011.  Visited the BMW Museum, too, and briefly hit 165 mph on unrestricted stretch of the A9 north of Munich (after completing the engine break-in period, of course).  Even an ///M car felt like it was going to lift off the road at those speeds.  Would love to see any airplane-related photos you can share.

[Jim Badalamenti]

Thanks. A few photos from final assembly, the area with the color and bling! The red one near the door was about to exit... it flew right after we left I hear. I was drawn to that red from the start along, oddly to me, the dark green which I'd have never guessed. More pictures of the red with silver (and one of same design in red and white body) because I always thought that would be the primary color. I came in with NO design only a backup standard design. I wanted to pull something from Francois and he didn't disappoint. It took a few iterations but I'm pleased with it... and the red! (and its accompanying silver, and dark gray, and black, and gold... haha). There's maybe only 1 ugly one in the bunch, not saying which! 

[Michael Hodes]

You can see N76KM in the second picture.  That is my plane.  Thank you for sharing.

[Matt Ricciardi]

8 minutes ago, Michael Hodes said:

You can see N76KM in the second picture.  That is my plane.

Did you get the 750kg gross weight increase option?  Been some Czech regulatory delays with those, so curious whether they're rolling now.

[Matt Ricciardi]

16 minutes ago, Jim Badalamenti said:

I came in with NO design only a backup standard design. I wanted to pull something from Francois and he didn't disappoint. It took a few iterations but I'm pleased with it... and the red!

Do we get to see your paint design now, or is it a surprise?  😜

[Jim Harris]

9 hours ago, Matt Ricciardi said:

Did you get the 750kg gross weight increase option?  Been some Czech regulatory delays with those, so curious whether they're rolling now.

Matt - what we were told is they are bringing over a U.S. DPE to sign off on the planes and then the Czech regulatory group would accept that and then sign off on the planes.  That was supposed to be happening anytime now.   We saw several planes in various parts of the process marked as 750kg so hopefully they will start rolling soon. 

[Michael Hodes]

22 hours ago, Matt Ricciardi said:

Did you get the 750kg gross weight increase option?  Been some Czech regulatory delays with those, so curious whether they're rolling now.

I am getting the 750KG option.  The last I heard was early April, but nothing specific.

[Jim Badalamenti]

My design? I definitely went conservative. It is unique but nothing like "the Pixel" or "the Ghost" (Ukraine fighter pattern going to Gulf States for their demo). And Olivier has something like a meteor design for his that by now may be in the final assembly area. Anyways I believe/hope the side profile that in 2D is somewhat boring comes to life with the wings when viewed in 3D. Stared at 2 red Ultimate Limited 915 patterned VL3's on the final assembly floor that were basically identical except for one with silver and the other off-white main body. Tough decision but went with the silver. I believe it will look like a red bird from below so need a nickname... definitely not a cardinal (old school Cessna) but perhaps Phoenix or Firebird. Not thrilled with them though. So many decisions! And a lot of hand wringing but in the end it's done and it's all about the ride! haha

[Matt Ricciardi]

The red and silver metallic will "pop" more in real life.  My silver and blue pixel design looks flat on the screen, too.  I'll have to think about a nickname--agree about avoiding "cardinal" given the old-school Cessna.

[Matt Ricciardi]

1 hour ago, Michael Hodes said:

I am getting the 750KG option.  The last I heard was early April, but nothing specific.

Yep, that's what I've heard, too.  We'll see...

[David Galardi]

On 3/10/2024 at 8:26 AM, Jim Badalamenti said:

Returned this week from my factory build experience... fantastic experience! My travel different than others as my wife and I made it a 2 week vacation. We live in Charlotte, NC and took advantage of a direct flight to Munich and with points did the Business Class "pod" thing for the overnight which was an experience in itself, showed up well rested in the early AM to start our European journey. We rented an autobahn capable car and headed to our first stop in Cesky Krumlov. First, if you want to travel on a budget don't rent a car... between the rental, the extra insurance we were advised to get, the many parking fees, the high price of gas compared to the U.S., the hassle portion of finding your way around (though that part really not bad for us, today's navigation systems with automatic speed zone indications and other automation take away the hassles)... anyways it's not cheap. But for us it made sense as we had many stops and enjoyed the countryside, the experience, and yeah the occasional autobahn high speed thrill (120 mph once, mostly 100 or so... but understand we are buying VL3's, enough said, we're somewhat high speed educated/calculating risk takers right?). 

As for the tour of Europe, started with Cesky Krumlov and it was a nice preview of an old world cobblestone somewhat poor town with castle and great views, stayed at the Hotel Dvorak which I'd highly recommend. Next off to Prague and basically Prague was the highlight of the visit spots. Too much to say, but a down to earth not completely pristine old world cobblestone town (Cesky Krumlov on steroids) with much to see and experience. Spent the weekend, stayed at a 9 room hotel that was awesome and relatively cheap (very cheap compared to Vienna!), recommend it... Hotel Clementin. Castle, St. Charles bridge, the Astronomical clock, etc. awesome.

Off to the factory... we stayed beyond Vysoke Myto in Litomysl ("Little Michelle") which is where the factory folks recommended, at Aplaus Hotel which based on one other traveling was way better, this hotel again very nice and affordable. And let me say the hotel breakfasts at every stop were amazing European spreads... so spoiled, one of the highlights of the day, my mornings will never be the same here in the states. Anyways Litomysl is a quaint old world cobblestone town as well, not as pristine as Prague and certainly minus the size and architecture but interesting and nice in its own way. Small restaurants and shops but nothing to do in the evenings which to us wasn't a big deal except we found ourselves going to bed ridiculously early considering it should be the opposite with the time zone difference!

The factory visit wonderful. Won't go on about that except to say it was mentioned between the 3 pilot Americans including me there for the build (I hear unusual, typically 1 or maybe 2?)... "kid in a candy store"... the new facility with the balcony looking out over 20+ final assemblies in progress, walking out there and seeing all the details, the changes day to day and experiencing some of it as you start the week with a somewhat empty shell transforming to nearly completed airplane. We all, including my wife who is a hard sell, came away with a deeper appreciation for the airplane. Everyone great to work with, Francois in particular a gem. We were fortunate also to spend time with not only the team but also with 2 of the others building their VL3's. Great experience to say the least.

Next stop after a few hour journey Vienna. Vienna is huge, but stayed in the old town area, hotel was the Romischer Kaiser right in the heart of the old town area which again was really nice and somewhat affordable compared to others, but Vienna is more like big city pricing and the hotel triple that of anywhere else. I would say Vienna is sensory overload, so much to see, so much architecture, etc. Very clean. The Red Bus tour very beneficial to do the full ride and then use for access to go to stops you want to tour. Took way too many photos, every time turn around see something better. Could go on and on about what seen.

Next stop Salzburg, the Sound of Music city. Again an old world cobblestone town square kind of place, we stayed right in the heart of things at Hotel Elefant (yes named after an elephant tour that one of the royals rode through the country visiting towns). Castle at the top of the hill with amazing views of a town that has views amazingly similar today as those in a painting we found from like the 1700's or early 1800's. The town started in the 600's... incredible. But 1 day enough there frankly. After a while they all start to look alike! (stupid American I know)

Off to our return flight at Munich that is when the autobahn experience was in full swing. You think you're going fast over 100 mph and then passed by a family car going way faster. I'm conservative so like I said cranked our little BMW up to 120 once just to do it, and except for the lower speed zones I'd say averaged around 100 or so. In Munich we only had the afternoon so visited the BMW museum which was a great choice in my opinion. Motorcycles galore, of course automobiles, and even aircraft engines (their start). Really cool. The hotel experience was not great, we chose to be at the airport at a little place that was intended to be a bedroom with an early exit and it worked. Still clean and of course... the breakfast!

So that's maybe a one-off factory visit experience to share. These factory builds probably a thing of the past soon with MOSAIC, who knows. 

Finally just one more plug... we're fortunate to be pilots, and to be one of the few (for now) experiencing this lightweight beautiful little "Ferrari."

I will echo Jim as well.  Excellent experience and learning from both Jims!  FWIW, I decided to stay in Prague the last two nights of the stay.  Splurged on the Four Seasons.  Utterly incredible views and hospitality.  Food was outstanding just about everywhere visited.  Attached is a simple photo of my build and a shot from my room in Prague and an example of the food available in Litomysl.