Turkish Aerospace Industries has performed the maiden sortie of its Hurkus single-engined turboprop trainer.
The flight, which lasted 33min, was undertaken from Ankara Akinci air base on 29 August, says the company.
It flew the Hurkus in a landing configuration, with its gear extended and flaps set in a landing position.
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Take-off speed of the Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6-powered type was 100kt (185km/h), slightly higher than initially envisaged, and the Hurkus was taken to an altitude of 9,500ft (2,900m) and a maximum speed of 140kt.
Test pilot Murat Ozpala says: "We did not exceed 150 knots because flaps are in landing position. All of the systems worked well. After testing the control, avionic and hydraulic systems, everything was fine."
The Hurkus programme was launched in 2007 and the first aircraft (TC-VCH) was rolled out in June 2012. TAI plans to certificate the aircraft by the end of 2014.
It will develop three models, a civil trainer, an air force trainer and a close air-support variant.
Muharrem Dortkasli, general manager of TAI says: "This is the first Turkish-designed aircraft since 1952. We believe it is a historic day for Turkey's aviation industry."
Source: Flight International
