It was then when the Czechoslovak Ministry of Defence issued a specification for a trainer to replace the outdated Aero C-2, which was a copy of the German Arado Ar.96. Two companies took part in this contest, Letov with the XLA-54 and Avia with the XLE-10.
The Avia XLE-10 was designed by the engineer Tomás and two identical prototypes were built. The first prototype flew for the first time in July 1950 and, although initially it was planned to be powered by a new M-446 V-12 engine, it wasn't yet available so it was fitted with a M-411 (a Czechoslovak copy of the German Argus As.411) which produced 572 hp of power.
As it was intended for the combat trainer role, it was armed with a single 7.92 mm MG 17 machine gun placed in the nose, at the right side and could carry a total of 145 kg (319,67 lb) of underwing bombs. After testing flights against the Letov XLA-54, the Avia XLE-10 was chosen as the best option, though both aircraft had identical flying characteristics albeit if the XLE-10 was slightly better in some aspects, so the XLA-54 was scrapped. After those tests, the M-446 engine was ready and, after being re-engined, it took off again on 10th August 1951. Subsequent tests were successful and even a production order for 110 aircraft was placed. However, on 11th December, during one of further test flights, the plane crashed killing, unfortunately, both of its pilots. This serious accident damaged Avia's prestige and the project was closed with the Soviet Yakovlev Yak-11 being chosen as the main trainer for the Czechoslovak Air Force.
On the other side, the Letov XLA-54 was designed and developed by engineer Matznera who based the aircraft on the L-154 design. Just like the XLE-10, it was going to be powered by the M-446 engine, but as it was running short on supplies, the initial powerplant it was fitted with was the M-411. It was also armed with a single 7.92 mm MG 17 machine gun placed in the right side of the nose and could carry a total of 140 kg (308,647 lb) of underwing bombs. The first (and only) prototype flew for the first time on 5th June 1950 and, as the XLE-54 lost against its most direct competitor, the XLA-10, the XLA-54 was scrapped in 1951.
Sources:
1. http://www.airwar.ru/enc/other/xle10.html (translated)
2. http://www.airwar.ru/enc/other/xla54.html (translated)
3. https://www.armedconflicts.com/Letov-XLA-54-t8972
4. https://www.armedconflicts.com/Avia-XLE-110-t8962
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