21 November 2016
The first two Grob 120TP aircraft for the UK’s Military Flight Training System have been delivered. The two-seat single-engine turboprop aircraft will be used for elementary training of Britain’s Army, Navy and RAF pilots.
The aircraft flew into RAF Cranwell, the home of UK military flight training, before continuing to RAF Barkston Heath where they will be based and operated by Affinity Flight Services. The Grob 120TP in UKMFTS guise will be known as ‘The Prefect’ after the Avro biplane trainer used by RAF pilots around WWII.
The Grob 120TP powered by a 456shp Rolls-Royce M250 turboprop engine with a five-blade constant-speed MT prop. It has a top speed of 245 knots, ceiling of 25,000ft and can sustain G forces from -4G through to 6G.
Features include state-of-the-art avionics including primary flight display, for VFR and IFR flight in non-icing conditions. The 120Tp has an all-composite airframe with a life of 15,000 flight hours.Elementary flight training for military students teaches:
3 comments
A welcome start but all those aerodynamic fixes should have been done at the design stage before full production got under way. The privatisation of our armed forces continues. Is this a good thing??? Is it value for MY taxpayers funds???
Pity we no longer have a UK manufacturer of a suitable a/c
Absolutely spot on comment.