The Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) T-50 Golden Eagle advanced jet trainer development team is at Le Bourget this week, celebrating the progress of the aircraft's flight test programme.
There are four T-50s in final assembly and the first is set for delivery two months ahead of schedule in October. Along with BAE Systems Hawks, the T-50 is leading the pack to carve a large slice of the growing market to supply training platforms for pilots set to fly fourth-generation combat aircraft.
The supersonic trainer has yet to be seen at an airshow and unusually there is no mock-up at Le Bourget this week. It has already caused some surprises by grabbing the UAE order for fighter trainers, which once looked certain to go to the EADS Mako.
In May this year the trainer completed its 1,000th flight at Sacheon, South Korea, witnessed by representatives of the Korean air force (ROKAF), other Korean government agencies and the international industry team building it.
"I congratulate the entire team on this important milestone in the flight test programme," said Maj Gen Namgung Hyuck, commander of the ROKAF aerospace projects group. "Its success is even more impressive when we consider this is Korea's first high-performance aircraft development programme."
The T-50 is a collaborative project between KAI and Lockheed Martin, which is responsible for developing the avionics, flight control systems, and wings. Both companies will be responsible for international marketing.
Flight testing began in the summer of 2002 and the last test aircraft began flying in September. Since then the four test aircraft have been flying regularly with no significant problems.
Source: Flight Daily News
