JUSTIN WASTNAGE / KIRKBYMOORSIDE
UK manufacturer to offer all-glass cockpit variant, basic Firefly and BAE Systems Hawk
Slingsby Aviation has concluded detailed design of an advanced version of the T67 elementary trainerto bolster a bid for the UK's Military Flying Training System (MFTS) competition.
The Kirkbymoorside, northern England-based company has designed a faster, all-glass cockpit version of the piston-engined Firefly capable of flying at around 180kt (330km/h) to allow the aircraftto cover some of the typical turboprop syllabus. The T67MK2 has a cruise speed of 150kt.
Peter Lovering, Slingsby business development manager, says design work on an aircraft with a new swept, shorter wing with a thinner profile has been completed. Cobham-based subsidiary Chelton Flight Systems has designed the electronic flight instrument system (EFIS). Slingsby has no plans for a prototype until "clear customer demand is found", says sales director Steven Boyd.
Slingsby is likely to offer a combination of the basic T67 and the new advanced variant to the Ministry of Defence in conjunction with the BAE Systems Hawk forMFTS.
Slingsby recently delivered three T67s to Bahrain and expects to receive an order for additional aircraft to be used alongside six Hawks.
Lovering says Bahrain's use of Fireflys for ab initio and basic aerobatic training, with synthetic training devices filling the gap traditionally filled by turboprop trainers,could be replicated elsewhere.
Some believe the RAF is keen on retaining its 73 Shorts Tucano T1s, but to reduce their flying hours. "The Firefly is capable of providing around half the Tucano syllabus, with the limitation being cruise speed. But with a faster Firefly and bringing the Hawk's syllabus down with training aids in between, it could be a viable proposal," says Lovering.
Chelton is close to receiving a supplementary type certificate for the Firefly avionics and Slingsby says it is keen to offer an all-glass cockpit in future competitions. The EFIS can be configured to simulate a fast jet cockpit, says Lovering. The system is likely to be modified for night-vision goggles compatibility and hands-on-throttle-and-stick inceptors in the future, says Slingsby.
Source: Flight International
