Bombardier's NATO Flying Training in Canada (NFTC) programme is expected to be operational in March, after delayed delivery of Raytheon T-6A-1 Harvard II turboprop trainers.
Training of Canadian Forces student pilots is expected to begin as soon as aircraft are delivered to Moose Jaw, Alberta, says Jim Richardson, NFTC programme manager at Canada's Department of National Defence (DND). Advanced training in BAE Systems Hawks will begin in July.
Training of foreign students will begin later in the year. Overseas interest in the contractor-owned and -operated programme is such that Bombardier and the DND are discussing the purchase of additional aircraft, Richardson says.
Delivery of the T-6s, which was delayed by the US Department of State's refusal to grant an export licence, is being held up by a bearing problem in the aircraft's Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6 engine. A solution is being ground tested, with flight testing planned for February.
Raytheon expects to begin T-6 deliveries to the US Air Force and NFTC in March.
Raytheon received an export licence in November after an agreement which allayed US concerns about the disposal of the T-6s, which will be owned by a Bombardier subsidiary.
Under the original deal, says Richardson, the Canadian Government had first refusal on the aircraft. Under the revised deal, Raytheon has "second refusal".
The agreement clears the way for deliveries to begin as soon as Raytheon has validated the engine repair. A journal bearing in the gearbox has been redesigned after it was determined that tight manufacturing tolerances could result in a drop in oil pressure during aerobatics. Raytheon says the change was made to extend engine life.
NFTC has 24 T-6s on order, plus 18 Hawks. Richardson says Bombardier and the DND are close to a framework agreement on acquiring additional aircraft.
Source: Flight International
