The Country

Geography:
Located in northern Europe, on the eastern side of the Baltic Sea. Latvia is bordered by Estonia to the north, Russia to the east, Belarus to the south east and Lithuania to the south. To the west lies the Baltic Sea. The whole country is a low-lying plain which doesn't rise above 300 m (975 ft) above sea level. The total land area is 64,589 sq km (24,938 sq miles).
The Population of 2.4 million (2000 figure) comprises 52% of Latvian origin, 34% Russian, 5% Ukrainian, 5% Belorussian and 5% other ethnic groups. The capital city is Riga.

National History:

Summary Narrative History

Timeline - Key Dates in Latvian History

Further National Information:
BBC News Profile: Latvia
Yahoo Latvia page
wikipedia: Latvia
wikipedia: History of Latvia

Civil Aircraft Registrations:
Latvian civil aircraft were registered in the series B-LAAA onwards 1919-1929 and then YL-AAA onwards 1929-1939. The YL-xxx series was reintroduced in 1991.

An incomplete all-time Latvian civil aircraft register listing is here.

Military Air Arms:
Current military air arms-
Air Force (Latvijas Gaisaspeki)

Historical military air arms-
Army Aviation (??) [1918-1940]
Naval Aviation (??) [1918-1940]
National Guard (Aizsargu Aviacija) [1918-1940]
Military Aviation (Luftwaffe) [1941-1945]

Central Government Agencies:
Border Guard (Latvijas Robežsardze)
National Guard (Latvijas Zemessardze) [1993-2000]

Public Service Aviation:
Medical Aviation - no information
Police - no aviation branch

Commercial Aviation:
Air Baltic
Baltic Express Line [1993-2002]
Concors Latvian Air Service
Inversija Cargo Airlines
Latvio Latvian Airlines
Transeast Airlines

wikipedia: Airlines of Latvia
The World's Airlines: Latvia

Private Aviation:
To be added

Aircraft Manufacturers:
Latvian Aircraft
VEF

Airports, Airfields and Air Bases:
Airports in Latvia

Military Air Bases and Airfields-
Military Air Bases Listing - to be added.

Aviation Museums:
Riga Aviation Museum
Latvijas Aviacijas Tehnikes Muzejs
Latvian Aviation Museum photos

Airshow Dates:
Key Airshow Dates

Aviation-Related Magazines:
Magazines Guide

Magazine Dealers:
Recommended second hand magazine dealers

Aviation Bibliography:
Latvian Aviation Bibliography - to be added

Aviation Bookshops:
On-line bookshops

Web Links:
Sparnota Latvija
(History of Latvian Aviation 1918-1940)

Aviation Museums Latvia