Grob Aircraft created a stir at this year’s LIMA show by bringing its G520T Egrett high-altitude surveillance aircraft, as the company considers restarting production.
The aircraft, which is one of among three aircraft in service globally, is the only two seater ever produced. During the show Grob representatives met with military officials to discuss the type’s utility as a high-altitude observation platform.
Designed in the 1980s to look across the border into Eastern Europe from high altitude, the requirement for the type vanished with the end of the Cold War. Its operating altitude is 50,000 feet.
Greg Waldron
The example that appeared at LIMA was operated by Australian researchers throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, accumulating about 1,000 flight hours. In 2007 it was grounded owing to a lack of funds. It spent seven years on the ground before being purchased and restored to flight status by Grob.
Grob says that it will re-start production of the type if it receives six confirmed orders, adding that talks are underway for 12 orders.
Greg Waldron
The aircraft is constructed almost entirely of fibreglass and is powered by a single Honeywell TPE331 turboprop. The aircraft has large payload bays that can accommodate cameras as well as side-looking radar arrays. Each wing has a hard point for science equipment.
If Grob restarts production, the aircraft will receive a new glass cockpit and other updates.
Source: Flight International
