September 2007 - number 6
Life begins at fifty Interview with M. Ralli,’326 record holder Teaching eagles to fly Radar Intercept Missions Training analysis
EDITO DITOR R
IN
CHIEF
SUMMARY
Giovanni Pasqua MANAGING EDITOR
Giancarlo Naldi
Editorial
CONTRIBUTORS
Gregory Alegi
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Massimo Lucchesini
Giovanni Artioli Gaetano Battaglia Gianni Cattaneo
Daniele Garavini
“Training analysis” behind a training solution
Paolo Gianvanni
Vitantonio Di Lorenzo
Vitantonio Di Lorenzo
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Massimo Lucchesini Giulio Mainini Enrico Minazzi
When Aermacchi raced in the “Giro d’Italia”
EDITORIAL SERVICES
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The WING Consulting S.r.l.
Enrico M inazz inazzi i
Via Chiana, 87 00198 - Roma GRAPHIC
DESIGN
MRB Consulting
Tea eachi ching ng ea eagle gles s to fly
Via Roberto Bracco, 42
Gregory Alegi
p. 16
00137 Roma LAYOUT
Copy Service
Aermacchi Pilot Club
Largo Somalia, 28 00199 - Roma
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Giuilio Mainini
PRINTING
Torre d’Orfeo Editrice S.r.l. Via Alfredo Testoni, 133 00148 Roma
Scramble! Scramble! Scramble!
Q UARTERL UARTERLY
Gaetano Battaglia
PROFESSIONAL PROFESSI ONAL
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MAGAZINE
Published by ALENIA AERMACC AERMACCHI HI S.p.a. Via P. Foresio, 1
Life begins at 50
p. 28
21040 Venegono Superiore
Daniele Garavini
(Varese) Tel. +39.0331.81311 1 www.aermacchi.it REGISTERED
WITH THE
VARESE COURT
n.407/14 n.40 7/14 May 1982
The tale of Macchi, Mickey the shooter and Hanna Reitsch...
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Giovanni Artioli
Cover picture:
Aviation update
Holding his typical cigarette, test pilot
Paolo Gianvanni
Guido Carestiato Carestiato poses by the prototype “Macchino”. Photo: AMW
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Massimo Lucchesini General Manager of Alenia Aermacchi
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u r in in g t h e S e c o n d Wo r l d Wa Wa r t h e Briti Bri tish sh sta tesm an Winsto n C hur hurchil chilll sa id: “It isn’t important important how perfect a strategy str ategy a ppears; what co unt untss is that
so oner or la ter one must fac e up to its its results.” And in these last few months the results of Alenia Aermacchi’s strateg y a re emerging, emerging, and they a re increa increa singl singlyy evident evident in all se cto rs of the co mpa ny. The bus iness a rea in which these results results a re s tarti tarting ng to bec ome mo re important important is that of trainer air aircraft. craft. Foll Follow ow ing the eva luation performed performed b y Italiia n Ai Ital Air Force Force pilots pilots at the Aermac Aermac chi ba se a t Veneg Veneg ono a nd the Experi Experimenta menta l Tes t Unit at P ratica di Mare, the Mini Ministe ste r of Defence a nnounced hi hiss intenti ntention on to pur purcha cha se an ini niti tial al ba tch of a ircraft. Thi Thiss announcem ent is progressing to conc rete terms, as a spec ifi ficc a rti ticle cle has been inclu ncluded ded in the “ Dr Draft aft o f the 2008 2008 Budg et Law” to a ppr ppropri opriate ate fun funds ds for the purcha purcha se o f 15 MM-34 346s, 6s, the as so ciated Logistica Logistica l Suppo rt and G round B as ed Traini aining ng S ystem. Obviously,, the Itali Obviously Italian an Air Force Force isn’t the o nly target Aerma Aerma cc hi is is pursui pursuing. ng. There is is inter interes es ting new s even from fr om the United Arab Arab Emira Emira tes . This pas t winter bo th the M-346 M-346 a nd the M-311 M-311 we re “sho rtrt-llisted” for potential supply to their their Air Force of both Adva Adva nced /P re-operational and B a sic a ircraft.
Sub seq uentl uently, y, both aircraft aircraft
underwent an a pr prolonged olonged redeployment to Al Al-A -Aiin ba se over the months o f J ul ulyy a nd August, August, w her heree they s aw an intense period period o f evaluation evaluation and experimenta experimenta ti tion. on. The potential cus tomers we re ab le to as ses s a nd app reciate the qua lity of o ur produc produc ts, and we were a ble to eva luate the a ircraft under extreme extreme e nvi nvirronmenta l conditions conditions with temperatures temperatur es in excess o f 50° 50° C in the the sha de. C ontac ts a re a lso contin continui uing ng w ith the air for forces ces of Greece, S inga pore and Portugal. In that country a Memorandum of Understanding has been signed with the local company Ogma. To this s ce na ri rioo w e ca n ad d the role pla pla yed b y our other tra tra iner inerss (S (S FF-260, 260, M-3 M-311 11 and MB -3 -339) 39) a nd b y co ll llaa bo rative miliita ry prog mil prog ramme s, with pa rti rticular cular atte ntion to the c ontrac t signed in S a udi Arabia Arabia fo r the Eurofighter Eurofighter.. Thi hiss b ri rings ngs with itit a signifi significa ca nt de ma nd for Typhoo n wing py lons a nd for the Ameri America ca n order for the C-27J, fo r which Al Alenia Aermac Aermac chi is is respo nsibl nsiblee for the des ign a nd production of the outer wing pa nel nels. s. These ac ti tivi viti ties es are in add iti tion on to those alr alrea ea dy o ngoing, such as the AMAM-X X ACOL ACOL upgrade , a nd ma ke a signi signifi fica ca nt co ntr ntriibuti bution on to the C ompa ny’ ny’ss business results. Another important Alenia Aermacchi reality is represented by the civil sector, which reflects the positive trends in the co mmercial air trans port market both in the eng ine nac ell ellee and a irf rframe rame s ec tors. Tw o impo impo rtant events o cc urr urred ed in the aeronautical world during these last few months: the roll-outs of the Boeing 787 and the Superjet 100. Alenia Aermacchi participates parti cipates in bo th programmes, maki making ng respec ti tivel velyy elevators a nd fa n co wls o n the former and inl nlets ets on the latter atter.. The The a dditi ddition on of new pr products oducts , tog ether with with co nsta ntl ntlyy improvin improvingg production ca pab ility a nd performanc performanc e, permit permit us to pr predict edict increas increas ed s ales from fr om c ivi vill a vi viaa ti tion on c oll ollaa bo ration on the o rder of a n interesting interesting + 35% 35%.. Thi hiss is a n overa ll loo loo k at Aleni Aleniaa Aermac chi. With a s trong g roup lilike Finmec Finmec ca nica b ehind it, it, produc ing tang ibl iblee results, a nd having ambitious targets and excellent prospects for growth, the success of Alenia Aermacchi is the result of long-term strategy based on business knowledge, orientation to specific markets and customers, innovation in research and development, recognition of the potential value value of huma n ca pi pital, tal, internati internationa ona liza ti tion on a nd c ontin ontinuous uous improvement improvement in produc produc ti tion on a nd q uali uality ty.. I would also menti mention on the ca reful eco nomic-fi nomic-financ nanc ial mana ge ment which has a llow ed us to a chieve a cons tant increa increa se in creating value. All thi things ngs c ons idered, this has been a goo d s tr trateg ateg y that pr produces oduces vi visibl siblee results results w ith which we ca n compa re in order order to build build a nd co nsoli nsolida da te the futur future.
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The ideal training syst d
“ Training a The Alenia Aermacchi M-346 Photo: AMW
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m is a seamless and coherent process that velops the skills preparing pilots to become combat ready” on their operational aircraft.
Analysis” behind raining Solution he vision of future future o peration a l s c e n a r io io s is c h a ra c t e r iised by different threats, w e a p o n s a n d a i rc rc r a f t s y stems, pilots' roles and responsibilities le a d in g t o a n in c re re a s e d m i s s io io n t a s k database. In a Network Centric Wa rf rfaa re pe rspec ti tive, ve, “ Information do mina mi na nce ” w ill play a do mi mina na nt role role in in the co nduct of future future op erati erations ons . The p il ilot ot s o f the fo urth/fifth ge neration fig fig hters w ill rely on a utoma ted flight and power control systems that willl a llow them to c onc entr wil entraa te on targ e t d e t e c t io io n , t h re re a t c o u n t e ri rin g a n d t a c t ic ic s p la la n n in in g . P s y c h o m o t o r ta ta s k s m ig ig h t d e c r e a s e , b u t t h e re re w ill b e a n increase in cognitive tasks required to ana lyse and synthesi synthesize ze the s ensory ininformation provided by the automated systems. This ch a ng e w il illl req uir uire e tra ini ining ng s yste ms a ble to prepa re properly properly fli flight c r e w s n o t o n l y t o f ly ly s o p h is i s t ic ic a t e d fourth/fi fifth fth g ene ration a ircra ft, b ut a lso t o m a k e u s e o f a ll t h e i r c a p a b i li lit ie ie s a nd ti timely mely de cisions while while maintaining situational awareness. The idea l pil pilot traini training ng s ys tem is a
T
c o h e r e n t s e a m le le s s p ro ro c e s s w h e r e skills are developed allowing the pilot to be prepared to rea rea ch co mba tt-rread y s t a t u s o n t h e f ro ro n t li li n e w e a p o n s y stem. Thi Thiss app roa ch a llow s a stru structucture d p ro ro g re s s i o n o f t ra ra in in in g , s t e a d i ly ly expanding student abilities while expos ing the s tudent pilot pilot to increas ingly more dema nding ta sks unti untill the the final final sta ndard is is reached. Th e la l a s t s t a g e o f t r a i n in in g m u s t nec es sa ri rilly be co mpl mpleted eted on front-l front-line a i r c r a f t . Th e m o s t d e m a n d i ng ng c h a lle n g e f o r a n e w a d v a n c e d /L /L IF IF T traa iner is tr is to ba la nce its performance
A pilot with vast military instruc instructional experience and now Alenia Aermacc Aermacchi hi Training Systems Advisor, Gen. Di Loren Lo renzo zo offer offers s stimulating stimulat ing ideas on pilot training.
and training capabilities with lower operating operati ng c osts , ma ki king ng it poss ible to perform higher-cost fighter tasks rolled back from the OCU phase (usually referred to as “downloading” a c tivi tivity) ty).. Therefo Therefo re, the more traini training ng is downloaded onto cheaper aircraft, t h e m o r e c o s t -e - e f f e c t iv iv e t h e s y s t e m will be. The o vervi verview ew of the new traini training ng n e e d s , i n t e rm rm s o f s k il ills , c o m b in e d with the the ma nda tory goa l to keep pilot pilot traini tr aining ng c os ts a s low a s po ss ible, rerequires a review of the overall training cy cle. The future future op erationa l sc ena ri rios os pos e the issue o f how to tr traa in pil pilots to make sa fe and effective effective use of the ca refree handling and mission capability of their their costly costly new c omba t as sets . But the future training system should also identi dentify fy the mos t promising promising c and ida tes as early as possible, in order to red u c e t h e w a s h o u t a t la la t e r, r, m o re re e x pensive pensi ve phases . THE CHALLENGES INFLUENCING TRAINING
To b eg in to und ersta nd ho w futur future e t r a i n in in g s h o u ld ld b e s t r uc u c t u r e d , it ’ s
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useful to analyse the correlation between the following three key elements: • Theo ry: - evolution of air war in the foreseeable future; - capabilities of present weapons; - new new ta cti ctics cs to be ta ught; - chang ing role role o f the co mba t pil pilot, from fr om “traditiona “traditiona l a ircrew” to “s yste m manager”; • Tec hnol hnolog og y: - current current a nd future future air aircraft, craft, c a pa ble of different tasks within the same mission (swing role); - h ig ig h e r d e g r e e o f c o n n e c t iv iv it it y , giving the pilot large amounts of information in a lmos t rea l time; time; - wide ra nge of s ens ors, ful fulfi fillling a ra nge of req ui uirrements fr from om improved night ni ght vi vision sion to precisi precision on ta rge ti ting ng to increased self-defence; • P ra ra c t ic ic e : - a n in in t e g r a t e d t r a i n in in g s y s t e m
a b le l e t o d e v e l o p t h e kn kn o w l e d g e a n d s k il ills re q u ir ire d t o b e c o m e a c o m b a t pilot. Th e in i n t e r a c t io io n b e t w e e n t h e s e three thr ee e leme nts revea ls a cri criti tica ca l relations ti ons hi hip: p: ea ch e lement c a n evolve evolve indepe ndentl ndently, y, des pi pite te the ca use/ use/effect effect relati elations ons hi hip p b etwe en them. The e voluti volution on o f bo th theo retica l and technological elements is co nsidered the d ri rivi ving ng fa cto r for for the d e v e l o p m e n t o f th t h e k no n o w le d g e a n d s k il ills re q u ir ir e d b y t h e f u t u re re f i g h t e r p i lo lo t . Th Th e s e t w o e le m e n t s m u s t b e p ro ro p e rly li lin k e d a n d b a la n c e d t o t h e p r a c t ic ic a l e l e m e n t in in o r d e r t o s a t is is f y future pil pilot tra ining req req uir uirem em ents . OUTLINE OF THE AERMACCHI OUTLINE TRAINING NEED ANALYSIS Alenia Aermacchi has carried out a study on future training systems highlighting the major changes nee de d. Thes Thes e include: include:
• Eval Evaluation uation of the major major impa impa ct on training requirements deriving from technological and human challenges posed by future combat aircraft; • E x a m in i n a t i o n o f e a c h t ra r a i n in in g phase, downloading whenever p o s s i b le l e O C U s u b je c t s t o e a r l i e r p h a s e s t o b e p e r fo fo r m e d in in t h e n e w integrate d training training sys tem. • Expanded a ppl ppliica ti tion on of traini training ng m e d ia w it h in in a n in in t e g r a t e d t r a i n in in g system. • G ra d u a l p ro ro g r e s s io n o f s t u d e n t k n o w l e d g e t h ro ro u g h o u t t h e o v e r a ll ll traa ini tr ning ng s ystem cyc le. B y d efini efinition, tion, t he Traini raining ng Ana lysis a i m s a t c a p t u r in in g t r a i n in in g r e q u ir ir e ments a nd identifyi identifying ng a cos tt-effecti effective ve method to develop the ski skillls req ui uirred by a fi fighter ghter pil pilot. S uch process must satisfy the entry level requirements of future futur e OC Us in terms of tra ini ning ng levels, always aiming at the highest possible level.
KEY TRAINING ELEMENTS
AIRPOWER (Maximum Potential)
Capability
THEORY (Academics/Tactics)
TECHNOLOGY Provide
(Aircraft system)
Knowledge skill needed Requirements
Requirements Develop
Aircrew need to de vel velop op a set o f s k il ills a s s o c i a t e d w i t h e x e c u t i ve ve tac ti tica ca l proced proced ur ures es a nd dec isions
Aircr rcrew ew ne ed to develop a set o f skillls a sso ciated w ith senso r and ski system management
PRACTICE (Training system)
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The a na lys is is us ua lly de veloped t h ro ro u g h a “ c o m p e t e n c e - o r ie ie n t e d ” ap pr proa oa ch, defined defined a s the exec uti ution on of manoeuvres manoeuvr es and the use of knowledg knowledg e c o r re re l a t e d w i t h a l l t h e f a c t o r s t h a t m ig ig h t b e p r e s e n t in in a n a c t u a l fu fu t u re re scenario. Future challenges influencing traini tr aining ng for adva nced comba t a ircraft can be broken down into those related to the o perating envir environment, the req ui uirred a ircrew skil skillls, the a ircra ft itself and the available training t e c h n o l o g y . Th Th e r e f o r e t h e p r o c e s s u s u a lly s t a rt s w it h t h e e v a lu a t i o n o f the result of the “Operational Missions Analysis” and ends with the “ Tra ini ining ng D ef ini inition tion ” . The The fo ll llow ow ing diagram highlights the major areas of a n a ly s is is a n d t h e p ro ro c e s s c o v e re re d b y the TNA.
KEY SKILLS FOR THE FIGHTER PILOT M o s t o f t h e c u r re re n t a n d f u t u re re Fighter Aircraft offer increased o p e r a t i o n a l c a p a b i li lit ie ie s , a n d c r e w s must be properly trained to use their full power safely. Evidence shows that pillots of thes e new ge nerati pi neration on fighters fighters will become more “systems m a n a g e r s ” a n d “ t a c t ic ic a l d e c is i o nnm a k e rs rs ” t h a n “ f l y e rs rs - f ig ig h t e r s ” in a t r a d i t io io n a l s e n s e . Th Th is is c h a n g e is occurring thanks to the new technology introduced into the cockpit. B a sic flying flying ski skillls wil willl not c hang e s ignifi ignificc a ntly ntly.. The The pil pilot ot w ill s til tilll ta ke-off, la n d , c li l im b , d e s c e n d a n d n a v ig ig a t e from fr om point A to B . The The B a sic Fighte Fighte r Manoeuvres (BFM) and within-visual r a n g e a i r- t o - a i r a n d a i r- t o - g r o u n d
A 61st Wing MB- 339 339CD CD in flight over the Salento region. Phot o: ITAF ITAF - 61st Wing
c o m b a t p ri rin c ip ip le le s h a v e n o t c h a n g e d much. Traini aining ng b as ed o n a se q uence of events, from pre-mission brief to de bri briefing, efing, is s ti tilll app ropri opriaa te. What will change significantly in comparison with what is done today is the seg ment rel related ated to the ope rational so rt rtiie itse lf. P repa ration for rece ivi ving ng t a r g e t in i n g a n d t a s k in i n g i n f o rm r m a t io io n o n l in in e is a n i n f o rm rm a t io io n - p ro ro c e s s i n g task that must be part of future training. I n m a n y c o n f e re r e n c e s o n f u t u re re f ig i g h t e r p i lo lo t t r a i n i n g , Ai r F o r c e s wo rl rldw dw ide a nd huma n fac tors/ tors/trai traini ning ng
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TRAINING NEED ANALYSIS OVERVIEW
OPERATION MISSION ANALISYS
SQUADRON TRAINING REQUIREMENT
It’s a plan whic h defines the “course terminal ob ject” (CTO), (CTO), expressed as the training t asks and related objectives which will be performed by the trai trainee nee and the ass associated ociated p roficiency level “Gradu “Gradu ation Req uirem ent” (GR). (GR). The level level of proficiency needed for a given task reflects reflects the circumstances of the job and will affect affect the type and the amo unt of instruction required.
FIGHTER SQUADRON MISSION ANALISYS
IDENTIFY TRAINING REQUIREMENTS
TRAINING STRATEGY
COURSE DESIGN STRATEGY
DIFFICULTY D
TRAINING DEFINITION I t ’ s a p l an an w h i c h g u i d e s t h e t r a i n in in g a n d p r o v i d e s t e r m s and references for the subsequent design and development phase
IMPORTANCE FREQUENCY
IDENTIFY TRAINING TASK / SUBTASK
I F
CONDITION
KNOWLEDGE
DEFINE SYLLABUS DEFINE STRUCTURE (TRAINING MODULES)
DEFINE MEDIA ALLOCATION
DEFINE SEQUENCE & GROUP T/O
DEVELOP TRAINING OBJ ECTIV ECTIVE E
SKILL
DEFINE TRAINING TASKS LEVEL PROFICIENCY
CONDITION TRAINING SUBJ SU BJ ECT DEFICIENCY
e x p e r t s a g r e e t h a t f o r f u t u re re f ig ig h t e r pilots information-processing skills (“ Ta c t i c a l s k i ll ll s ” ) w i ll ll b e m o r e importa nt tha n moto r skil skills. P revi evious ous ge neration skil skills s uch a s a i r m a n s h i p (w (w h i c h in in t h e p a s t w a s related a lmos t o nl nly y to fl flyin ying g skil skillls) are s t i ll ll re l e v a n t b u t m u s t b e e x p a n d e d a n d c o n c e iv i v e d a s a c o m b in i n a t io io n o f high priority skills. Situational awareness will be more
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IDENTIFY TARGET POPULATION
challenging, and pilots will need to be able to prioritise the use of information so ur urces ces , a ss es s the reli relia bil biliity of that in f o rm r m a t io io n a n d d r a w t h e r e q u ir ir e d conclusions. Skills associated with the management of sensors and s ystems – a n d t h e re r e f o re r e t h e e x e c u t io io n o f t a c t i c a l p r o c e d u r e s /d /d e c i s i o n s - a r e ma inl nly y c erebral and invol nvolve ve o nl nly y b a sic mo to r skills. skills. The The refore tra ini ining ng impli implies es
STANDARD
d if i f fe f e re r e n t c h a ll e n g e s a n d a n a t u r a l aptitude for both flying the aircraft and m a n a g in g s e n s o r s a n d s y s t e m s m a y n o t a l w a y s b e f o u n d in in t h e s a m e person. Th e t r a d i t io io n a l c r it it e r i o n f o r selecting potential candidates to b e c o m e f ig ig h t e r p il il o t s m a y r e q u i re re so me c onc eptual modifi modifica ti tion on tha t will will have a n impa impa ct on the b a sic tra tra ini ning ng p h a s e . As As a m a t t e r o f f a c t , t h e re re is is
a l re re a d y s o m e e v id id e n c e t h a t s t u d e n t pilots with a natural aptitude for basic motor skills are today considered the most promisin promising g c andidates but do not n e c e s s a r i l y s h a w n a t u r a l a p t it it u d e when it comes to system management. In accordance with these c o n s i d e r a t i o n s , a m o d e r n t ra ra i n in in g p ro ro c e s s m u s t s t re re n g t h e n a n d b e t t e r focus on some skills such as: • M e n t a l C a p a c i t y : th t h e a b ilit y t o ma intain an o veral veralll understa ndi nding ng o f the situation and be able to use all the available information properly (the “picture”); • S ituational Awa Awa renes s a nd Infor Infor-ma ti tion on Mana ge ment: full full operational operational ca pa bil biliiti ties es wil willl only only b e e xploi xploited ted if the p il ilo t h a s a c o m p l e t e a p p re re c i a t io io n o f the tac ti tica ca l situ situaa ti tion on a t a ny time; time; • Se nsor Manipu Manipullation and Management: ability to manipulate multi s e n s o r s w i t h in in t h e c o c k p it it e n v i ro ro n ment;
• D e c i s i o n M a k in in g /L /L e a d e r s h i p Skills: the ability to make decisions not o n l y f o r h is is o w n a irc r a f t b u t t o t a k e c o n t ro ro l o f t h e f o r m a t i o n w h e n t h e situation dictates. THE TRAINER AIRCRAFT REQUIREMENT The c urr urrent ent training training s ys tems a re characterized by: • inade q uate level level of perfor performance mance and flying qualities of current ge nerati neration on tr traa iners; • in a d e q u a t e m is is s io n e q u ip ip m e n t a nd infor informa ma ti tion on da ta flow flow ; • poor performance performance in high high energy manoeuvres. Th e s e s h o r t c o m in in g s c a n n o t b e o v e rc rc o m e w i t h u p g r a d e p r o g r a m s , whether structural or avionic. C o n s e q u e n t l y, y, t h e r is is k f o r f u t u re re t ra r a in in in g c a n b e f o u n d m a in ly ly i n t h e folllow ing a rea s: fol • la te intr introd ucti uction on o f stude nt pil pilots t o m o d e r n a i rc rc r a f t c a p a b i li lit ie ie s a n d
miss mi ss ion eq ui uipment; pment; • long er tra tra ini ning ng a ctivi ctivity ty in in OCUs with increased flying hours in the more expensive segment of the syllabus. It is is w id e l y b e l ie ie v e d t h a t t h e g a p between the outcome of the traditional training system and new requirements to perform the job of modern operational fighter pilots is constantly increasing. To c l o s e t h e g a p , a n e w t ra r a in e r plaa tform is pl is req ui uirred, with performanc e , a e ro r o d y n a m ic i c s a n d a v io i o n ic ic c h a ra cteri cteristics stics representa ti tive ve of tod ay ’s and tomorrow’s fighter aircraft. Among these: • Ae ro r o d y n a m ic ic C h a r a c t e ri r i s t ic ic s : highly hi ghly manoe uvr uvraa ble, high high sus tainedt u r n ra ra t e s , h ig i g h G - o n s e t r a t e s . To simulate flight characteristics of The second M-346 prototype on the ground w hile the crew comp lete their pre-takeoff checklist. Photo: AMW
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Vitantonio Di Lorenzo
aircraft operating with “combat load”, t h e t r a i n e r s h a ll b e e q u ip ip p e d w i t h a p ro ro g r a m m a b l e f li lig h t c o n t ro ro l s y s t e m a nd s ui uitab tab le pow er res res pons e. The The new trainer is expected to have liftgenerating advanced aerodynamic d e v ic ic e s l ik ik e “ L E R X” X” (L (L e a d i n g E d g e R o o t E x t e n s io i o n ), ), v a r i a b l e c a m b e r wings and control surfaces providing a d e q u a t e a u t ho h o r it it y e v e n a t e x t re re m e ang les of atta ck; • Av io io n ic i c s C h a r a c t e r is is t i c s : t o develop the s ki killls a nd c ompete ncies necessary for the development of the situati sit uational onal awa reness “min “mind d se t” a nd fulfil the role as a “System manager”, t h e t ra r a i n e r h a s t o b e e q u ip ip p e d w i t h e it i t h e r a c t iv iv e s y s t e m s o r e m b e d d e d simulation and state of art glass c o c k p i t e n v i ro ro n m e n t w i t h H O TA TAS (H a n d s O n Th Th r o t t l e An An d S t i c k ) functions; • Additi dditiona ona l Cha ra cteri cteristics: stics: - t h ru ru s t - t o - w e i g h t r a t i o o n t h e order of 0.7:1 or highe highe r; - a d a p t a b le l e a n d p r o g r a m m a b le avionics; - a v a la i b le le w e a p o n r y s y m b o l s i n t h e H U D , mo m o v in in g m a p , e m b e d d e d training traini ng ca pa bil biliity, inerti inertiaa l naviga ti tion on system (INS), global positioning system (GPS) and, as far as practica ble, da ta link ca pa bil biliity; - aircraft monitoring and debriefing aids. INSTRUCTIONAL SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT The de sign a nd the co mpl mplexi exity ty of the training system are determined by t h e n e e d t o a c h i e v e a d e s i re re d s k il il l l e v e l b y a c e r t a i n t im im e i n a c o s t effective effecti ve w ay. Th e c h a r a c t e r is is t i c s o f n e w g e n e ra ra t i o n t ra ra in in in g s y s t e m s a n d t h e a s s o c ia t e d t r a i ni n i n g s y ll l la b i p la la y a n important role, aiming at achieving a proficiency level (course’s final objective) as close as possible to that req ui uirred at OCU a nd S q uadron level level.. Th e t r a i n in in g m e t h o d s h a v e t o develop “proficiency”, “proficiency”, d efi efined ned a s the
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parameter for each task the performance against a defined s ta nda rd (traini training ng effec tiv tivene ene s s). The c lo lo s e r t h e t w o m e a s u re re s , t h e g r e a t e r the effectiveness of the system (teaching effectiveness). P r o f ic ic i e n c y d e p e n d s m o s t l y o n t a s k c h a ra c t e ri ris t i c s a n d c o m p l e x it it y. y. The level of proficiency proficiency me a sures the p e r fo fo r m a n c e a n d in in c r e a s e s w it h t h e n u m b e r o f re r e p e t it it io i o n s o f a t r a i n in in g e v e n t u n t i l a m a x im i m u m is is r e a c h e d (ceiling level) and the performance is a c c o m p l is is h e d . Th Th e u s e o f s y n t h e t ic ic training equipment, which ranges in
The first M -346 flies flies inverted for the cameras. Photo:AMW
c o m p le le x it it y f r o m c o c k p it it p r o c e d u r a l trainer to ful fulll-mi -miss ss ion s imulato rs, is now more co mmon w ithi thin n the c ur urrrent millita ry tra mi tra ini ning ng s ys tems . A k e y c h a lle n g e i n d e v e l o p i n g a t ra ra in in in g s y s t e m i s t o d e t e r m in in e t h e r ig ig h t m ix i x o f t r a i n in in g m e t h o d s a n d training event repetitions which lead to a maximum proficiency at the lowes t cost.
Th e t r a i n in in g p r o c e s s i s u s u a ll y b a s e d o n t ra ra i n in in g p h a s e s a im in in g a t fillling the g a p b etw een the initi fi initiaa l level level and the performance capability r e q u ir ir e d a f t e r t r a i n in in g . Th Th e r e i s a n evident evi dent tendenc y to identify identify phas es I (p r im im a r y ) a n d I I (b a s i c ) w i t h t h e u n d e rg r g r a d u a t e t ra r a in in in g p e r io io d , a n d pha s es II IIII (a (a dva nc ed ) a nd IV (LI LIFT FT)) with wit h the post gradua te one. Th e p h a s e I & II II s y ll lla b u s a im s a t developing: • the nece ss ary ba sic flyi flying ng s ki killls and theoretical knowledge as a common level required by jet, multi
eng ine a nd he lico pter mili milita ry pil pilots ; • the ad diti ditiona ona l ski skillls a nd a tti ttitude tude r e q u ir ire d b y t h e s e le c t e d t r a i n e e t o enter into postgraduate training with a high hi gh proba bil biliity of suc ces s. At t h e e n d o f t h e u n d e r g r a d u a t e p h a s e s , s t u d e n t s s h o u ld ld a c q u ir ire t h e m i li li t a r y p i lo lo t l ic ic e n s e (Wi n g s ) a n d , a c c o r d in in g t o t h e i r a b i li lit y , g r a d u a t e s s h o u ld ld b e s t re re a m e d a n d a s s ig n e d t o the follow-on training (multiengine or fig fi g hter tra ini ning ng trac ks) ks).. The pos tt-gradua gradua te pha ses shoul should d be developed in order to include: • f ly ly in i n g t r a i n in in g in t ro ro d u c i n g t h e s t u d e n t , t h ro ro u g h a c o m b i n a t io io n o f syllabi disciplines, to the complexity of the latest generation of aircraft, avioni avi onics cs , sensors and wea pons; • ope rational fl flyi ying ng in a simula simula ted hos ti tille envir environme onme nt; • fl flying ying tra tra ini ning ng d is cipl cipliines a ble to d e v e l o p t h e s k il i l l s r e q u ir ir e d f o r co nductin nducting g o perational miss miss ions; • t ra r a i n in i n g o n s p e c i f ic ic s e t s o f c o g n i t iv iv e , p e rc e p t u a l a n d d e x t e r it it y skills and skill patterns (such as airmanship, display and sensor management, etc.) through the use of ground based training; • a c a d e m ic ic , p h y s io i o lo lo g i c a l a n d phys ica l trai traini ning ng w hi hich ch p rovides the t ra r a i n e e t h e n e c e s s a r y kn kn o w l e d g e , capabilities and skills to successfully complete the training; • d e v e lo lo p t e a m c o m p e te t e n c ie ie s a t tea m level level as req ui uirred. I n o r d e r t o a d e q u a t e l y p re re p a r e future fighter pilots, two major cha nges a re nece ss ary. Fir Firstly stly,, training training should emphasize situational awareness and effectiveness in action by increasing training for the cognitive p ro r o c e s s e s o f a n a ly l y s is i s , s y n t he he s i s , e v a lu a t i o n a n d d e c is i o n - m a k in in g , b y focusing on: • d e v e l o p in in g a n d m a i n t a in i n in in g a mental picture of the tactical e n v ir ir o n m e n t a n d w e a p o n s y s t e m employment geome tr try; y; • d e v e lo lo p in in g c o n f id id e n c e a n d a b ilit y t o h a n d l e s u r p ri ris e s a n d o p t io io n s
within a s imul within mulaa ted ta ctica l/hos ti tille environment; • i n tr t r o d u c in in g t he h e “ S y s t e m Ma Ma nager” role in a simulated hostile environment. S eco ndly ndly,, the tr traa ini ning ng effecti effectiveness veness will improve when the skills and concepts mas ter tered ed on the eq ui uipment pment a re e x a c t l y re re p l ic ic a t e d i n t h e a c t u a l operational environment. Based on the output training level o f t he he p o s t g r a d u a t e d p h a s e , t h e Operationa Operati ona l Conversi Conversion on P has e s houl hould d only train the y oung pil pilot ot into his/her his/her rol ole e a s a win wingma gma n at operati operational onal team level and mi miss ss ion ma nag er er.. CONCLUSIONS L o o k in in g a t t h e w h o l e t ra r a i n in in g syllaa bus in perspe ctiv syll ctive, e, the p reva lent opinion opini on recog ni nizes zes the need to raise a n d a d a p t t h e s k il ill le v e l o f s t u d e n t pilots in order to match the r e q u ir ir e m e n t s d e m a n d e d b y n e w generation generati on c omba t a ircraft. To a c h i e v e t h i s g o a l , t h e Integrated Traini aining ng Sys tem b as ed on high performance trainers with a d e q u a t e o n b o a r d s y s t e m s ha ha s a key role in the expansion of training its elf. The training training s ys tem mus t not only meet today’s requirements but ha ve g row th pote nti ntiaa l for for the future, future, a d a p t in i n g t o t he he n e w c h a n g e s a n d challenges. Th e M - 3 4 6 is is t h e t r a i n e r p r o p o s e d b y Al Al e n i a Ae Ae r m a c c h i a s the solution for the flying segment of t h is is t ra ra in in in g s y s t e m , w it h a s p e c if ic ic suitability to perform the advanced a n d L IF IF T t r a i n in i n g r o le le i n t h e m o s t cos tt-eff effectiv ective e wa y. The M-346 M-346 performa performa nc e c a n mee t e v e r y t ra r a i n in i n g n e e d a s w e ll ll a s downloading a significant number of traa ini tr ning ng ta sks fr from om the c ur urrrent ta ctic a l p i lo lo t s O p e r a t i o n a l C o n v e r s io io n P h a s e . Th Th e a irc r a f t h a s p e r fo fo r m a n ces and characteristics fully in line with the requirements defined by the Europe Eur ope a n Nations p a rt rtiicipating in the EuroTraining projec t.
g n i n i a r t
11
l u f r u o l o c
Enrico Minazzi
When in For four years, from 1954 Italy with the First with Ghibli 125U
The Aermacch i 125U “Ghibli” “Ghibli” scooter relay team d uring th e 37th Cycling Tour Tour of Italy. Photo: AMW
ermacchi raced the “Giro d’Italia” to 1957, five Aermacchi motorcycles toured ublicity caravan of the famous cycling race. motor-scooters, then with the Chimera 175.
“T
h a n k s f o r ki ki n d t h o u g h t about end of effort STOP Congratulations a n d c o m p l i m e n t s fo fo r v a l u ed ed a n d i n c o m p a r a b l e A e r m a c c h i r e l a y T o u r o f I t a l y. y. V i n c e n z o T o r r i a n i , organizational directo r Gazzetta Gazzetta Sport.” Th is is w a s t h e t e x t o f t h e t e l e g r a m which arrived at the Milan offices in the G a l l e ri r i a Vi Vi t t o r io io E m a n u e l e o f t h e Società Commerciale Aermacchi (SCAM, Aermacchi Commercial Enterprise), created by the aircraft manufacturer to sell Aermacchi m o t o r c y c l e s a n d re re l a t e d s p a r e p a r ts ts im m e d i a t e l y a f t e r t h e e a r ly p o s t w a r la unch of its its land vehicle business . The brief message was signed by the historicc o rga ni histori nizer zer of the G ir iroo d ’Itali ’Italiaa the w orl orld-fam d-fam ous cyc lin ingg to ur of Ita Ita ly, also a s known a s the P ink Rac e from from the p i n k je r s e y w o r n b y i t s w i n n e r - a n d reached the Aermacchi president E n g i n e e r P a o l o F o re re s io i n J u n e 1 9 5 4, 4, r ig ig h t a f t e r t h e c o n c l us us i o n o f t h e 3 7 t h e d it io io n . Th Th e t e l e g r a m (r e p ro ro d u c e d o n p a g e 1 4 ) w a s m o u n te t e d i n a f ra ra m e b y Cesare Sangalli, the historic ca rt rtog og rapher of the Giro Giro d ’I ’Itali taliaa a nd the
ma n who , for over ha ha lf a century century,, drew t h e m a p s a n d c o u r s e a lt it it u d e s f o r t he he r a c e o r g a n iz i z e d b y t h e G a z z e t t a d e l lo lo Sport newspaper. Sangalli gave us c r u c ia ia l a s s is t a n c e in r e s e a r c h i ng n g t h is is story. I n t h e c o m p o s i t io io n , To r r ia ia n i ’s ’s t e le le g r a m is p l a c e d o v e r a p h o t o o f t h e g r o u p o f c y c l i s t s p e d a l l i n g t ra r a n q u il il l y a lo n g a c a n a l (m (m a y b e M il ila n ’s ’s N a v ig ig l io io Grande) with four views of the Aermac chi motorcycles us ed for the the first first time ti me a s e sc orts during during the 37th G iro. For t h e r e c o r d , f iv iv e G h i b li li 1 2 5 U s c o o t e r s we re inv involved. olved. They a re s how n in in four four p h o t o s t a k e n a t t h e 1 9 54 5 4 “ p i nk n k ra ra c e ” t h a t b e g a n in i n P a l e r m o o n F ri ri d a y , 2 1 May, with the classic starting segment in the Sicilian capital, and ended on S u n d a y , 13 1 3 J u n e , w i t h t h e S t M o r it it z Milan segment. For the record, the Giro w a s w o n b y t h e S w i s s C a r lo l o C l e ri ric i , folllow ed by his c ompa tr fol triiot Hugo Kob let a nd b y the Itali Italiaa n Nino Nino Ass ir irelli elli.. Tha Tha t y e a r t he h e r a c e r s p e d a l le l e d 4 , 32 3 2 2 km km , v i rt rt u a l ly ly t r a v e l li li n g a c r o s s I t a l y f ro ro m So uth to to North North and crossing the border in t o n e i g h b o u r in in g S w i t z e r la la n d f o r t h e final stretch.
The photo s in the frame d so uveni uvenirr of Aermacchi’s first participation in the Giro show the G hi hibli bli 125 125U U s coo ters com ing off the Messina-Reggio Calabria ferry, t h e n p o s i n g (p ( p r e s u m a b l y in in t h e S a n M a r t in in o d i C a s t r o z z a - B o lz a n o s t re re t c h ) with the still snow-capped Belluno Dolomites in the background. Another photo s hows them in in Rome, fil filing pa st the Tomb of the Unknow n S oldier a nd the Alta Alta r of the Nation. The The la st photo shows them in the Duomo Plaza in Milan a t t h e e n d o f t h e i r l o n g m i s s io n . Wi Wi th th t h e i r 4 . 5 h o r s e p o w e r a n d 4 , 5 0 0 rp rp m engines, engin es, the s coo ter terss d esigned b y Lino Lino Tonti too k on the long tour co urse in the hands of five Aermacchi test drivers. No technical problems were encountered, even thoug h the uphi uphilll mountain roa roa ds ga ve the sm a ll single-cyli single-cylinder, nder, 2-stroke 2-stroke motors a rea l wo rk rkout. out. After the the d eb ut of the 125N sc ooter known as the Cigno, or “Swan,” b e c a u s e o f t h e s h a p e o f it it s f ra ra m e – a t the 1950 Mi Mila n sho w, Aermac Aermac chi neede d to pub licize its mo torcycle produc ti tion on to make the public aware of the products it was manufacturing in its Varese plant. And w hat c oul ouldd be better for promoting promoting
l u f r u o l o c
13
l u f r u o l o c
Enrico Minazzi
the Aermac Aermac chi motorcycle than s ending a relay tea m of five five vehicles to fol folllow the To u r o f It It a l y ? Th e c h o i c e m a d e b y S ca m’s directo directo r, Dr Fi Filippo P edo te, wa s truly well considered and perfect, p a r t ic ic u l a r l y re re c a l l in in g t h a t t h e I t a l ia ia n government had created the RAI national radio and television company in t h a t v e r y y e a r 1 9 5 4 . R AI AI h a d b e g u n broad ca stin stingg its first first prog prog ra mmes o n 3 J a nuary from s tudios in Tur Turiin. Italy wa s The congratulations telegraphed by Vincenzo Vi ncenzo Torriani Torriani w ere framed an d are still proudly on display in the Alenia Aermacchi offices. Photo: AMW
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ma ki king ng g rea t stride stride s in lea lea vi ving ng b ehind the many open wounds of the Sec ond Wo r ld ld Wa Wa r, a n d w h a t c o u ld ld b e b e t t e r than betting on the Giro to launch a new brand into the motorcyc le w orl orld? d? The Pink Rac e has alwa ys ha d (and (and s t i llll ha h a s , a s w a s s e e n re r e c e n t ly ly in in t h e 2007 Rac e) an e normous populari popularity. ty. At At t h e t im i m e , t h e G i r o w a s b e g i n n in in g t o d i s c o v e r t h e n e w t e le le v is is i o n c o v e r a g e a n d - a f t e r d e c a d e s in w h ic ic h t h a t ra ra c e information was entrusted exclusively to newspapers and radio - the public a w a i t e d t h e f ir i r s t t e l e v is is e d b l a c k a n d white ima ima ge s sp a sm od ica lly. The choice o f s e n d i n g a n Ae Ae r m a c c h i m o t o rc r c y c le
re la la y t e a m t o f o l lo lo w t h e G a z z e t t a r a c e w a s t r ul u l y b r il il l ia ia n t . I n a n y e v e n t , t h e publiicit publ cityy ca rava n that a cco mpanied the G iro pa rti rticipants cipants wa s no thi thing ng new . The The id e a d a t e d t o 1 9 33 3 3 , t he h e s a m e y e a r in in which the Giro saw the debut of the first measured segment, on the 62 km course from Bologna to Ferrara. But it w a s a f t e r t h e w a r t ha h a t t h e p u b li l ic i t y connected with the Pink Race developed with the nation’s economical rebirth. Ae r m a c c h i ’s ’s a d v e r t is is i n g c a m p a ig n with the Giro began in 1954 and c o n t in i n u e d f o r f o u r y e a r s , u n t il i l 1 95 95 7 when the G hi hibli bli 125 two two -str -stroke oke sc ooter was replaced by the Chimera 175, c r e a t e d b y t h a t g r e a t d e s i g n e r Ma M a r io io R e v e l li l i , C o u n t o f B e a u m o n t . Th is is aerodynamicc motor aerodynami motorcycle cycle wa s pr presented esented with great pomp and circumstance, and with the d eb ut of Al Alfr fred ed o B ianchi’s fourfourstroke engine it represented a turning point for Aerma cc hi hi.. B ia nchi ha d just just as sumed technical respons ibil biliity for the Motorcycle Ce ntr ntree c rea ted in 1955. 1955. The ma gnif gnifiicent pho tos which sho w the five five C hi himera mera 175s a t the 39th G iro d’Italiaa , in 1957, d’Itali 1957, have re-eme rge d from the Pink archives thanks to the m e t ic i c u lo l o u s r e s e a r c h a n d i n c r e d ib ib l e histori hi storica ca l memory memory of C esa re S ang a lli, to whom we are indebted for this ma gnifi gnifice ce nt disco very very.. The The photog raphs s h o w t h e s e e l e g a n t s i ng n g l e -c - c y l in in d e r Va r e s e c r e a t u re r e s p e r f o r m in in g o n t h e d u s t y w h i t e m o u n t a i n ro r o a d s o r, r , in in a group, passing through towns and ham lets of the b ea uti utiful ful Ita lian province province . D re r e s s e d i n t h e n -e - e x c l u s i ve ve t w o - t o n e pa int-j nt-job ob s, very different different from from the s ingle colour then offered offered to reduce c os ts, the a t t r a c t iv iv e C h i m e ra ra s p r o v id id e d t h e le le a d for the Tour’s ad vertising ca rava n. The five fi ve tes t ride ride rs wo re jerse jerse ys bea ri ring ng the highly visible visible AERMACC AERMACC HI tra tra de ma rk proudly pr oudly both on fr front and b ac k. S imi milla r markings were displayed on their w a t e r p ro ro o f c a p e s , in in d i s p e n s a b l e fo fo r c h a l le le n g in in g t h e b a d w e a t h e r a n d c o l d encountered while climbing the Appennin ppennines es a nd Alpi pine ne pe a ks.
In Rome the Aermacc hi riders posed for a souvenir photo against th e backdrop of the Arch of Titus. Photo: Gazzetta Gazzetta dello Sport
In pa rall rallel el with the roa roa d e ffor ffortt de dica ted to the G iro, Aermac Aermac chi launc launc hed o n t h e G a z z e t t a d e ll l lo S p o r t m o t o ri rin g pag es an import mportant ant a dvert dvertiisin singg pr presenesenc e t o r e in in f o rc rc e it s m o t o r c y c l e p r o d u c t sa les d ebut. In 1954 the Va Va res e comp a n y p a r t ic ic i p a t e d i n o t h e r c y c lin g r a c e s , s u c h a s t h e R o m e - Na Na p l e s - R o m e b e h i n d m o t o rc rc y c le s , w h ic ic h w a s in v o g u e a t t h e t im im e . F o r t h a t o c c a s i o n , P e d o t e o b t a i n e d t he h e s e r v ic ic e s o f t w o g r e a t c h a m p i o n ri ri d e r s , t h e B e l g ia ia n s Rick Van Loy and Rick Van Steenbergen, having them race behind the Monsone 125M, specifically prepar e d b y t h e L in in t o f i rm rm r u n b y d e s i g n e r L in in o To To n t i . Li L i nt nt o h a d c r e a t e d t h e f a m o u s r e c o r d - s e t t in in g To To r p e d o 7 5 , d e -
scribed in a recent issue of Aermacchi World. Cycling attracted, and still attracts, g r e a t p u b l ic ic i n t e re re s t , a n d Ae r m a c c h i did well to link its products to a sport s o p o p u la la r a n d f o l lo lo w e d b y t h e It a l ia ia n p u b li l i c . We We c a n e a s i ly ly s a y t h a t e v e n
Ae r m a c c h i “ ra r a c e d ” i n m o r e th th a n o n e G iro d’Italia d’Italia . Despite the considerable altitude variations along the route, the Aermacc hi “Ghibli” scooters never had any problems. Photo: Gazzetta dello Sport
l u f r u o l o c
15
s r e s u
Gregory Alegi
Teaching eagles This summer the 70th Wing completed the transition on to the SF-260EA and renewed both its training syllabus and logistic support. 16
The Italian coastline provides an excellent excell ent back drop for air-to-air photography. Pho to : ITAF –Troup e Azzurra
summer when the last two Alenia Aermacchi SF-260EA landed at Latina. If the colour cha nge is s uch that even an untrained eye can immediately tell the new EA fr from om the old AM, AM, the rea l differ dif ferences ences go so d eep tha t the Itali Italian an Air Force has been able to implement a rad ica lly different different tra tra in ining ing sylla sylla bus . B e c a u s e o f it it s i m p ro ro v e d a v i o n ic ic s t h e s m a l l S F - 2 60 60 E A c a n u n d e r t a k e part of the instrument flying program me previously previously flow flow n on jets, greatly reducing reducing cos ts. Toda y a n Ita Ita lia n military student pilot flies 94 EA sorties totalling about 100 hours, against the 20 or so fl flow ow n on the old AM. AM. The ne w digital avionics, which include a GPS, the SF-260EA can be used for a variety of profiles ranging from lowaltitude and night VFR to IFR. As s h o w n d u r in in g t h e d e l iv iv e r y f li li g h t s , cross-country flights are also easier. O n 2 7 J u ly ly t h e l a s t t w o S F - 26 2 6 0 E A, A, flow fl ow n by the C omm a nde r of the ITAF Traini raining ng Co mma nd Lt G en G ia mpier mpiero o G a rgini a nd the CO of the 70th Wi Wing C o l o n e l F ra r a n c e s c o Ti na n a g l i, i, w e n t direc dir ec tly from from Veneg Veneg ono to Latina.
to fly he long line of grey aircraft is the first first visible sign tha t the 70th Wing has re-equipped. For over thirty years the stalwart orange SF-260AM represented the first step in the training traini ng of Italia Italia n military military pilots pilots , b ut their replacement was completed this
T
EXCELLENCE IN TRAINING Although there is no sign to proclaa im this procl this w hen entering entering the b as e, the 70th Wing Wing is is pos sibly the w orl orld’s d’s most experienced SF-260 operator. S ince 1976 1976 the school has has grad uated a b o u t 4, 4, 5 0 0 p il i lo t s a n d “ s c r e e n e d ” which means fa iled – ab out the the sa me number. Impressive numbers, which become even more significant c o n s i d e r in i n g t h a t La La t i n a h a s f l o w n 230,000 of the 1.8 million hours accumulated by the SF-260 fleet wo rl rldw dw ide . Thi Thiss mea ns tha t La La ti tina na ha s f lo lo w n 1 2 . 5 p e r c e n t o f t h e t o t a l w it it h only 5 per cent of the fleet. I n S u m m e r 1 9 7 6 t h e S F - 2 60 6 0 AM AM
e n t e r e d i n t o s e r v ic ic e w i t h t h e 2 0 7 t h Squadron of the Basic-Initial Propeller F ly ly in in g S c h o o l t o r e p la la c e t h e P ia g g i o P.148 then then used a t Latina Latina for student s c r e e n in i n g a n d t h e a e r o p la la n e p il il o t lice nce (BP A) co urse. B etw een 1976 a n d 1 9 8 7 t h e I TAF p u r c h a s e d t h r e e ba tches , for a tota l of 45 aircraft, aircraft, the last of which is scheduled to remain in se rvi rvice ce until Dec em be r 2008. 2008. The The first first Air Force Academy course to complete t h e B P A o n t h e S F - 26 2 6 0 AM AM w a s t h e S pa rv rviiero III III, follow follow in ing g a program me that envisioned envisioned s ome 18 hours hours spread ove r 19 so rti rties es . When When the Air Force b e g a n r e c r ui ui t in in g n a v ig ig a t o r s , L a t i n a developed a spec ifi ficc 1818-so so rt rtiie s yl yllla bus lea ding to the na vi viga ga tor li licenc e. At the dawn of the new millennium, the accumulated experience, the various training philosophies associated to the evolution of operational aircraft, the greater availability of simulators and the shrinking shrink ing s ize of the mil military itary led the I TAF t o r e d e f i n e b o t h t h e a i rc rc r a f t ’ s avionics suite and training p r o g r a m m e s . Th Th i s le le d t o t h e L a t i n a p ro ro g r a m m e t o b e e x t e n d e d f r o m t he he c l a s s i c s c r e e n i n g - in in it it ia ia l p h a s e t o a second, a dvanced phase of ab out 70 hours. As to the aircraft, this was i d e n t i f ie ie d i n t h e S F - 2 60 6 0 E , t h e f if if t h generation of the classic trainers d e s ig n e d b y S t e l io io F r a t i a n d b u il ilt in in some 900 units first by SIAI Marchetti a n d t h e n , fr f r o m 1 9 97 9 7 o n w a rd s , b y Ae r m a c c h i . I n 2 0 0 1 t h e I TAF Experimenta Experi menta l Fl Flying Unit ca rr rried ied o ut a type evaluation using the civilr e g i s t e r e d I - S M C E t o i d e n t if if y t h e c h a n g e s n e c e s s a r y t o m e e t c e r t a in in sp ec ifi ficc requir requirements ements . Thi Thiss led to the EA co nfi nfiguration, guration, cha racte ri rise se d b y a new and more comprehensive avionics suite, suit e, a reprofi eprofilled ca nopy, new e ner nergygyabsorbing seats, air conditioning, fuelinj njecte ecte d engine, electrica electrica lly a ctua ted t ri rim t a b s a n d a n e w a c c e s s h a t c h fo fo r the fuselag fuselag e-mounted ba tter ttery y. The EA pr prog og ramme wa s launched
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Gregory Alegi
in N o v e m b e r 2 0 0 3 a n d the first first a ircraft too k off f ro r o m Ve n e g o n o o n 2 5 Octo be r 2004. Deliveri Deliveries es t o t h e 7 0 t h Wi Win g b e g a n on 4 Augus t 2005. The first first p ha se of the f le le e t u p g r a d e p ro ro c e s s revolved around the instructor type-rating proce pr oce ss and the traini training ng o f g ro u n d c r e w s . F ly ly in in g a ctiv ctiviiti ties es for the sec ond pha se of the Mili Milita ry Pilot Pilot Lice Li ce nce (BP M) be ga n in in August 2006, followed by the screening process for the Air Force Academy’s G ri rifo fo V cours e. The G ri rifo fo V, w h i c h a l s o i n c l u d e d s t u d e n t s f ro ro m S e n e g a l and Albania, was the first to e a rn its its Air irplane plane P ilot Licence (BPA) on the new aircraft. In November 2006 the wing began training traini ng a tota l of 22 pilots pilots for the Air Air Force For ce reserve, the Treas ur ury y P oli olice ce a nd t h e I t a l ia ia n Ar Ar m y . At At t h e t i m e o f o u r summer 2007 visit, visit, Latina Latina wa s train trainiing students fr from om the Drag o V course course for the second pha se o f the the BP M syll syllab us. A DIFFERENT KIND OF OUTSOURCING Whether by choice or not, in recent years “doing more with less” has b e c o m e a m a n d a t o ry ry p a s s a g e – a n d often a cliche – for armed forces w o r ld ld w id e . To c u t t h e f ix ix e d c o s t s o f t h e s h r in in ki k i n g s y s t e m , a s w e ll ll a s t o save increasingly scarce human resources, a ttenti ttention on soon focuse d on logistic support. Even the Italian armed forces thus began to externalise logistic support for aircraft ranging from F-16ADF fighters to C-130J t r a n s p o r ts ts . As As i s o f t e n t h e c a s e , t h e same generic term actually hides some v e r y d if i f f e re re n t m o d e l s t h a t c a t e r t o spec ifi ficc needs of the customer needs and dif differ ferent ent a ircraft c harac teri teristics. stics. For Aermac Aermac chi, the first first do mes ti ticc
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The new digital avionics suite is among the key new features of th e SF-260EA. SF-260EA. Pho to : ITAF ITAF – Troup e Azzur ra
outsourcing experience revolved around ma intenance of the MB-339A MB-339A fleet used by the 61st Wing at Lecce. Under this pioneering contract, Ae r m a c c h i w o r k e d f o r s e v e r a l y e a r s directly on base, using parts and workshops provided by the military. The s ervi ervice ce intr introd od uction o f the ne w SF-260EA also led to outsourcing, with the creation of a c ontr ontrac ac tor tor-oper -operated ated Log istic S upport Centre Centre w hi hich ch ha ndles m a t e r ia ia l s , s p a re s a n d e q u ip ip m e n t o n the Latina Latina ba se itself. Th is is c o n t ra r a c t f o ll l l o w s a d i ff f f e re re n t m o d e l fr fro m t h e o n e i m p le le m e n t e d a t L e c c e , f o r a t La La t in in a a l l m a i n t e n a n c e w o r k is is s t i ll ll p e r fo fo r m e d b y t h e 7 0 t h Win g u p t o t h e l e v e l c o v e r e d b y t h e Air ircra cra ft S ervi ervice ce a bil bility ity Sq ua dron. The The se rvi rvice ce provi provide de d b y Aermac Aermac chi for a s e t m o n t h ly ly f e e i s t o o v e rs rs e e t h e spares holdings and replenishment,
relieving the customer from the burdens associated with the purchase of large spares holdings which need to be s tor tored, ed, if neces neces sa ry ma intain ntained ed to meet applicable time intervals, repair them a nd repla repla ce them. The The co ntr ntrac ac t provi pr ovides des respo nse ti times mes – which which a re in any case limited to a few days – within w h ic i c h Ae Ae r m a c c h i m u s t p r o v i d e t h e pa rts, b ut more importa importa ntl ntly y it allow allow s the military to offload the entire spares proc pr oc ur urement ement cyc le. Compared to the system introduced at Lecce, the contract for L a t in i n a – w h ic i c h h a s r e c e n t ly ly b e e n extended – therefore allows users to retain the technical skill base required to maintain aircraft by saving the human and material resources traditionally required by large sto ckpil ckpiles es of pa rts. The The mo nthl nthly y fee also allows running costs to be
budgeted in detail, shifting the risks a nd co sts of low low servi servicea cea bil biliity to the s e r v ic ic e p r o v id id e r. Th Th e p h i lo lo s o p h y i s therefore therefor e s imil milar ar to the “ pow er by the h o u r” r ” a n d “ To t a l C a r e ” p a c k a g e s o f f e re re d b y m a n y c o m m e r c ia ia l a irc r a f t m a n u f a c t u re re r s a n d s p e c i f ie ie d w i t h increasing frequency by military custo mers when s electi electing ng new air aircraft. craft. Th e e x p e r ie ie n c e a t La L a t i na na g r o w s d a i ly ly , a l l o w i n g A le le n i a A e r m a c c h i t o ga in a ful fulller confidence with the new f o r m u la la a n d t o b u i ld ld u p e x t r e m e l y v a l ua ua b l e s t a t i s t ic ic a l b e n c h m a r k s t h a t will be very useful in preparing c o m m e r c i a l p ro r o p o s a l s f o r p o t e n t ia ia l customers of its trainer aircraft portfolio. FLYING THE EA Z ig ig - z a g g i n g t h r o u g h t h e c l o u d s a bo ve the C irceo promontory, pulli pulling ng
la z y e i g h t s o v e r t he h e P o n t in in e p l a i ns ns , overflying the beaches of my summer h o li lid a y s is o n e w a y o f s u m m a r is is i ng ng t h e S F - 2 6 0 E A f a m i li li a r i z a t i o n f li li g h t a r ra ra n g e d b y t h e 7 0 t h Wi n g a n d t h e It a l ia ia n A ir ir F o r c e ’ s p r e s s o f f i c e . Th e sortie was not entirely realistic, because (thankfully!) it was not intended to “s creen” a nyone, but still still plausible considering that the limited piloting experience makes the guest comp arab le to a student pilot. pilot. B ri riefing, efing, kitting kitting up a nd pre-fl pre-flight ight c h e c k s a r e p e r f e c t . Th Th e t h o r o u g h l y p ro r o f e s s i o n a l a t m o s p h e r e is is a c l e a r m e s s a g e f o r t h o s e w h o b e l ie ie v e t h a t t ra r a i n in i n g b e g i n s a n d e n d s w i t h t he he selection of the right aircraft placed in the hands of a great instructor. Major Raffaele La Montag na, w ith whom I will will fly, fl y, is the hea d of the w ing’s Training a n d P l a n n i n g S e c t i o n . He He h e lp lp s m e s t r a p u p , b u t m o re i m p o r t a n t l y h e guides me to discover the many subtle wa ys in w hi hich ch the EA diff differs ers from the old AM. AM. Once a ga in, there is is more than meets the eye. Ta xyi xying ng brin brings gs the first first cha lleng es . Like Li ke all new stude nts, in order to keep t h e a irc r a f t s t r a ig ig h t I m u s t a c q u ir ire a feeling for the coordination of rudder and throttle. Once in the air the EA is delightful and fully up to its reputation. The a ir co nditi nditioning oning is sw itched o ff and this – together with the heavy military eq ui uipment, pment, a b it of tension tension a nd my a tt e m p t s t o f r a m e t h e w in g m a n in in m y c a m e r a – m a k e s m e a b i t d i z z y. y. Th Th e ever-patient instructor is kind enough t o s a y t h a t it it h a p p e n s o f t e n t o t h o s e unacc ustomed to a ir-t -to-air o-air photographotography. Be tter tter,, then, to try to fl fly y this thing. Gaining confidence with the S F -2 - 2 6 0 is is e a s y a n d , e x p lo l o i t in in g t h e beautiful day, La Montagna shows me
The Latina flying school has over 30 years of SF-260 experienc e. Pho to : ITAF ITAF – Troup e Azzur ra
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Gregory Alegi
h o w t o r o ll ll a n d l o o p i t a n d t o p u l l s o m e “ L a z y e i g h t s ” . Th Th e m a n e u v e rs rs are pleas ant a nd I pretend pretend to b eli elieve eve what he s ays ab out the the w ay I perfor perform m them. B ut the must enjoya enjoya ble pa rt is is t o d i ve ve i nt nt o t h e c a n y o n b e t w e e n t w o clouds to simulate a low altitude a t t a c k r un un . I e n jo jo y i t s o m u c h t h a t I b e c o m e o v e re r e n t h us us i a s t i c . O n t h e return leg leg I a m even a ble to s et up a decent approach, even though I prefer pref er to lea lea ve the touchdo wn to the instructor. Had thi thiss b een a sc reenin eening g flight, flight, I a m a f r a i d t h a t t h e r e s u lt lt w o u ld ld n o t h a v e b e e n c o m p l e t e ly ly p o s i t iv iv e . B u t this the difference between a flying c l u b a n d a m il i l it a r y s c h o o l a i m e d a t discovering discoveri ng w hether a student has the qualities required to fly in combat. But at least the photographs photographs are good !
The SF SF-260E -260EA A are so new t hat m any still lack lack unit codes and insignia. Photo: Gregory Alegi
THE 70TH WING he s tr trong ong train trainiing trad iti tions ons of Latina extend to the very origins origins o f the a ir ba se . The The a irfi rfield eld w a s esta bli blished shed in 1939 1939 for what wa s then the B lind Flying School, and it has been the seat of training units since 195 1955. 5. The c urr urrent ent 70th Wi Wing w a s fo rmed in 1985 1985 f ro ro m t h e p r e v io io u s B a s i c - Ad Ad v a n c e d P ro p e lle r F ly ly i n g School (SVBAE, in Italian), which in turn stemmed from the p revious Multi-Engine Multi-Engine Training S c ho ol. Tod a y Lat ina fliies a bo ut 7,000 hours fl hours annua lly, including including a bo ut 1,000 with the P iag gio P.166DL P.166DL-3 -3 and 500 on the Aermacc Aermacc hi MB-339A.. The ma in c ourse s offered b y the 70th Wing MB-339A Wing are tho se lea ding to the Airpl Airplane ane P ilot Li Lice ce nce (BP A, which includes includes the student flight flight s creeni creening ng a nd b as ic traini tr aining ng pha ses ) and the sec ond p has e of the Mil Military P ilot Lice Lice nce (B P M) M).. The The latte r serves to introduc e so me m o r e a d v a n c e d f o rm r m s o f f ly ly in in g a n d l e a d s t o f u rt rt h e r phases at Lecce with the MB-339A-equipped 61st Wing or a t internationa l flyi flying ng sc hoo ls outs ide Italy. The Wi Wing
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also offer offerss co ur urses ses for the Ai Airpl rplane ane Navi Naviga ga tor Licenc Licenc e (BNA), for instructors and to qualify on its aircraft. The S F-2 F-260EA 60EA eq ui uip p the 207th Sq uad ron, wh ich c o m p r i s e s f o u r f li li g h t s . Th Th e Wi Wi n g a ls o in c l ud ud e s t h e P r o f e s s i o n a l In In s t r uc u c t i o n S q u a d r o n , w i t h h a n d le le s stud ents, supervi supervise se s t rai raini ning ng a ctivi ctiviti ties es and trains Army Army,, C o a s t G u a r d a n d Tr Tr e a s u r y P o l ic ic e s t u d e n t s o n t h e P.166DL P.1 66DL-3 -3 and Dornier Do.228 twin turbo turbo props . In a ll other resp resp ec ts the Wing follow follow s the sta nda rd Italian Air Force model. It therefore comprises the Aircraft S ervi ervice ce a bil biliity S q uad ron, the 470 470th th Tec hni hnica ca lO p e r a t i n g S e r v ic ic e s S q u a d r o n , t h e 5 7 0t 0 t h Lo L o g is t i c O p e ra ra t i n g S e r vi vic e s S q u a d r o n , t h e O p e r a t i o n s O f f ic ic e (which a mong other things things has dir direct ect co ntr ntrol ol over of the Aerma cc hi MB-339A-eq MB-339A-eq ui uippe ppe d 670th Lia Lia ison Fl Flight) ight),, the Fli Flight Sa fety Offi Office, the C omma nder’ nder’ss Off Offiice, the F o rc r c e P r o t e c t io i o n C o m p a n y a n d a n Ad Ad m i n is is t r a t i v e Service.
Giulio Mainini
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f f ic ic i a l ly l y e s t a b l is is h e d t h i s l a s t J u n e w i th t h a f o rm rm a l c e r e m o n y a t t e n d e d b y c i v il il a n d m il ilit a r y authorities, both Italian and international, the Club has seen its membership grow o v e r i t s f i rs rs t f o u r m o n t h s , g a t h e r in in g interest in terest from pilots pilots of a ir force force s a round the world world a nd even from from ma ny veterans veterans , all desirous of sharing their flying experiences in aircraft that have left their ma rk on the history of flight flight no t only in our C ountry ountry.. F o r t h o s e w h o s t i ll ll a r e n o t f a m i lilia r with the objectives objectives o f our Club, Club, w hi hich ch w e published and explained in the previous issue of Aerma Aerma cc hi Worl orld, d, w e w ould remind you that the Club intends to keep a liv ivee the hi histo sto ry ry,, the s pir pirit it and the trad itions of Aermacchi while promoting and co nfi nfirmi rming ng the links links of fr friendship iendship a mong those w ho have flow flow n its its airpl airplaa nes. Of no lesser importance among its various respons ibil biliiti ties es is that of ma intaini ntaining ng the n e c e s s a r y c o m m u n ic i c a t io io n w i t h a n d a mong the Armed Armed Forces Forces which employ or have employed its a ircraft. We e s t im i m a t e t h a t t o d a y t h e re re a re a bo ut 20,000 20,000 pilots pilots with experienc experienc e in Mac chi aircraft, aircraft, a nd o ur intenti intentions ons a re to bring bri ng a ll of them tog ether ether,, exc luding no o n e . F o r t h is is r e a s o n , w e a s k a l l t h e Leaders of the Armed Forces concerned, a n d a l l t h o s e w h o h a v e p o s i t io io n s o f responsibility in aeronautical-related organizations, to g et the w ord out. The The a ppli pplica ca ti tion on form (pr (pres es ented here) ca n be d o w n lo l o a d e d f ro ro m o u r w e b s i t e a n d subs eq uentl uentlyy se nt to us by o rdinary mail. mail. The G overning C ounc il of the Club is wo rk rkiing to launch a se ri ries es of initi initiaa ti tives ves which will will charac teri terize ze the c omin omingg s oc ia l yea r and o f which membe rs will will receiv receivee perso na l notifi notifica ca ti tion. on. Thes e events a nd a c t i v it it ie i e s w i ll ll b e a n n o u n c e d i n t h i s mag azin azinee a nd will will beco me a per permanent manent fea tur turee of Aermac chi Worl World. d.
DO YOU WAN ANT T TO J OIN THE THE CLUB? C LUB? All pilots pilots current or rated on Aerm acchi aircraft aircraft can apply for m embership using this form and m ai aili ling, ng, com plete with the necessary documentation, to : A E R M A C C H I P I L O T C L U B – V i a le le B . B u o z z i 5 8 , 0 0 1 9 7 R o m e , I t a l y Alternative Alterna tively ly,, the form can be dow nloaded from the w ebsite: www.aermacchipilotclub.it and submitted b y e-mail to: secretary@aermacch secretary@ aermacch ipil ipilotclub.it otclub.it The charter charter is posted on the Club w ebsite ebsite.. Mem bershi bership p is free of charge.
APPLICATION FORM Ra nk/Titl itle: e:
...... ....... ....... ....... ...... ....... ....... ....... ...... ....... ....... ...... ....... ....... ....... .
G iven name and Family Family name: name: Air Force/ Force/A Agenc y/Affi ffili liat at ion:
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...... ....... ....... ...... ....... ....... ....... ...... ....... ....... ....... .
Occupation: .................................................................................................... Offiice ad dress: Off
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Home ad dress:
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Tel elephone: ephone:
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Fax: ................................................................................................................. Mobile: ........................................................................................................... e-mail: ........................................................................................................... Aermacc hi type ratings ratings a nd experience experience *: *: ..................................................... .......................................................................................................................... S upporti upporting ng evidenc evidenc e ** **:
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In ac corda nce w ith Itali Italian an pri privac vac y laws , I her hereby eby a uthor uthoriize the C lub to pr proc oc ess the informati information on provided provided in this this form and store it iin n the C lub d ata ba ses for the sole purpose of Club activities. Date ................................ AP P LI LIC C ANT’S S IG NATUR E ................................................
NOTES * Including former SIAI Marchet ti aircraft aircraft now built and and suppo rted by Alenia Aermacchi ** Ple Please ase attach attach a copy o f supporting evidence.
b u l c t o l i p
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l a c i n h c e t
Gaetano Battaglia
Training for the Radar Intercept Missions is the most exciting part of the LIFT programme because it relives the experience passed down by the great aces of aeronautical history.
his is the comma nd that on 2 his J une the intercept intercept c ontroll ontroller er i n t h e P o g g i o R e n a t ic i c o Ai r Defence Operational Centre, not far from from B ol ologna ogna , g ave to an F-16 F-16 of the 5th Wing to intercept a commercial aircra aircra ft over Mi Milan. The ca se involved a n Air Airbus bus , op era ted by a Turk urkish ish airline, which had suffered a transpond e r a n d c o m m u n ic ic a t io io n s f a ilu re re t h a t prevented it from identifying identifying itse lf to a ir traa ff tr ffiic c ontr ontrol ol and air defence centres. After intercepting intercepting the ta rget, the F-1 F-16 6 e s c o r t e d t h e Tu r ki ki s h a i r c r a f t t o t h e Brindisi coast, outside Italian airspace. Wh a t t h e F -1 -1 6 a c c o m plished is one o f t h e t y p ic ic a l radar intercept mission (RIM) th a t fighter interc e p t o r u n it it s perform to defend na ti tioonal airspace, a mission which, in time o f p e a c e , c o u ld ld b e d e f i ne ne d a s “ ro u t iine.” How ever ever,, fi fighte ghte r intercepto rs ha ve a muc h broade r RI RIM M “playb “playb ook”. At flying schools the Lead-In Fig hte r Tra ining (LIFT LIFT)) s ylla b us is typically limited to the “classic” sc ena ri rio o w hi hich ch us uall ually y involv involves es a pa ir o f i nt nt e r c e p t o r s a n d d o e s n o t i nc nc l ud ud e the more “complex” training encountered in the Operational Co nversion Unit (OCU). (OCU). OCU traini training ng is more adva nced in terms of geo metr metriies and tactics, as well as covering those situations in which interceptors
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represent just one part of a package of a ir ircra cra ft having d iffer fferent ent roles. This is is the case, for example, in which inter nterceptors ceptors es cort air as sets that a re proceeding to attack a specific target, e a c h w i t h i t s o w n ro ro l e . An o t h e r s i t u a t io n m i g h t i n vo vo l v e i n t e rc rc e p t o r s performing performi ng a Co mba t Ai Air Pa trol (CAP) miss mi ss ion over a s pecifi pecificc a rea to protect a sens iti tive ve target. Th is i s i s b e c a u s e R IM I M t ra r a i n in in g a t flyi fl ying ng s choo ls is ded ica ted to providing providing students with basic concepts, interception and engagement geometries and the specific
Scramble! Scr Familiarity with classic attack geomet shortens the training period on opera
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t e r m in i n o l o g y u s e d d u r in in g i n t e r c e p t missions. The “ clas sic” RI RIM M miss miss ions ma inl nly y comprise compri se two phas es. The first first phas e in v o lv lv e s a p p ro ro a c h in in g a t a r g e t a n d , i f p o s s i b l e , n o t b e i n g s p o t t e d . Th e second phase is the actual engagement of the target and its identification or destruction. All intercept missions are a c c o m p l is is h e d w i t h t he h e a i d o f r a d a r, under the guidance of an Interceptor Co ntrol ntroller ler (IC) IC).. The IC ha s a n overa ll view far superior to that of the fighter’s
o n - b o a r d r a d a r a n d , u nd n d e r n o rm rm a l cond iti tions ons and in envir environments that a re n o t d e g r a d e d , c a n b e t t e r d i re re c t t h e i n t e r c e p t o r t o t h e t a r g e t . Th Th i s is is particularly important in the LIFT programme because trainer aircraft are often not fitted with radar. Operational aircraft, however, are equipped with radar capable of m o n it it o r in in g t h e t a rg e t a t c l o s e r a n g e , tracking it and guiding on-board w e a p o n s t o s t r ik i k e i t . Ad d i t io io n a l possibilities come from other eq ui uipment pment slaved to the rad ar ar,, s uch as
the main ones ones c ompr ompriise b eam to stern (i . e . , la la t e r a l a p p r o a c h f o l lo lo w e d b y a shift to the rear) and frontal to stern (frontal approach, turning and pos iti itioning oning to the rear). rear). Obviously, the m o s t e f fe f e c t i ve ve g e o m e t r y c a n n o t b e s t r i c t ly ly p re re s c r i b e d in in a d v a n c e . Th e goal in either case is to position o n e s e l f b e h in in d t h e t a r g e t ( “ c o n t r o l z o n e ” ) a t a d i s t a n c e a llo w in g p r o p e r identification or the use of on-board a r m a m e n t . Th e c h o ic e o f g e o m e t r y depends on many possible variables, such a s the type of a vai vaillab le w eaponry – ca nnon o r infra-r infra-red ed (IR) R),, s emi-ac tiv tive e or active guided missiles – interceptor and/or and/ or target target s peeds and so on. Th e t y p e o f a p p ro ro a c h a d o p t e d depends on the situational picture and An MB-339CD wing frames this unusual format ion with a 37th Wing F-16ADF fighter. Phot o: ITAF ITAF - 61st Wing
mble! Scramble! ies during LIFT training ional aircraft at the OCU I FF FF, w h i c h e x t e n d t h e i n t e r c e p t o r ’ s c a p a b i li li t ie i e s i n t o t h e B e y o n d Vi Vi s u a l Range (BVR) realm and allow it to use its weapons against a physically unseen target. IC c o n t ro ro l c a n v a r y a c c o r d in in g t o the tac ti tica ca l situation. In particular particular,, the picture pi cture that the c ontr ontroll oller er ca n a cq ui uirre may b ecome d egraded due to various various factors such a s w eather conditi conditions ons or terrain elevation. Co ntrol ntroller lerss ca n guide interceptors thr througho ougho ut the mission to the ta rge t (“c (“c los e c ontr ontrol”) ol”),, or they ma y s i m p ly ly p a s s a lo n g t a rg e t p a r a m e t e rs rs
(“ l o o s e c o n t r o l” l ” ) a n d l e t t h e p i lo lo t c h o o s e t h e g e o m e t r y t o b e f o l lo lo w e d . The latte r sys tem is us uall ually y follow follow ed in LIFTto LI FTto all allow ow stude nts to improve their their understanding of geometries. Alternatively lternatively,, the co ntroll ntroller er ma y g ive the fighter the target position in terms of direction and distance from a fixed ground loca ti tion on c all alled ed the “b ul ulll’s-eye”, lea vi ving ng ful fulll miss miss ion respo nsibil nsibiliity to the fighter fi ghter (“b (“b road ca st control”) control”).. The The latter system is that which is normally folllow ed by operational units. fol units. As r e g a rd s a p p r o a c h g e o m e t r ie ie s ,
the purpos purpos e of the so rti rtie. e. In fa fa ct, the intercept might start out as an id e n t if if ic ic a t io io n s o r t ie ie – a s i n t h e c a s e d e s c r ib ib e d a t t h e s t a r t o f th th is is a r ti tic l e , w here the Turk urkish ish c omm ercial a ir ircra cra ft wa s known to be havin having g d iff ffiicult cultiies – o r it it m a y b e s p e c i f ic ic a lly - d i re re c t e d t o shoot down a target previously confirmed confir med a s hostil hostile. e. When approaching for identification purposes pur poses , the inter nterceptor ceptor must a lwa ys try to pos ition itse itse lf to the rea r of the target w ithout being being noticed, b oth for p re r e c a u t io io n a r y re re a s o n s a n d t o a v o id id
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Gaetano Battaglia
c r e a t in in g a la r m a n d p a n ic ic a m o n g a n y p a s s e n g e r s a b o a rd t h e a i rc rc r a f t . Th Th e inter nterceptor ceptor c los es in on the ta rge t by the most expedient geometry, according to the tactical situation and following, if possible, a direct (cut-off) r o u t e t o t he h e t a r g e t . At a p r o p e r dista nce (off se t point), point), the interceptor then moves c lose r with with a tur turn n – the soc a ll e d “ f ig i g h t e r c u rv rv e ” – t o w a r d s t h e rea r sec tor of the ta rget (control zone) and, finally, precisely behind the target. At this point the interceptor closes on to the target so as to read identification markings on the tail and r e p o r t t h e m t o t h e I C . Th e I C ’ s s u b s e q u e n t in in s t r uc uc t i o n s m a y v a r y a c c o r d i ng ng t o t h e t h r e a t r a n g i n g f ro ro m “escort the target out of national airspace”, to “force it to land” or even “ s h o o t it it d o w n ” . Th e in in t e r c e p t o r ’s ’s in s t r u c t i o n s t o t h e t a rg e t a r e g i v e n according to those expressly set forth in ICAO directives. Th e c u t - o f f i s t h e m o s t c o m m o n type of miss miss ion for enga gem ent, i.e., i.e., when the IC is virtually certain that the situation involves an enemy to be shot
24
do wn. Thi hiss a llow s the fighter fighter to rea rea ch its target faster, to minimise its exposure to threats and to maintain a constant approach bearing which allows the pilot to concentrate on only o n e s e c t o r o f h is is r a d a r s c o p e a n d potential enga ge ment ge ometri ometries es . The The c u t -o - o f f is is e s t a b l is is h e d b a s e d o n t h e respective fighter-target parameters and the type of armament the intercepto r wo ul uld d lik ike, e, o r is is forced to use. Its relati relative ve value value ma y cha nge a s the mission proceeds, in order to position the fighter in the best position to fire on-board armament within maximum effective range and with the highe st Kill Kill Prob a bili bility ty (KP (KP ). In the LIFT LIFT co urse, the la ck of o nb o a rd r a d a r a n d t h e n e e d t o t a k e fu fu ll ll ad vantage of planned planned s ort ortiies leads to simulate many approach geometries in a s ingle flight. flight. This This mea ns b eg inni inning ng with an a ppr pproac oac h geometry that w oul ould d allow launching an IR missile from the f a r t h e s t p o s s i b l e d i s t a n c e (1 2 km km ), ), converting immediately to the e n g a g e m e n t g e o m e t r y. y . Th Th e v a r io io u s p h a s e s in la la u n c h in in g t h e m i s s i le le a n d
Two M B-339CD show to advantage the 30 mm under wing gun pods. Phot o: ITAF ITAF - 61st Wing
tra nsformi tra nsforming ng the ge ometry for the next engagement are also simulated. P ro g r a m m e d m i s s io n s i n c lu lu d e l o o s e co ntr ntrol, ol, w ith the IC provi providing ding b ea ri ring ng and distanc e informati information on to the target. Thi hiss ty pe o f training, training, in inaa sm uch a s it is limi mited ted a nd b as ic in s tr tructur ucture, e, all allow ow s the student to acquire enough kn o w l e d g e t o r e a c h t h e o p e r a t i o n a l u n i t w i t h f a m i li li a r i t y i n a l l t h e R I M elements (approach and attack geo metry metry,, termi terminology, nology, s imul multane tane ous management of most mission eleme nts ). This This eliminate eliminate s th e mo re common errors deriving from a lack of experience, including incorrect flight parameters due to concentration on IC instructions or, to the contrary, excessive attention to piloting, ignoring radio communications to the detriment of complete tactical situational awareness (SA). Wh il il e t h e a p p r o a c h g e o m e t r y is is
interesting, w ith a ll its interesting, its va ri riaa bles to b e considered and their particular t e rm r m in in o lo lo g y , t h e t a r g e t e n g a g e m e n t phas e a nd related related techni techniques ques is sur surel ely y the more fascinating for a pilot. Be sides req ui uiri ring ng s ignif gnifiica nt ma stery of the a ircraft a nd po tenti tential al tac ti tics cs , this this phase requires great determination, attention, experience and intelligence. Mission success depends particularly on a good SA. Only with these fundamenta ls is it pos sible to initi initiaa te a n a t t a c k a g a in s t a t a r g e t a n d h a v e a g o o d c h a n c e f o r s uc u c c e s s ; t h a t is is , re a c h in in g t h e m o m e n t o f e n g a g e m e n t w i t h o u t t h e t a r g e t r e a l iz iz i n g w h a t ’ s
happe ni ning ng around him. L IF IF T t r a i n s f o r t h e s i m p l e s t sc ena ri rio, o, the “2v1”. Thi hiss involves involves two fighters in “wedge” formation (w i ng n g m a n a b o u t 2 N M f ro r o m l e a d e r, a b o u t 3 0 t o 5 0 d e g r e e s b e h in in d , i n order to have freedom of manoeuvre a n d b e t t e r v is is i o n o f t h e s u rr rro u n d i n g environme envir onme nt to protec t the forma tion) tion).. The ta ctic for the tw o fighters must be s uch that the target’s target’s reaction can be fo resee n. To a chieve this, one o f the two interceptors acts as attacker (e.f. – enga ged fi fighter) ghter) to force the target to manoeuvre manoeuvr e so as to end up in in a g ood position for the other interceptor (f.f. –
free fig fig hter) to launc h its its miss il ile( e(ss ) a nd shoot down the target. In the m e a n t i m e , t h e f . f . i s c o n t r o ll ll in in g t h e situation in order to protect the formation from possible surprise threats. S u re re o f h a v in in g s u f fi fi c ie ie n t S A, t h e t a c t ic ic a l le le a d e r , w h o i s n o r m a l l y t h e f o rm rm a t io io n le le a d e r a n d a c t s a s t h e e . f . , d e c i d e s w h ic ic h m a n o e u vr vre s t o a d o p t . The mos t co mmon a re the s ingle side offset, the pincer and the hook. The L IF IF T g o a l is is o n l y t o a c q u a i n t t h e student with the basics, placing e m p h a s i s o n t h e g e o m e t r ie ie s . Th Th is is m e a n s t h a t t h e l e a d e r p e rf rf o r m s t h e
ATT TTACK ACK GEOMETRIE GEOMETRIES S
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Gaetano Battaglia
The goal of LIFT program mes is to prepare pilots to fly the Eurofighter and other advanced types. Photo: Gregory Alegi
a ttac k whil while the s tudent remains in in the f.f. position in order to learn to provide support to the e.f. and, possibly, get into launch position. Th e S i n g l e S i d e O f f s e t i s t h e manoeuvre adopted to reach a p o s i t io io n b e s id e t h e t a r g e t s t a r t in in g f ro ro m a f ro ro n t a l a p p r o a c h , in in o r d e r t o take better advantage of envirronmenta l cond iti envi tions ons (sun be hi hind, nd, clouds, fog, etc.). etc.). Acc ordi ording ng to how the situa situa ti tion on evolves a nd the type o f a r m a m e n t o n b o a rd , t h e le le a d e r m a y d e c id e w h e t h e r to t o a t t a c k f ro ro m t h e rea r with with a n a dd iti tiona ona l conversion or, or, if necessary, distance himself to la unch a n IR miss miss ile a nd immediately brea k aw a y. The f.f., in pos iti tion on to the le f t o f t h e e . f . , in in c r e a s e s h is is s p e e d and drops below the e.f.’s level, thus getting gettin g into a g ood defensive positi position a n d o b s e r ve ve b o t h t a r g e t a n d e . f . , w h ic ic h a re lo lo c a t e d o n t h e s a m e s i d e . Whi hille the e.f. is ma noe uvr uvriing to g et into po siti sition on to a tta ck from from the rea r, t h e f . f. f. a g a i n c ro ro s s e s t h e p a t h o f t h e leader and positions himself to shoot a miss ile. Dur Duriing this this ma noeuvre, the f . f . m us u s t s c a n t h e s u rr r r o u n d in i n g a ir
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situation in order to spot other targets on a ti timel mely y ba sis. The P incer (or (or Bra c ket) is us ed to atta ck a singl single e a ircraft or a for formation. mation. Th e f i g h t e r s s e p a r a t e b y t u rn r n in in g i n oppo site direc direc ti tions ons with res res pec t to the target he a ding, in in order to pe rform a semi-frontal attack or to position t h e m s e lv e s t o t h e o p p o n e n t ’ s re re a r. After the attack, the fighters return to the wedge formation for mutual
defence. If the the target target is is not aw are of the threat threat and conti continues nues on the s ame bearing, he will find himself between t h e t w o f ig ig h t e r s . S h o u ld ld h e b e c o m e aw a re of one o f the attac ker kers, s, he w ill respond to the threat by turning t o w a rd s t h e a t t a c k e r, r, t h u s e x p o s i n g h is is t a i l s e c t o r t o a t t a c k f ro ro m t h e s e c o n d f ig i g h t e r. To e n h a n c e t h e p o s s i b il ilit y o f s u c c e s s a n d m a k e t h e situation mo re d iffi fficult cult for the ta rge t, the two fighters may separate in terms of a lti titude tude (for (for exa mple, the f.f. ma y climb 1,000 ft with respect to the e.f., t o t h e o p p o s i t e s i d e o f t h e t a rg e t ). ). The P incer req ui uires res a lot of tra ini ining ng in that the two fi fighters ghters find find thems el elves ves a t q u it it e a d is i s t a n c e f ro r o m e a c h o t h e r, r, a n d s o t he he y m us us t a l w a y s b e a w a r e o f their respe ct ive pos iti tions ons . With the MB-339CD, given its great m a n o e u v r a b i li lit y , t h e p in in c e r c a n b e ca rri ried ed out ma intaini ntaining ng vi visua sua l conta ct betw een the atta cki cking ng fighte fighte rs. Whi hille t h e e . f . a t t a c k s t h e t a rg e t , t h e f . f . performs his manoeuvre while s i m u lt lt a n e o u s l y m a i n t a i n in in g v is is u a l c o n t a c t w it it h h is is w in g m a n a n d h e a d s
GLOSSARY point, w here the FGTturn begins. OSP = Offset point,
-TG G Td ista nce in NM. NM. Slant Range = FG T-T
ROP = Roll-out point, where the FGTturn ends,
Noo-jo joy y = TG Tnot in sight .
on t he t a il of th e TG TG T. Roll-out -out distance, distance fr from om TGT TGT at ROD = Roll ROP.
ATA
= Antenna tracking angle, the a ngle bet
Blind
= No friendly friendly a ir ircraft craft in sight.
Tally-ho Ta lly-ho = TG Tin sight. Visu sua al J udy
Friend end in sight. = Fri rad ar scope. = TGT on rad
wee n the TGT TGT nose a nd the Line Line of
Splash = TG Thit.
Sight.
BVR
= Beyond visual range.
CW
interceptor terceptor (rada (rada rl rless ess = Clear w eather in
RLOS RL OS = Radar line of sight, the line which joins FG Ta nd TG TG T.
TCA = Tracking cross ing ang le, comprised be t we en FG Ta nd TGT TGT.
fighter).
Cut-off = Direct route to TG T. Angels = Fl Flight ight altitude altitude in thousand s o f feet.
towa rds the threa threa t on the cry of tallytallyho or whe n ordered ordered by the lea der der.. Th e H o o k is is b e s t s u i t e d f o r a ttac ki king ng sma ll ta ta rge ts that are diffi difficult to identify identify or when it is is ne ce ss a ry to m a k e a v i s u a l i d e n t if i f ic ic a t io io n b e f o r e eng a ging. Whi hille the e.f. a pproac hes from the front to make the identi dentifi fica ca ti tion, on, a t the s a me a lti titude tude a s the target, the f.f. (at (at a distanc e of 8 – 10 NM from the target and upon the e.f.’ss or e.f.’ order) der) sepa rates and gets into a
simila r position simil position to tha t forese en in a S i n g l e S i d e O f fs f s e t p o s i t io io n . U p o n m e r g i n g , t h e f . f . m a y c o n t in i n u e h is is attack and become the e.f., whereas the other fighter fighter beco mes the f.f. and t u r n s i n o r d e r t o p o s it io io n h i m s e lf t o co ver the formation. formation. During During the a ction, both fighters must maintain enough f le le x i b il il i t y s o a s t o g a i n f a v o u ra ra b l e positions in order to face any unexpected unex pected sit situati uations ons a nd be rea dy to a ss ume the other’s other’s role. role.
As we have seen, the LIFT prog pr og ramme a ss igns a limi mited ted number of sorties for this aspect of the syllabus but it still allows young pilots t o b e i n s e r t e d in in t o t h e o p e r a t i o n a l units without significant difficulty. All things thi ngs cons idered, the uniq uniq ueness and difficulty of RIM missions in hostile environments or in complex operational situations cannot be part of a LIFT tra ini ining ng s ortie. This req uir uires es extensive training missions, time and flying experience and mastery of opera ti tiona ona l a ircraft. Additionally, the lack of on-board r a d a r d o e s n ’ t a l lo lo w a irc r a f t s u c h a s ea rl rliier MB-339CDs MB-339CDs to p erform more c o m p le l e x a n d re r e a lis t i c m is is s io n s . O f course the use of a specific e m b e d d e d s i m ul u la t io io n w it h i np np u t o n the scopes of radar tracks representing real tactical situations would allow more complete student preparation and subsequent advantage for the operational units. Thi hiss fea ture will will be a va il ilaa ble w ith t h e C D 2 u p g ra ra d e a n d , e v e n m o re re s o , with the entry into service of the M-346. In addition to its superb m a n o e u v ra ra b i li lit y, y, t h e n e w a d v a n c e d trainer offers handling characteristics q u it it e s im il i la r t o t h o s e o f t h e l a t e s t generation fighters such as the Eurofighte r. This will a ll llow ow the tra ini ining ng programme pr ogramme to come ver very y close to the pa rame ter terss a dopted in traini training ng a t the op erat iona l units units . The The MM-346 346 not o nl nly y p o s s e s s e s v e ry r y a d v a n c e d a v io i o n ic ic s , but if requested by the customer can be fitted with on-board radar in a bay that already exists. But even without r a d a r, t h e p o s s i b i li li t y o f i n p u t t in in g a rti tifi ficial cial trac trac ks into into da ta ba nk nkss mea ns that young pilots can be sent to ope rati rationa ona l uni units ts e ven be tter tra tra ined and ab le to a chi chieve eve comba t read read iness in even shorter time. The M-346 at the top of a lazy eight. eight. Photo: AMW
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y r o t s i h
Daniele Garavini
T
his little trainer with its elegant lines is still in operational service in several countries, willl soon ce lebra te fifty wil fifty yea rs f r o m i t s f i r s t f l ig ig h t . Th Th i s m o s t u n c o m m o n l o n g e v it it y , e s p e c ia lly f o r a military aircraft, places it alongside the Starfighter, Hercules, Canberra and the immortal Dakota, to mention only a few. Now, let’s look at its history and how it was employed around the world.
HOW THE PROJ EC ECT T STARTED STARTED At the beginning of the 1950s, the r a p i d ly l y i n c re r e a s i n g u s e o f je je t a i r c r a f t throug thr oug hout the wo rl rld’s d’s mil miliita ry a ir force force s r e q u i re re d a p r o f o u n d r e v i s io i o n o f p i lo lo t training methodology. Among the various vari ous s ol oluti utions ons proposed wa s the s oca lled “ jet a b initio,” initio,” in which training training w o u l d b e c a r ri ri e d o u t e n t i re re l y o n je je t a ircr rcraa ft from from the initi initiaa l screening pha se onwards. In 1953, whe n the Viper light light turbo jet bec am e a vail vailab ab le o n the ma rk rket et offeri offering reliability and adequate power, Engineer Ermanno Bazzocchi – a firm believer in t h e “ a b i n it it io io ” c o n c e p t - b e g a n t o d e s ig n a n e w a ir c r a f t w h ic i c h c o u ld ld b e e m p l o y e d b o t h a s a n in i n it i t ia i a l m i li li t a r y trainer tr ainer and as a ba sic trainer trainer.. P a r t ic ic u la la r i m p o rt rt a n c e w a s g i ve ve n t o the study of the a ircraft’s spin and low s p e e d b e h a v io io u r.r. E x t e n s iv iv e a e ro ro d y n a m ic ic d a t a w a s p r o v id id e d b y w in d - tu tu n ne ne l tests a t the Milan Milan P olytechni olytechnicc Institu nstitute te a nd the RAE in in Farnbo rough. The initi initiaa l conc epts envisi envisioned oned sideb y - s i d e p i lo lo t s e a t in in g , b u t t h e y w e r e soon abandoned in favour of the tande m arr arrang ang ement preferr preferred by Itali taliaa n Air Force Force p ilots. The Air Air Force Force b ec a me interested in the projec projec t a nd p ut out its r e l a t e d s p e c i f ic ic a t io io n s , w h i c h d i d n ’ t i n c l u d e c a b i n p re re s s u r iz iz a t io io n ; i t w a s neverthel never theless ess ad opted a t the Co mpany’ mpany’ss risk. In August 1956 the Air Force o rd r d e r e d t w o p r o to to t y p e s a n d a t e s t airframe for static testing.
THE PROTOTYPES The firs firs t Mac ch i MB-326 prototyp e,
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Guido Carestiato, Carestiato, the famous wart ime Aermacchi test pilot, lifts the MB-326 prototype off the Venegono run way in th e grey early morning hours of 10 December 1957. 1957. Photo: AMW
762 aircraft built in four continents: these are the nu je j et w hich rece iv ived ed mil military itary se ri riaa l MM.571, MM.571, was powered by an Armstrong Siddeley Viper 8 having 795 kg of thrust. It too k o f f f o r th th e f ir i r s t t im im e o n 1 0 D e c e m b e r 1 9 57 5 7 , w i t h G u id i d o C a r e s t ia ia t o a t t h e controls, and from its very first flights it demonstrated fine flying characteristics and handli handling. ng. Th e s e c o n d p r o t o t y p e , M M . 57 57 2 , f le le w o n 2 2 S e p t e m b e r 1 9 58 58 , w i t h th th e more powerful “Viper 11” engine rated
a t 1 , 1 3 4 kg kg (2 , 5 0 0 lb lb ) t h ru ru s t a n d a ls o used in the se ri ries es -pr -prod od uction aircra aircra ft. Tes t a c tivi tivity, ty, inc inc luding flutter tes ting at ONERA and at the C entr entree d’Ess ais en Vol at Bretigny, beg a n immedia tely tely.. On 27 November 1958 the E x p e r im i m e n t a l Te s t U n i t r e c e i ve ve d t h e prototypes pr ototypes for operationa operationa l tes tes ti ting ng w hi hich ch la s t e d u n t ilil M a rc rc h 1 9 59 59 . In In D e c e m b e r 1958, before testing was completed, 15 p r e - s e r ie i e s a i r c r a f t w e r e o r d e r e d . An An
Life begins at 50 ountries, military and civil operators in five bers of the MB-326, Italy’s most successful aircraft which celebrates 50 years in the air. order for 100 series aircraft was signed in J a nuary 1960. 1960. The first proto type , und er the c ivi ivili liaa n registration I-MAKI, was used for a series of demonstrations abroad to stimula te worldw worldw ide s a les . The aircraft aircraft cras h e d d u r i n g t h i s a c t i v it i t y o n 2 2 A p ri ri l 1 9 5 9 i n B i lb lb e i s , E g y p t , w i th th C a p t a in N ic ic o l a M a c c h i a a t t h e s t ic ic k . D is is p l a y s c o n t in in u e d w i t h t h e s e c o n d p r o t o t y p e
(now I-MA -MAHI HI)) w hi hich ch ma de its publi publicc de but a t the XXII Sa lon d e l’Aerona l’Aerona uti utiqq ue of Pa ri riss in 1959 1959.. Thi hiss w a s follow follow ed b y a presentation in Sweden in March 1960.
PINK PARENTHESIS At t h e b e g in n i n g o f i t s c a r e e r, r, t h e MB-326 MB-3 26 ha ha d s everal unu unusua sua l… roma nti nticc e n c o u n t e r s ! Th e fi fir s t w e kn kn o w a b o u t da tes to August August 1958, 1958, w hen we fi find nd the
‘ 3 2 6 in t h e c o m p a n y o f p r e t t y y o u n g thing thi ng on the co ver of Ca ndido, the weekly magazine created by Giovanni G uaresc hi hi.. The The “ enco unter unter,” ,” des cri cribed bed through the pen of G ior iorgio gio Torell orellii, revea l s t h e e m o t i o n a l m o m e n ts ts o f a y o u n g lady’s growing familiarity with the jet, a cq ui uirred und er the the s ki killled g ui uida da nce o f Ca ptain Ca restiato. The aircraft’ aircraft’ss ea se of handling handling a nd sa fety were emphasized
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through its through its being dubbed as the “Ba bybottlee J et.” bottl The follow follow ing ye a r the the “Ma cc hi hino” no” ende d up in one of Lia Lia la ’s roma roma nti nticc no vels. Ama Ama lia Li Liaa na Negretti Ode sc a lchi, the w ri riter’ ter’ss rea l na me, returned to he r favo ur uriite theme of fl fliight and a vi viaa ti tion. on. Th is is t i m e s h e d e s c r ib ib e d t h e a v ia ia t o r s s e n t t o Ve Ve n e g o n o f o r t ra ra i ni n i ng ng o n t h e new a irpl plane ane and whos e a dventu dventurres in-
tertwined with those of the unfortunate heroi her oine. ne. Liala Liala devoted several pag es to t h e “ M a c c h in in o ” , d e s c r ib ib i n g t h e f l ig ig h t s a n d t h e p il ilo t s ’ s e n s a t io io n s , s e a s o n e d with the the oc ca sional technica technica l refer eference ence . But let’s let’s ge t ba ck to rea lity ty,, w hi hich ch itself a t times times rea ds like fiction. fiction.
THE SEASON OF RECORDS In keeping with the company’s long
and prestigious tradition, in 1961 M a c c h i la la u n c h e d f li li g h t s t o i m p ro ro v e s t a n d i n g a e r o n a u t ic i c a l re re c o r d s . Th Th e initial success was achieved on 4 Au g u s t 1 9 6 1 w h e n C a p t a i n C a re s t i a t o took a production MB-326 to an altitude of 15,489 metres , brea ki king ng the rec ord se t the p revious 22 Feb ru ruaa ry by Va Va lentin G reg orev Muckhi Muckhin in a singlesingle-se se at Ya k32 by rea rea ching 14,283 metres . The Ya Ya k wa s offi officiall ciallyy a trainer but w a s, in reality, reality, an aircraft specifically produced for this t y p e o f f lilig h t . O n 2 5 S e p t e m b e r 1 96 96 1 t h e S o v ie ie t s t o o k b a c k th th e re re c o rd w it h Al e x a n d e r K . S m i rn rn o v i n a Ya k -3 -3 0 a t 16,128 16,12 8 metres metres . But the story didn’t didn’t end t h e r e . In f a c t , o n 1 8 M a rc h 1 9 6 6 Ca ptain Mass imo Ra lli fl flew a pr production oduction MB-326 to an a lti titude tude o f 17,315 17,315 metres, which is is stil stilll an unbea ten reco reco rd tod ay in the C-1d Group 3 category (jet a ircra ft with take-off we ight from 1,750 to 3, 000 kg). Th e q u e s t f o r r e c o r d s c o n t i n u e d s u c c e s s f u ll lly , to to t h e e x t e n t t h a t b y t h e e n d o f 1 9 6 7 t h e R a l li li /M /M B - 3 2 6 combination had achieved twelve world rec ords . Thes e included included a 3-k 3-km m run, run, a t a s p e e d o f 8 7 1. 1 . 8 0 km k m /h /h , w h i c h w a s a c c o m p l is is h e d o n 2 Au Au g u s t 1 96 96 7 o v e r t h e s a m e c o u r s e f o ll l lo w e d i n 1 93 93 4 b y F ra ra n c e s c o A g e ll ll o t o s e t t h e f a m o u s s e a p la la n e s p e e d r e c o r d in in t he he M a c c h i C-72.
THE MB-326 IN THE ITALIAN AIR FORCE Th e f i rs rs t p r e - s e r ie ie s a i rc rc r a f t w e r e d e l iv i v e r e d o n 8 F e b r ua u a r y 1 9 61 61 a n d began intensive testing at the Experimenta l Tes t Un it, co ntinui ntinuing ng until late S eptembe r. Th e e f f o r t s o f t h e F ly ly i n g S c h o o l Sta ndardi ndardizati zation on G roup, which which ha d been f o r m a ll y e s t a b l is is h e d o n 1 A p r ilil 1 95 95 5 , w e r e c o n t e m p o r a r y w i th t h t h e M B - 3 26 26 This MB-326H show show s to advantage the type’s performance in th e vertical plane. plane. In Australia the trainer was also used by the Royal Australian Navy schools. Photo: AMW
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testing and were dedicated to defining the new training programmes and producing the relative flying-instruction m a n u a l s w h ic ic h w e r e d i vi vi d e d in t o t h e f o u r b a s i c f ly l y i ng n g c a p a b i li li t ie i e s : v is is u a l flying conditions, basic and radar a s s is t e d in s t r u m e n t f ly ly in i n g , f o r m a t io io n f ly ly in in g a n d n i g h t f ly ly in in g . Th is is w a s e v e r m o r e n e c e s s a r y i n t h a t t h e M B - 3 2 6’ 6’ s s e r vi v ic e e n t r y w o u l d f o r c e u p o n t t h e Ita li liaa n Air Air Force a ma jor cha ng e in its its t r a i n in i n g p h i lo lo s o p h y . U n t i l t h e n , t h e introd intr od uction of the jet a ircraft into the i n itit i a l b a s i c f ly ly i n g t r a i n in in g o f m i lilit a r y p il ilo t s h a d b e e n a c c o m p li l is h e d v ia ia t h e pro pe ll ller-d er-d riven T-6 Tex a n. The first prod uction a ir ircra cra ft a rr rrived ived i n G a l a t in in a , a s s ig n e d t o t h e n e w l y constituted 214th Squadron on 16 J a n u a r y 1 9 62 6 2 . I t in in v o lv lv e d a r a d i c a l
replacement of the airport’s in f ra ra s t ru ru c t u re re s a n d t h e c h a n g e o f t h e S cho ol’ ol’ss nam e from Ba sic-I sic-Ini niti tiaa l Period Period Flyi Fl ying ng S choo l to that o f the B a sic-I sic-Ini niti tial al J et Flying Flying S ch oo l (S (S VB IA). The first experimental course on the new air aircraft craft beg an o n 22 March March w ith 20 students of the 43rd reserve pilot co urse. Tw elve of them a chieved their pilot’s license, which was conferred in a s o l e m n c e r e m o n y o n 2 9 Oc Oc t o b e r a t B r in i n d i s i a i rp rp o r t , w h e r e t h e S q u a d r o n ha d been temporaril temporarily transferred. For t h e o c c a s i o n , a f o u rr - s h ip ip a c r o b a t i c display was flown by MB-326 instructors led by Major Gambari. The first s tud ents from the Air Air Force Force Aca de my to fly the MB-326 were from from the “Aquila” III III C ours e. Their co urse invol nvolved ved a n intensiv intensivee pha se of a bout 30
A three-ship MB- 326 format ion in the classicc orange livery of t he classi Lecce flying school. Photo: ITAF ITAF - Photo Co llection
flying hours in the Summer 1963 interval b e t w e e n t he h e f ir ir s t a n d s e c o n d s c h o o l yea rs, after which which the s tudents received received their pil pilot’s ot’s lilice nse . The sta nda rd ba sic c o u rs rs e w a s s u b s e q u e nt nt ly ly c o m p le le t e d a t the end of academic training and i n c l u d e d a n a d d i t io i o n a l 80 8 0 - 9 0 f ly ly i ng ng hours. The sylla sylla bus und erwent various various modifications and, in particular, in 1966 it wa s dec ided to c oncentrate jet fl flyi ying ng at the end of the Specialization Course. Th e p r o g r a m m e i n c lu lu d e d s o m e 1 3 0 s o r t ie ie s , in in a d d i t io i o n t o 3 0 s c r e e n in in g hours flown upon entering the
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South African Air Force MB-326KC, lo- cally known as Imp ala Mk 2, in service service with No. 4 Squadron at Waterkloof. Photo: SAAF
Academy. Over time, time, the “ jet a b ini niti tio” o” so lu luti tion on proved too expensive, and propellerdriven single-engine aircraft were b r o u g h t b a c k f o r t h e i n itit ia ia l s c r e e n i n g p h a s e s . Th Th e P ia g g i o P . 1 48 4 8 -e -e q u ip ip p e d 422nd Flight was established for this p u rp rp o s e a t G r a z z a n is is e . Th e u ni n it w a s d i s b a n d e d in 1 9 74 74 a n d it s d u t ie ie s w e r e p a s s e d t o t h e La L a t i na n a F ly ly in in g S c h o o l , rena med the Ba sic-A sic-Adva dva nced P ropell opeller er-Flying School. After the MB-326E entered service with its improved avionics and a r m a m e n t w in g - m o u n t s , e x p e r im im e n t a l advanced basic flying training courses were held to confer the military pilot licenc e o n the ‘326, instea instea d o f the Fia Fia t
Three former South African MB- 326 326M M are now in u se with t he National Test Test Pilot School in California. Photo: NTPS
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G - 9 1T 1 T a t Am A m e n d o l a . Th Th e e n d o f t h e M B - 3 26 26 ’s ’s c a r e e r a s a t ra ra i n e r b e g a n in in 1981, with the arrival of the first Aermacchi MB-339s at the 212th
Squadron. The Aca de my’s “T “Turbine” urbine” III C ours e w a s t h e la l a s t t o c o m p l e t e a l l i t s i n it it ia ia l b a s i c f l y in in g t r a i n in in g o n t h e M B - 3 2 6 ,
OLD SOLDIERS NEVER DIE, THEY SIMPLY FADE AWAY...
T
o c elebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the first f l i g h t w h i l e s t i l l in in a c t i v e s e r v i c e i s a r a t h e r u n u s u a l a c h i e v e m e n t f o r a m i l i t a r y a ir ir c r a f t . Comp are ared d w ith the Boeing Boeing B-52 superbomb er or the N o r t h r o p TT - 3 8 s u p e r s o n i c t r a i n e r, r, j u s t t o c i t e t w o i l l u s t r i o u s “ O v e r Fi Fi f t y ” p l a n e s o n t h e i n t e r n a t i o n a l aviation avia tion scene, the Aermacc hi MB- 326 trainer fares fares quite ho nourably nourably.. This innovative innovative Italian Italian school trainer flew for the first time in the distant, hazy hazy morning o f 10 Decemb er 1957. No one present, including including its designer Engineer Ermanno Ermanno B azz azzocc occ hi, could have imag imag ined s u c h a n e x c e p t i o n a l f u t u r e f o r t h e n e w g e n e r a t io io n trainer trai ner that w ould c reate thousands of m ili ilitary tary pilots, in 13 w orld air forces (including the Ital Italian ian Air Force) and and wo uld be b uilt under license license in three countries besides Italy.. Over a period o f twen ty years the pro duc tion lines Italy in Italy, Italy, Australia, South Africa and Brazi Brazill delivered th e notew orthy to tal of 762 aircraft, in various various versions, bo th dual-seat and single-seat, with increasingly p o w e r f u l R o l ls ls - R o y c e “ V i p e r ” e n g i n e s , f i t t e d w i t h c o n s t a n t l y e vo vo l v e d a n d i m p r o v e d s y s t e m s a n d equipm ent, offering increasingly significant significant op erati erational onal capabilities capabiliti es and imp roved performance. Going b eyond th ese nostalgic reminiscences, reminiscences, it is wo rth em phasizing the fact t hat, fifty years after its first first take-off, the M B- 326 is still in frontline service service w ith international operato rs. The largest largest fleet in operation is that of Brazi Brazil, l, where som e tens of the p lanes are are flying flying w i t h t h e B r a zi z i l ia ia n A i r F o r c e . I n t h i s r e g a r d , t h e “Equad ao d el Quarto Grup o d e Aviação” rep resent s a p r e s t i g i o u s , l o n g - l i v ed ed u n i t w h i c h h a s r e c e n t l y celebrated its ow n 60th annive anniversa rsary ry and has used in succession the P-47 “Thunderbolt,” the P-80 “Shoot ing S tar tar,” ,” the T-33 and , finally, finally, the “Xa “Xavante” vante” and the MB -326 built under license license by Embraer. Embraer. The unit, unit, whic h is normally normally based at Natal, recently com pleted the succ essful join t “Op eração Ro do pista” m ission, operating only from stretches of highw ay in the State of Paraiba Para iba to dem onstrate the full capability for op era erations tions i n d i f f i c u l t a r ea e a s w h i l e e n j o y in in g m i n i m u m g r o u n d
logistical supp ort. This was a repetition repetition of what the L u f t w a f f e d i d w i t h t h e M e - 2 6 2 , t a k in in g o f f f r o m t h e “ A u t o b a h n ” i n S o u t h e r n G e r m a n y d u r i n g t h e f i n a l,l , t r a g i c p h a s e s o f t h e S e c o n d W o r l d W a r o r, r, m o r e recently, the F-5s of t he Sw iss “Fliegertrupp “Fliegertrupp e” using several sever al Swiss highways. It should should be ment ioned that the Brazilia Brazilian-built n-built tw in-seater in-seaterss were acc omp anied by a c e r t a i n n u m b e r o f s i n g l ee- s e a t M B - 3 2 6 K s o f S o u t h African origin which use the same “V “Viper iper 20” engine a n d w e r e t h u s e a s i ly l y i n t r o d u c e d t o t h e B r a z i lil i a n op erational theatre. O t h e r s i n g l e - s e a t M B - 3 2 6 K C s a r e s t i llll a c t i v e in in South Africa as transition transition and trainer aircraft aircraft in various frontline frontli ne units. The MB-3 26GBs are in in service service w ith the r a A r g e n t i n e N a v y ’s ’ s “ 1 E s q u a d r i l l a A e r o n a v a le le d e A t t a q u e , ” w h e r e t h e o r i g i n a l ai ai r c r a f t s u p p l i e d b y Aeronautica Macchi have been joined by add itional planes b uilt in Brazil. One little-known curiosi curiosity ty is that the Argentine Navy had co mm iss issioned ioned a study for a naval vers version ion of the MB -326 to be used for trai training ning and op era erations tions aboard aboard the “25 de M ayo” aircraft aircraft carrier, carrier, but th e project was abandoned d ue to the high costs associated associated with the produc tion of a very limited limited nu mb er of aircraft. aircraft. Other “civilianized” “civilianized” M B- 326s, released by the South African Air Force, are used used in the U SA b y the National Test Pilot Sch ool in the C alifornia Mojave Desert. This prestigious school, which trai trains ns test pilots from all over over the w orld, has at its dispo sal a vast fleet that ranges from p ropeller-driven primary trainers trainers to the bi-sonic “ D r ak ak e n ” a n d v a r io io u s M i g a n d S u k h o i m o d e l s . T h e M B - 3 2 6 s a r e em em p l o y e d t o t e a c h a n d s t u d y s p i n s , a tribute to th e honest handling characteristics of this well-aged fifty-ye fifty-year ar-old. -old. A few of these aircraft still fly in some African co untries, like Tunisia and Tog Tog o, co nfirming the plane’s evergreen ever green design that seems to extend itsel itselff beyond all expectations. Gianni Cattaneo
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A rare photograph of Captain Riccardo Peracchi, the unforg ettable MB- 326 display pilot pilot in m any air shows. Pho to : IAFA – Forlìch apt er
f o l lo lo w e d i n 1 9 8 2 b y t h e 9 5 t h re re s e r v e office offi ce r co ur urse se . The The MB -32 -326 6 rema ined in s e r v ic ic e a t Le L e c c e o n l y f o r t h e I ta t a l ia ia n N a v y c o u r s e s , t h e la la s t o f w h ic ic h e n d e d in 1984. After being withdrawn from the SVBIA, the Macchis were largely re a s s ig n e d t o l ia ia is o n u n it it s t h ro ro u g h o u t the Air Force until their eventual r e p l a c e m e n t a t t h e b e g i n n in in g o f t h e 1990s.
THE MB-326 MB-326’S ’S WORLD A pa rti rticula cula r version version o f the MB -326C studied in 1961 was specifically i n t e n d e d t o t r a in p i lo lo t s f o r t h e F - 1 04 04 fighters fi ghters w hi hich ch ha d just just b een ordered b y I t a l y . Th e m o r e p o w e r f u l Vi p e r 1 0 e n g i n e w a s p l a n n e d , i n a d d i ti tio n t o N AS AS AR R r a d a r, b u t t h e p r o je je c t w a s abandoned in the mock-up stage when t h e t w i n -s - s e a t TF -1 - 1 0 4G 4G b e c a m e available. E v e n t h o u g h t h e o r ig i g i n a l It It a l i a n specifications hadn’t called for them, hard points for fuel tanks and a r m a m e n t w e r e in in c l u d e d in t h e i n itit ia ia l de signs in order to a llow the MB-326 to c a r ry ry o u t li lig h t a s s a u lt lt m is is s io n s w h il ile
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retaining its original training c h a r a c t e r is is t i c s . Th e a r m e d M B - 3 26 26 B prototype pr ototype , de ri rived ved by mod ifyi fying ng a ircraft n o . 3 7 , w a s i n t ro ro d u c e d a t t h e 1 96 96 3 Pa ris S alon and created q ui uite te a sti stirr. B u t t h e fi fir s t c u s t o m e r a f t e r t h e Italian Air Force was Alitalia, which on 27 May 1963 rec rec eived the first first o f four M B - 3 2 6 D s f o r it it s t r a i n i n g c e n t r e i n B r in in d i s i . Th Th is i s v e r s i o n w a s e q u ip ip p e d with communications and navigation equipment similar to that on the airline’s aircraft, in particular the C a r a v e ll l l e . Th e p la la n e s w e r e us us e d e x t e n s i v e l y, y , a b o u t 8 5 0 f ly ly i n g h o u r s e a c h p e r y e a r, u n t il i l 19 19 6 7 w h e n t h e three remaining aircraft were passed to the Ai Air Force Force in a cc orda nce with a joint traa ini tr ning ng a greement. The fi first rst foreign c usto mers a rr rriived in 1964: Tunisia , w hich ordered e ight MB-326B as its first military jet aircraft; a n d G h a n a , w h ic ic h o rd rd e r e d s e v e n . An a dd iti tiona ona l two a ircraft w ere de liver vered ed in 1972 to replace losses. B u t t h is i s w a s o n ly l y t h e b e g i n ni n in g . After ca reful se lection, in Augus Augus t 1965 the Royal Australian Air Force announced the choice of the MB-326H MB-326H
for its flying schools. Shortly afterwards, a similar definitive decision came from South Africa for the M B - 3 2 6 M . Th e t w o c o u n t r ie ie s b e g a n licensed production of both the aircraft and the Viper 11 engines. Overall management of production in Australia was entrusted to the Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation a nd Haw ker De Havill Havilla nd. Altog ether ether,, including aircraft imported from Italy, 87 aircraft were delivered to the RAAF a nd ten to the Roya l Australi Australiaa n Navy. I t w a s t h e A t la la s C o r p o ra ra t io io n t h a t ma nag ed the S outh Afr Afriica n produc produc ti tion on which, from August 1974, totalled 151 aircraft, including those only a s s e m b l e d f ro ro m I t a l ia ia n - m a d e p a r t s . Th e a irc r a f t w a s k n o w n lo lo c a l l y a s t h e “Impala”. The proto type o f the MB-326G flew i n t h e S p r in in g o f 1 9 67 6 7 . It It s p o r t e d a Bristol Siddeley Viper 20 MK.540 e n g in e w it h 1 , 5 47 47 k g o f t h r us us t , a n e w r e in i n f o rc rc e d w i n g a n d u p d a t e d r a d i o navigational equipment. Th e f i rs r s t c u s t o m e r f o r t h is is n e w version versi on w a s Arge nti ntina, na, which received eight MB-326GB MB-326GB s for its its na val aviation. Th e C o n g o f o l lo lo w e d w i t h 1 7 a i rc rc r a f t , and Zambia w ith 23. 23. Th e m a j o r c u s t o m e r f o r t h e “ G ” se ries wa s, a nd s ti tilll is, is, Braz il, w hi hich ch in May 1970 obtained lice lice nsed production rights ri ghts for the MB -326 -326G G C . The The first first lot o f 1 1 2 a irc r a f t w a s e n t r u s t e d t o t h e newly-created EMBRAER, established o n 1 8 Au Au g u s t 1 9 6 9 . Th Th e p l a n e s w e r e de s igna ted a s EMB-326 (A (AT-26, in in the B r a z i lilia n Ai Air F o rc rc e ), b u t t h e y b e c a m e b e t t e r kn kn o w n a s t h e “ X a v a n t e ” t h e nam e of a w a rl rliike native-i native-indian ndian tr triibe . The first B raz il ilian-b ian-b uil uiltt a ir ircra cra ft flew flew o n 6 S e p t e m b e r 19 19 71 71 a t t h e S a o J o s è dos Campos airfield, six months after
delivery of the first Italian components. Altogether 182 Xavantes delivered b e t w e e n 1 9 71 71 a n d 1 9 83 83 . S ix o f t h e s e we nt to to Tog o and to for P a ragua y. After the Falkl Falkland s confli conflict, ct, 11 se cond -h -hand and a ircraft w ere so ld to Arge Arge nti ntina. na. Th e s i n g l e -s -s e a t “ K ” o p e r a t i o n a l traa ini tr ning ng a nd g round s upport varia varia nt flew flew o n 2 2 A ug ug u s t 1 9 7 0 . Th Th e n e w a ir c r a f t , originally designated as MB-336, was e x t e n s iv iv e ly ly re r e d e s ig n e d a n d h a d t w o s i d e - m o u nt nt e d 3 0 m m n o s e c a n n o n s . Starting with its second prototype, the R o l ls ls R o y c e Vi p e r M K . 63 63 2 - 4 3 e n g i n e w a s f it it t e d . I t h a d 1 , 8 40 40 k g o f t h r u s t , although the less powerful Viper MK.540 MK.5 40 wa s reta ined in the MB -32 -326KC 6KC v e r s i o n f o r S o u t h A f ri ri c a . Th Th is is l a t t e r m o d e l w a s a l s o b u il i l t o n li lic e n s e b y Atl tlaa s, for a tota l of 100 aircra aircra ft. In In 1997, f o u r d e c o m m i s s i o n e d S AAF a i rc rc r a f t were released to Cameroon, together w i t h t w o t w o - s e a t e r s . O t h e r a i rc rc r a f t , both single- and twin-seat, were transferred to Brazil, starting in 2004. Th e M B - 32 32 6 K w a s a d o p t e d b y D u b a i (s (s i x a i r c r a f t ), ), G h a n a (e i g h t ), ),
Tunis ia (eigh t) a nd Za ir iree (six). (six). The tw in-sea t MB-326L wa s deri derived ved from fr om the single-sea t K for traini training ng a nd g r o u nd nd s u p p o r t. t. It w a s p u rc rc h a s e d b y Dub a i (tw (tw o a ir ircc raft ) a nd Tunisia (four) four)..
AEROBATIC AEROBA TIC MACC MACCHIS HIS Th e c h a r a c t e r is is t i c s o f t h e M B - 32 32 6 m a d e t h e a i r c r a f t a l e a d e r in in f ly ly i n g a croba ti tics cs . The The first first tea m formation to use the plane for this purpose, though for only a brief period, was the aforementioned SVBIA instructor group. Af t e r th th a t , t h e It It a l ia ia n s a m a z e d a irs h o w c r o w d s w i th t h m e m o r a b le le s o lo displays. Th o s e f lo lo w n b y C a p t . R ic ic c a r d o P erac chi of the Experi Experimenta menta l Tes t Unit w ere truly truly unforge tta ble. Wide Wide ly reputed reputed among the best solo performers, P e ra c c h i b e c a m e a h o u s e h o ld ld n a m e i n It a l y a n d a b r o a d . Am Am o n g h is is s ig n a t u re re figures fi gures w as the s inglengle-whee whee l land land ing. On 2 M a y 1 9 6 9 P e r a c c h i lo l o s t h is is li f e a t Pratica di Mare, betrayed by the o v e r s t re r e s s e d a ir fr fr a m e o f t h e o n e a n d o n l y a i rc rc r a f t h e i n s i s t e d o n u s i n g . H e
w a s a w a r d e d a p o s t hu hu mo mo u s G o l d Me Me d a l for Fl Flyi ying ng G all allantry antry.. His His ab le s ucce ss or was Maj. Clemente Fazzini, who continued to fly breathtaking displays. Foreign For eign tea ms using the MB -3 -326 26 ininc l u d e d t h e “ Te Te l s t a r s ” a n d t h e “Roulettes” in Australia, the “Es q uad ri rillha Alouette” in Bra zil a nd the S outh Afr Afriica n “S ilver Falco Falco ns.”
THE STORY CONTINUES The MB -32 -326N 6N study of 1971 ma rk rked ed the epilogue of the MB-326 story but a l s o t h e p ro r o lo lo g u e o f a n o t h e r a n d e q u a l l y g l o r io i o u s a i rc rc r a f t . Th i s s t u d y envisioned the MB-326K airframe m o d if ie ie d t o a t w i n -s -s e a t c o n f i g u ra ra t io io n , with tande m pos iti tions ons sc aled vertica vertica lly i n h e i g h t f o r b e t t e r v i s i b i li li t y b y t h e instructor nstructor.. Thi hiss w ould be co me the ba sis for the Aermacchi MB-339, but this is a nother story story ... Peracchi concludes his display at a Farnborough show with his signature landing on one wheel. Photo: AMW
y r o t s i h
35
s t o l i p r o f s g n i f e i r b
Giovanni Artioli
The tale of Macc shooter and Han AMW interviews Capt. Massimo Ralli, the pilot who flew the MB-326 to set a dozen records, several of which still stand. phone call, an appointment a n d h e re re I a m o n t he he b a c k roads near Amelia. I am a b o u t t o i nt nt e r vi vie w C a p t a i n Mas simo Ra ll lli. i. The reco rds o f the MB326, many of which still stand, are his. I g e t l o s t i n t h e g r e e n U m b r ia ia n c o u n t ry ry s i d e . I c a l l fo fo r a t e l e p h o n e d QDM and I eventually reach this splendid house that reminds me of the patrician patri cian residences residences along the S omme. The usua l w ords .. . Our pa ths ha d cross ed on the Fiumi Fiumicino cino ramps in the 1980s. 198 0s. He w as an Ali Alitali taliaa ca ptain and I a mere pilot. As pilots do, he clears me for a n informal first first na me. We b ite into into a strudel fres fres hl hly y ba ked b y his w ife. The The finger fi nger hits hits the “ reco rd” button... here we go.
A
I w a n t t o s t a r t b y a s k in in g y o u h o w you started your flight t est career... career... “ I w a s s e r vi vin g a t G h e d i o n t h e F - 8 4F 4 F, a b e a u t i fu f u l, l , s o l id id , s t a b l e , trans tr ans oni onicc a ircraft when I was as signed to the Experimental Unit, which is the crowning of every pilot’s dream. Pratica di Mare airport was still unfinished, the airpl air planes anes were sc attered a t Guidonia, Guidonia, Fiumicino and Ciampino and personnel
36
slept in tents at Fiumicino. I was selected to attend the test pilot course in the USA, so for a year I attended an Engliish langua ge co ur Engl urse, se, eight hours hours a da y... and in the the end I wa s pos ted... to Fra n c e … ”
n o . 2 9 7 o f t h e M - B Ti Ti e C l u b . I n a n y case I went to Bretigny and there I flew every French French a ircr rcraa ft, from from Ourag a n to Mystère, Mystèr e, to the Ca ravel ravellle a nd Mirage Mirage prototypes. Th a t w a s i n Is Is t r e s . I w a s t h e f ir ir s t non-Frenc non-Fr enc h pilot pilot to try the a ircraft. In fac t, I wa s the fi first rst Italia Italia n pilot pilot to fly I n t h e b e s t A i r F o r c e t r a d i t i o n . .. .. L i k e “ W h a t a r e y o u s t i l l d o i n g h e r e ? Mach 2 in in a single-sea ter ter.. Thos Thos e w ho Y o u w e r e s u p p o s ed e d t o s t a r t t h e h a d f l o w n t w ic ic e t h e s p e e d o f s o u n d i n s t r u c t o r c o u r s e y e s t e r d a y .. .. .” .” W e b e f o re re m e h a d d o n e s o i n a t w o - s e a t have all been th rough it once... F-104.” “B efor efore e go ing to France France I mana ged to b a il out from from one of the Experimenta Experimenta l Going from F-84 to Mach 2 is U n i t ’s ’ s Va Va m p i re r e s . Th Th e w e a t h e r w a s quite something. What struck you? t e rr r r ib l e a n d t h e G C A s u g g e s t e d a “ I w a s s t r u c k p a r t ic ic u l a r ly ly b y t h e radar-assisted approach. But they lost a t t i t ud ud e s a n d m a n o e u v ra ra b ilit y o f t h e conta ct a nd ha d me fl flyi ying ng a round like like a de lta w ing. It wa s Autumn Autumn of 1959. 1959. I blind bli nd mo use for over a n hour ... flew fl ew Mac h 2 a t 35,000 feet b ut in in truth truth I When I ran out o f fuel I ejected . I w a s m u c h m o r e im im p re re s s e d b y d o i n g l a n d e d o n a t r e e , u n s c a t h e d . Th Th e M a c h 1 . 1 5 a t lo l o w l e v e l . . . a n d t h is is pow erl erless ess air aircraft craft s pi piral rallled around me, despite the fact that at Ghedi we had miraculousl mi raculously y missed a rail railrroa d sta ti tion on and struck a hill near Corciano, literally shredd shr edd ed to pieces pieces . But I wa s a ble to to Aermacchi Chairman Paolo Foresio, Foresio, in the centre with t he overcoat, recover my coa t from from the w reckag e. congratu lates Massimo Ralli after he Th a t ’ s h o w I b e c a m e t h e s e c o n d has set a record with t he MB- 326 326.. Italian pilot to use a Martin-Baker seat, Photo: AMW after a Fiat test pilot in a G-80 prototype. Which is why I am member
i, Mickey the a Reitsch...
s t o l i p r o f s g n i f e i r b
37
s t o l i p r o f s g n i f e i r b
Giovanni Artioli
trained well altitudes...”
for
low
Our fighter-bomber colleagues would joke w i t h u s f i g h t e r jo c k s saying “Take-of “Take-of f, gear up, then dive to operating altitude...” “ I re r e c a l l s o m e t a c t ic ic a l e v a lu a t i o n s i n w h i c h o u r guys reached the 6th Fleet with half their aircraft unseen and capable of striking... Returning Returni ng to Italy I wo rked on the development of the C-7, an IR air-to-air missile. sil e. In the the c our ourse se of a yea r from my F-86K I fired over 5 0 o n t he h e P e rd rd a s d e f o g u range, always at night. Tog ethe r with the othe r pilot, C apta in Marchesi, Marchesi, I wa s propose d for a n official official rerecog ni niti tion. on. But w e b lew it by brea ki king ng the ru rulles . On the fina fi na l sortie sortie w e indulge indulge d in low level ae roba ti tics cs , toge ther and a t night. night. The The next d a y t h e C o m m a n d e r o f t h e 2 nd n d Ai A ir Reg ion s ummoned us a nd literall literally y tore up the letter of merit merit be fore our eyes.
‘This cancels cancels out the p unishment you deserve. You You m ay go.’ And with these wo rds he let let us go. In April ’61 I was sent to a helico heli co pter tes t pilot pilot c ourse . The The pilot originally designated had been forced to quit due to serious family reasons. I w a s t o ld ld ‘You’ll take his place ... you there wa s already speak French...’ But there a c atc h. The The course required required a t lea lea st 150 rotary hours and I had never even sa t in in a helo. So I wa s forced to rack up hours, hour s, flyi flying ng S atur aturda da ys, S undays a nd holida holi da ys in order to rea ch the mi mini nimum. mum. I n S e p t e m b e r ’ 61 61 I w a s b a c k a t B r e t i g n y . W it it h m e t h e r e w e r e To To t ò Martirre, a goo d engineer Marti engineeriing offi officer cer a nd the head of the Pratica di Mare t e c h n i c a l o f fi f i c e , a n d t w o e x c e l le le n t
38
French technicians. Th e r e w a s a d e e p d i ff ff e r e n c e between the English or American approach to test flight courses and that of French. French. In the Anglo-Sa Anglo-Sa xon sys tem, t e s t p i lo lo t s m u s t b e a b l e t o m a k e a n im m e d ia ia t e a s s e s s m e n t o f a n a irc r a f t . Th e c o u rs r s e a i m s t o d e v e lo lo p a n immediate perception and fast mental a n a l y s i s o f d a t a . Th e p i lo lo t i s a l o n e . I n s t e a d i n F ra r a n c e t h e t e s t p i lo lo t i s supported by a n engineer engineer,, a mecha ni nicc and a flight engineer assigned to flight tests.”
Captain Massimo Ralli with Almo Del Grande, the famou s head of the Aermacchi Experimental Shop. Photo: AMW
m e a n w h i le le s t a r t e d it it s e v a l u a t i o n a t Pratica.”
H o w w a s t h i s im im p a c t ? D i d y o u find the aircraft suited to t raining n e e d s , c o n si s i d e r in in g t h a t t h e r e w a s n o p r e c e d e n t f o r t h e a l ll - j e t s y lll l a b u s i t h a d b e e n c o n c e i v ed ed f o r ? “I found it a splendid aircraft, H o w d o t h e y d e a l w i t h s i n g l e - reli eliab ab le, s tr trong, ong, ea sy to fly, fly, in fact to o seaters? ea sy. I wa s fa vour vourab ab ly impr impress ess ed b y its its “ I n t h a t c a s e t h e y s it in in t h e r a d i o sp inni inning ng b eha viour viour.. You You just too k off room and follow the flight working with your hands from the controls and the pilot pilot a s a tea m. Thi Thiss is m ore or lles es s within half a revolution it would what companies do. When I returned to stabilize. And then Macchia died in the Italy I met the MB-326, which had Ca iro a cc ident ...”
What happ ened? A failure? “No. Unfortu Unfortunately nately itit wa s a ca se of p o o r a s s e s s m e n t . H e p u ll lle d o u t t o o low from a vertical manoeuvre. I re m e m b e r t h a t in in G h a n a , o n m y f ir ir s t M B -3 - 3 26 2 6 d i s p la la y a b r o a d , w h ic ic h w a s a lso the first first after the ac cident, Dr Ing Bazzocchi enjoined me to keep a little higher. ‘Keep high, do n’t forget! Keep nopy,, a nd there there he high!’ I closed the ca nopy wa s, using using his his hand s to elaborate the same concept ‘Keep high, high, high!’ . Meanw hi hille I had b een sec onded to Mac chi. The The the n-mi n-mini niste ste r of De fence, M r An d r e o t t i, i, h a d o r d e r e d t h a t a ll compa ny test pilots pilots shoul should d b e tes t pil pilot school graduates. Because the training wa s so expen expensiv sive, e, it it wa s d eci ecided ded to let let them use pilots from the Experimental U n it it . Th Th is is m e a n t t h a t I w a s g i v e n a n in d e f i n it it e u n p a i d l e a v e , a n d t h a t m y w o r k w o u ld ld b e p a id b y t h e c o m p a n y rather than by the Air Force Force .” How did you say farewell to the Air Force? “It was pleasant. As a Captain p o s t e d t o Ve n e g o n o , I re re p o r t e d f o r m a ll l l y t o C a m e r i, i, w h i c h w a s t h e n comma nded b y Colonel Serag lia. I had had alread alr ead y served under hi him as a s tudent pilot, when he commanded my reserve officer course. S o I went to ta ke lea lea ve from from him. S o m e t h i ng ng in m y u n if if o rm rm w a s o u t o f o r d e r. r. I fo fo rg rg e t w h a t . S o h e s a i d ‘I am
happy to see you off. You You started your career under me w ith a reprimand (w h e n h e a s s u m e d c o m m a n d o f o u r course at Gioia he had confined us all to q uarter uarters) s), and now you are finishing finishing
it in the same way. M ay this bode you well. Good luck!’ It was Autumn 1962.” And s o it wa s. S erag lia’s repri eprimand mand opened a great ca reer eer.. By the wa y – I se rv rved ed under him him b ut unfortunate unfortunate ly he never sc olded me! “ Th Th e c h ie i e f t e s t p i lo lo t w a s G u id id o Carestiato and I, having just arrived, was assigned to the Aermacchi AL-60. I still still remem remem be r making a de liv ivery ery a nd
demonstration flight on the route from Veneg ono to S outh Afri Africa ca . J ust try to imag ine wha t that mea nt in in an a ircraft with only three hours’ endurance! After that I moved onto the MB-326.. S ince I held MB-326 held a ‘green card’ IFR rating, I was tasked with the de velopment of the D mo de l for Al Alita lia , which wo ul uld d use it to train airli airline p ilots a t its B ri rindisi ndisi sc hool. I rec rec a ll it it w a s ful fullly i n s t r u m e n t e d , w i t h a n AD AD F, F, a VO R , d o u b l e IL I L S a n d t w o r a d i o s . I t he he n w o r ke ke d o n t h e d e v e l o p m e n t o f t h e armed version aimed at export markets. You must know that due the experience I had gathered in Sardinia a nd va ri rious ous c ourses I wo ul uld d frequently go to the ranges and shoot with every kind of armament available. At Pratica di Mare Mare I had been nicknamed nicknamed ‘Michele Micc key The The S ho ot er) er),, ‘ o s p a r a t o r e ’ (Mi who was a fireworks artist from P ie d i g r o t t a v e r y p o p u la la r a t t h e t i m e . Thus it wa s na tur turaa l for for me to wo rk on the armed MB-326. Among other things I had followed the development o f t h e It It a l ia ia n a n d G e r ma m a n G - 91 91 a s a potential nuclear bomber ...”
What kind of armament did you carry? “Initially two pairs of pylons capable o f c a r ry ry i ng n g b o m b s o r ro ro c k e t s . Th Th a t m e a n t u p t o f o u r 5 in in c h r o c k e t s p e r wing. Quite a volley! It felt like a
cruiser’s salvo...”
I n e f f e c t t h a t m e a n s f o u r 1 27 27 m m rounds per w ing. I tasted the fruit of y o u r w o r k i n l a t e r y ea ea r s , w h e n I w a s g u n n e r y i n s t r u c t o r o n t h e M B - 3 2 6 E. E. It carried two nice pod s with .50 guns and rocket s, and I must say t h a t i t w a s a p le le a s a n t a i r c r a f t t o f l y even fu lly laden laden .. .... “Thi “T hiss armed ver version sion wa s des ti tined ned for export, and I went to Ghana to take pa rt in in their compe ti tition tion which p itted u s a g a i n s t t h e E n g li l is h w it h t h e J e t P rovost a nd the S wed es w ith the SAA SAAB 1 0 5 . Th Th e E n g l is is h w e r e t o u g h opponents, beca use that country country wa s under their direc direc t influence influence a nd Briti British sh military were still present on site. Here I must praise English fair play. Althoug h their indus indus try wa s inv involved, olved, the competition unfolded honestly and they did nothing to favour their entrant. But there was no match, because our aircraft was much superior. I remember that when I demonstrated the aircraft’s spin beha vi viour our and reco ver very y to an Engl Engliish p il ilo t f ro ro m B o s c o m b e D o w n , h e s a i d
‘Uhhm m... I don’t know if we were prop erly stabilized...’ stabilized...’ We ha d s pun five five
Alitalia used four M B-326D for its Brindisi flying school. Photo: AMW
s t o l i p r o f s g n i f e i r b
Giovanni Artioli
revolutions . We revolutions We climbe d to a lti ltitude tude , spun a nd w ent through 13 revolu revoluti tions. ons. After the 13th, I told him to let go of the controls ...”
Personally I have never spun t he MB -326 for more than five revolutions. I remember the fou rth r e v b e in i n g v e r y f a s t a n d t o s s in in g t h e crew aroun d. I can only imagine w h a t h a p p e n e d o n t h e 1 3t 3t h . “In the controlled recovery, the M B - 3 26 2 6 w o u ld l d n o r m a l ly ly m a k e o n e q u a r t e r o f a r e v o l u t io io n . Ta k in in g t h e hands off the controls, it would stabilise by itself after three-quarters of a revolution. Which is what happened. We w ere spinning spinning e xtr xtreme eme ly fas t, but that very honest aircraft stopped the s p i n. n . . . An An d i n s o m e w a y s t h is is w a s a deciding factor, together with a couple of others I will tell you about later. In G hana I had the privi privilleg e o f flyin flying g w i t h Ha H a n n a R e it it s c h , w h o a f t e r h e r post-wa r ad vent ventur ures es ha d s ettl ettled ed do wn there and had been appointed aeronautical advisor to president Kwame Nkrumah in order to create the country’s Air Force.” Hanna Reitsch was truly a myt hical figure in aviation. She even piloted th e V1 to im prove its stability. stability. F l yi yi n g w i t h h e r i s a k i n t o r i d i n g w i t h Garibaldi .. .... “She told me about that experience personally. It was Autumn 1944 and b e c a u s e t im im e w a s r u nn n n in in g s h o r t , a makeshift cockpit had been installed in lieu li eu o f a fuel tank. To s ta bili bilise se fl flight, ight, the w a r h e a d w a s r e p la la c e d w it it h a w a t e r tank. But the V1 V1 wa s not d esigned to land . When When it ran out o f fuel, the 800 k ilo w a r h e a d p u s h e d t h e n o s e d o w n in t o a d iv e . S o t h e y g a v e H a n n a a faucet w hi hich ch w oul ould d ha ve allow allow ed her to gradually empty the tank, based upon her ‘sea t of the the pants’ a sses sment. S he told me that a fter take-off she be ga n losing her de nta l fill filliings . The The V1 V1 pulsejet vibrated in a way that felt like h a m m e r b l o w s . Wh e n s h e g a i n e d
40
altitude, the faucet froze, so she was unable to release enough water. When fuel ran out, the flyi flying ng b omb bec ame uncontroll uncontr ollaa ble, put its its nos e do wn a nd slammed into the g round. Thi Thiss show ed
The famous German wart ime test pilot Hanna Reitsch in conversation with Ralli during the MB- 326 demon stration tour in Ghana. Ghana. Photo: Gianni Cattaneo collection
on her face, full of scars, just like J a c q u e li l i n e Au Au ri rio l , t h e o t h e r g r e a t woman pilot with whom I flew. J a c q u e li li n e w a s t h e n ie ie c e o f F re re n c h preside nt Vi Vince nt Auri Auriol. ol. S he w a s the ir f ir ir s t f e m a l e t e s t p il ilo t . I m e t h e r a t B r e t ig ig n y a n d w e o f t e n f le le w t o g e t h e r. r. S h e w a s a ls o i n v o lv lv e d i n t e s t i n g t h e p ro r o t o t y p e M ir ir a g e , a n d s h e a l s o s e t some w orl orld d records. But let’s let’s g et ba ck to Hanna . I fl flew with her twice. S he wa s s hort hort,, petite, petite, and I had to have two e xtr xtraa c ushi ushions ons plac pl ac ed o n the front front sea t. I sa t behind behind her. She a sked me wha t the programme programme w a s . ‘Do as you please, M adame’ . We took off with full full tip tip ta nk nks, s, a nd w hen w e r e a c h e d 2 -3 - 3 0 00 00 f t s h e p u ll lle d a n a we so me vertica vertica l roll roll.. S he fli flipped the aircraft over and spun it. It wa s the first first time time w e ha d s pun it it with full tip tanks. If you know so methin mething g ab out inerti inertiaa l forces forces , you’ll a ppreci ppreciate ate the differ difference ence betw een full full and empty tanks. Fortunately Fortunately we w ere ca rry ryiing s mall tanks, bec ause I doubt w e w o u l d h a v e m a d e i t w i th t h la la r g e tanks... Th e n s h e s a id ‘ I w o u l d l i k e t o f l y
u n b r o k e n a n d I t h i n k t h e y w i l l st st a y so ... “ C a r e s t i a t o h a d s e t a n a l t it it u d e re c o rd w h i c h u n f o r t un un a t e l y h a d o n ly ly lasted a few days. Given the D i d y o u a l r e a d y h a v e t h e . 50 5 0 availability of a more powerful engine, Browning pod? in 1967 Aermacchi ran some numbers and concluded that it would be “No, not yet. I mad e two pas ses , one ea ch w ith rockets rockets a nd bo mbs . The The p o s s i b l e t o r e t a k e i t in t h e w e ig h t latter were inert but they utterly c a t e g o r y o f u p t o 3 , 0 0 0 ki ki lo lo s . We We des tr troyed oyed the van. The The rockets w ere l i g h t e n e d t h e a i rp r p la la n e a s m u c h a s supersonic and they literally shattered p o s s i b l e . We We d e v e lo lo p e d a z o o m it. t e c h n iq i q u e a n d w e c a r ri rie d o u t m a n y Th e g u n n e r y a c c u ra ra c y w a s t h e s h u t o f f a n d r e li l i g h t in i n g t e s t s a t h ig ig h third thi rd facto r in in our succes s, a nd w ithout altitude.” w i s h in in g t o b e v a i n , I m u s t s a y t h a t i t W h a t e n g i n e w a s i t ? Th e wa s typica typica l of ‘ Mickey The Shooter’ . s t a n d a r d e n g i n e h a d a 2 , 50 5 0 0 lb lb s Wh i le le w a i t in in g f o r t h e i r p i lo lo t s t o thru st ... ... complete their training in Italian s c h o o ls l s , t o g e t h e r w it it h s o m e o t h e r “It wa s a normal Vi Viper 11 with the FCU s et differently differently to allow allow more fuel Italian officers we formed the Ghana Air Force. I reme reme mb er a pa n-A n-Afri frica ca n to flow to the combustion chambers, c o n f e re r e n c e i n Ac Ac c r a , w i t h u s f l y in in g with a correspondingly greater a e r o b a t ic ic s a n d e s c o r t m is is s io n s f o r co nsumption. Thi Thiss g enera ted higher forei for eign gn head s o f State. e x h a u s t t e m p e r a t u re re s a n d t h e r e f o re re I w o u l d r e t u r n t o Af Af r ic ic a s e v e r a l g r e a t e r t h ru ru s t . I s e e m t o r e c a l l t h a t times, following the commercial thrust thr ust c a me to 2,80 2,8000-3,00 3,000 0 lbs . ..” s u c c e s s o f t h e MB MB - 3 2 6 . I h a v e f o n d memories of S outh Afr Afriica , w here the jet was assembled as the ‘Impala’ .” .” The MB- 326 used by Ralli for the altitu - The firing firing tria tria ls w ere the thir third, d, a nd there I felt felt on my turf. They They s how ed me the rang rang e. It It wa s a great empty plac plac e with an old Volk Volksw sw ag en van a s ta rget.”
o v e r t h e p r e s i d e n t ’ s h o u s e . . .’ .’ ‘ B u t Mad ame, it’s it’s forbidden...’ ‘Nothing is N o w l e t ’s t a l k a b o u t y o u r forbidden for me...’. President r e c o r d s . In In s o m e w a y s y o u a r e t h e
de record was lightened by removing the tip tanks and t he rear cockpit Martin-Baker ejection seat.
h e i r t o A g e l l o . Yo Yo u r r e c o r d s a r e
Photo: AMW
Nkruma Nkru ma h wa s o n the terra terra ce with his his staff and we flew over... inverted!”
How did she do with the Macchi? “ I m us us t c o n f e s s t h a t I h a v e n e v e r s e e n c o n t ro ro l s s o s t i ll ll a s w h e n t h a t w o m a n w a s p il ilo t i ng ng . O b v io io u s l y I d id id not dare touch the controls, but I found myse lf ma rv rvell elliing sta ri ring ng at the co ntr ntrol ol c o l u m n m o vi v i n g a s o n r a il i ls , a c h a in drive, a mesh... she didn’t look for the right ri ght po siti sition... on... s he g rabb ed it with a s i n g le l e m o v e , a n d t h a t w a s t h e ri rig h t control input. I m u s t a d m it it t h a t H a n n a m a d e a great contribution to the MB-326 victory. She flew the thing as if she had been born on it. And this was the second factor that helped us.
s t o l i p r o f s g n i f e i r b
Giovanni Artioli
Did the aircraft carry any special e q u i p m e n t ? D i d yo u w e a r a pressure suit? “No, I wore my normal flying suit. The a ircra ft ca rr rriied a n extra a ir bottle t h a t i n c a s e o f e n g i n e f a i lu lu re re w o u ld ld press pr ess ur uriize the c a nopy se al, keeping keeping it i nf n f la l a t e d f o r a f e w m i n ut u t e s . Th Th is is p re r e v e n t e d t h e c a b i n a l t it it u d e f r o m increasing abruptly. In order to breathe I also carried an extra oxygen bottle to augment the standard unit, because at such altitudes the pressure is in s u f f ic ic i e n t t o g u a r a n t e e o s m o s is i n the lungs”.
e f f e c t i v e ? W er er e y o u a b l e t o p u t t h e nose down or did you tu mble as in a In level flight or in a slightly nose tail-slide? “The “T he c ontrol ontrolss we re quite slow, b ut d o w n a t t i t u d e , a s in in a “ z o o m attack”? t h e Ma M a c c h i w a s n a t u ra r a l ly ly b a l a n c e d “In pe rfectly level flight. flight. The The c a bin and put its nose down. My main altitude alti tude s how ed 28,000 feet ...” problem pr oblem w as to lose a lti titude tude q ui uickl ckly y. I dove desperately like a man r. Wh Wh e n I s a w D i d y o u r e a c h t h e “ b a r b e r ’ s b r e a t h l e s s u n d e r w a t e r. fillled my lungs w ith air p o l e ” , t h e p o s i t i o n m a r k i n g t h e the flame -out I fil and compresse d the diaphragm. Thi hiss maximum speed? “No, I purposely kept below it. At a l s o h e lp lp e d m e g e n e ra ra t e m e c h a n ic ic a l that altitude, with that air density, with pressure in the cavities. When I t h e h i g h M a c h n u m b e r, I rrii s k e d a reached 45,000 ft I was able to flaa me-out. I pulled fl pulled up the no se unti untill breathe norma lly once m ore”. r e a c h in i n g 7 0 d e g r e e s o f p it it c h , a f t e r Did you encount er any negative pushed the stick forwa forwa rd and D i d y o u u n d e r g o a n y s p e c i a l which I pushed physical problems? felt zero G ... I rec rec a ll my penc il floa floa ti ting ng physical training? “No, but I had had undert undertaken aken several away... I flew a ballistic course... the No. Aroun Around d 38,00 38,000 0 ft I mana ge d to breathing tests and specialist s p e e d in d i c a t o r c l im im b e d q u ic ic k ly ly . . . I relight. rel ight. I lande d a lmost w ithout fuel. fuel. e x a m i na n a t io i o n s a t t h e I n s t i t ut u t e o f Ai r was hoping to reach 60,000 ft... Th e s p e e d re c o rd w a s a n o t h e r g o o d event. We We flew it on lake G arda , over M e d ic ic i n e . . . B u t l e t ’s ’s g e t b a c k t o t h e Th e e n g i n e c u t a n d a t t h e t o p o f records... On 18 March 1966 the the trajectory I read slightly over the same mea sur sured ed ba se a s Agell Agello.” o.” morning morni ng w as cold a nd terse. I cli climbed 57,700 ft” (17,315 metres, still up to the ma xi ximum mum pos sible horizonta horizonta l . unb roken in its c atego ry – Ed.) Did the aircraft sport any fliight a lti fl titude, tude, na mely 15,668 metres metres , specific modifications? ta ki king ng tha t rec rec ord. Then Then I sla mmed the “ N o , it it w a s t h e s a m e a s i n t h e W e r e t h e f l i g h t c o n t r o l s s t i ll ll throttle thr ottle ful full forwa rd a nd a cc eler eleraa ted... ”
THE MB-32 MB-326 RECORDS RECORDS INTERNATIONAL AERONAUTICAL FEDERATION – CLASS C-1D DATE DA TE
PILOT
RECORD REC ORD
STANDING STA NDING REC RECORD* ORD*
04 Au g 61
G uid o C a re s t ia t o
Alt it u d e : 15, 489 m
No
18 Ma r 66
Ma ss s s im im o R a lllli
Alt it u d e: e: 1 7 , 3 1 5 m
Ye s
18 Ma r 66
Ma s s im o R a lli
Alt it u d e in le v e l f lig h t : 15, 668 m
Ye s
08 Fe b 67
Ma s s im o R a lli
Tim e t o 3, 000 m : 2’ 02”
No
08 Fe b 67
Ma s s im o R a lli
Tim e t o 6, 000 m : 3’ 57”
No
08 Fe b 67
Ma s s im o R a lli
Tim e t o 9, 000 m : 6’ 40”
No
08 Fe b 67
Ma s s im o R a lli
Tim e t o 12, 000 m : 10’ 53”
No
18 J u l 67
Ma s s im o R a lli
D is t a n c e : 970. 01 km
Ye s
02 Au g 67
Ma s s im o R a lli
S p e e d o v e r 3 km c o u rs e : 871. 80 km /h
Ye s
01 D e c 67
Ma s s im o R a lli
S p e e d o v e r 15 - 25 km c o urs e : 88 8 80. 00 km /h
Ye s
03 D e c 67
Ma s s im o R a lli
S p e e d o v e r 100 km c lo s e d c irc u it : 83 8 31. 01 km /h
Ye s
06 D e c 67
Ma s s im o R a lli
S p e e d o v e r 500 km c lo s e d c irc u it : 77 7 77. 67 km /h
Ye s
09 D e c 67
Ma s s im o R a lli
D is t a n c e o v e r c lo s e d c irc u it : 77 773. 56 km
Ye s *as of August 2007
42
The Aermacch i team at Accr a, in in Ghana, in April 1963. 1963. From th e left, techn icians Romildo Tesser and Tino Pacello, Ing. Giorgio Marlia, Capt. Massimo Ralli, Ing. Gianni Gianni Catt aneo, Wing Cdr Don ald Stones, technician Pietro Massara. Photo: AMW
p r e v io io u s r e c o r d s m i n us us t i p t a n k s . I took off from Ghedi on 2 August 1967 and ma de four pass es...”
Where did you start your acceleration? “ Ten miles b efo re. The The ma ximum allowable height variation was 200 ft. I s t a r te t e d S o u t h h e a d i n g N o r th t h , f ro ro m Desenzano towards the Benaco towers, made a water-level turn on the Ve r o n a s h o r e w h i c h e n d e d o n t h e B r e s c ia i a s h o re re , h e a d e d t o w a r d s t h e Southern pylon where they had mea nwhil nwhile e lit lit fla fla res to help me line line up.” How did you set t he 180°tur n? “The “T he turn had had to be a compromise betw een rad rad ius – and hence distance covered – a nd pull pull, w ith the attenda nt loss of energy energy a nd related related dec rea se in speed . It worked worked ... Th e d i s t a n c e r e c o rd w a s a n o t h e r good experience. I took off from Veneg ono a nd ca ught a ta ilw ind. The The radar helped me correct the heading to keep a n optimal position position in the wind s t r e a m . I f le le w a t 4 2 , 0 0 0 ft ft . O v e r t h e Salento I was tempted to head towa rds Corfu Corfu... ... I would would ha ve mad e it, it, b u t t h e y t o ld l d m e t o l a n d a t Le Le c c e b e c a u s e w e h a d a lr e a d y b ro ro k e n t h e previious record b y a w ide ma rgin.” prev Quite a hunting t rip, Captain! “ Q u i t e . Th Th e r e a l s o w e r e v a r i o u s t i m e - t o - a l t it it u d e r e c o r d s t o 3 , 0 0 0 , 6,000, 9,000 and 12,000 metres... But let’ss s ki let’ kip p to my final rec rec ord, the o ne that c os t me my job. The The c ircuit wa s set b etwee n S. Martino Martino della della Ba ttag lia and the Matterhorn, which the judging t e a m re a c h e d b y h e l ic ic o p t e r. r. It It w a s a c o l d a n d c l e a r D e c e m b e r m o r ni nin g .
Th e a i rc rc r a f t ran l ik ik e ma d, unfortunate ly ly... ... The VNE VNE of the MB326 wa s 420 knots. I hi hitt 490 kts kts b ut the aircraft was structurally undamaged. A landing gear door light lit up but w ithout co nse q uence s. The The head of personnel showed me a letter of reprima reprima nd, threa tening to fire fire me. And, spe a ki king ng w ith hinds hinds ight, that is w h e r e I m a d e t h e b i g g e s t m is is t a ke o f m y l if if e . U s u a l ly ly I a m a c a lm p e r s o n , e x c e p t w h e n I g e t u p s e t . I s a i d : ‘It is
of m il ilitary itary a nd civi civill helico helico pters in flight flight t e s t c a m p a i g n s i n It a l y a n d a b ro a d . But in substance my operational c a r e e r e n d e d w h e n I le le f t o u r f la la g ca rri rrier er.” .”
Capt ain Ralli, as I leave your house I must ask one last question. How do you remember this Macchi? “ I t w a s t h e a i rc rc r a f t t h a t g a v e m e m o s t s a t i s f a c t io i o n , t h e o n e I lo lo v e d most. It wa s pa rt of my flesh...” flesh...”
n o t y o u w h o a r e f i ri ri n g m e , i t i s I w h o r e s i g n ! ’ . Th Th a t m o r n in in g t h e C o r r ie ie r e
H a v e yo yo u h a d t h e o p p o r t u n i t y t o see the M-346, the latest Aermacch i d e l la la S e r a r a n m y p i c t ur ure a b o a rd t h e Mac chi. The The title title proc laimed : ‘ A j o b je w e l? “My drea m w oul ould d b e to fl fly y it. I very w e l l d o n e ! ’ , a n d li lis t e d m y d o z e n r e c o r d s . At At t h a t v e r y m o m e n t , n o t much miss flying in three dimensions. e x a c t ly ly in i n a s e r e n e s t a t e o f m iin nd, I Wh a t w e d i d a t Al Al it it a l ia ia w a s h i g h l y w a lke d t h ro ro u g h t h e g a t e s t h a t h e l d a professional and entailed part – and what a part! – of my responsibilities... but for years I a vi viaa tion life. life. dreamed of pulling up the nose Of course time smoothes and towa rds the blue blue sky above...” dilutes dil utes e verythi verything ng a nd w e eventua lly got closer once ag ain. It’s getting dark. I prepare to drive I m o v e d o n t o Al Ali t a l ia ia , w h e r e w e d o w n . I a m c o v e r e d w it h t h e h a i r met. I went through the entire process w h ic i c h R a l li li ’ s G o l d e n R e t r ie ie v e r h a s and ended in 1985 1985 as S eni enior or Capta in l i b e r a l ly ly c o v e r e d m e w i t h, h , s t r o ki kin g on the DC-9, w ith so me 14,500 flyin flying g a ga inst me thr througho ougho ut the intervi interview. ew. hours. The red ca t, instea instea d, s lept on the se at After that I did some very next to me, apparently indifferent to i nt n t e r e s t i n g w o r k in in t h e h e l i c o p t e r t h e s e f ly l y i n g re r e c o r d s . I g u e s s i n h is is industry, where I contributed to p r e v io io u s l if if e h e m u s t h a v e b e e n a researching vibrations in many models sailor...
s t o l i p r o f s g n i f e i r b
43
s w e n
Paolo Gianvanni
Aviation update OPER ATIONAL OPERATIONA L EVALUA EVALUATION TION IN THE EMIRATES On 20 J uly the Alenia Alenia Aerma Aerma cc hi MM346 advanced trainer and M-311 basic trainer left the company airfield at Veneg ono for the United Arab Arab Em ir iraa tes (U AE AE ) t o b e s u b je je c t e d t o h o t w e a t h e r o p e r a t i o n a l t e s t s . Wit h t e m p e r a t u re re s e x c e e d in i n g 5 0 ° C , t h e t w o t r a in i n e rs rs f le le w mission profiles including aircraft performance, perf ormance, hand ling, s ystem evaluati evaluation on and simulated training phases. The activity was carried out at Al-Ain air base (Abu Dhabi), which is already the base for the Aermacchi MB-339A trainers acquired by the UAE Air Force in the late 1980s. The eva luation w as perfor performed med in the context of the February 2007 short-listing of the two Aermacchi trainers by the UAE Mini Mi nistry stry o f Defenc e a nd Air Force Force , w hi hich ch s e e k t o re re p l a c e t h e c u rr rre n t P C - 7 a n d Haw k fleets fleets in orde orde r to train the future future pilots of its F-16 and Mirage 2000 frontline fighters. Be for foree a nnouncing its its s hort li list, the UAE examined products offered by twelve international manufacturers. Through its M-346 and MM-311 311 trainers, Ale n i a Ae Ae r m a c c h i w a s f o u n d t o b e t h e o n l y c o m p a n y c a p a b le o f s u p p l y in in g a complete latest generation training system. The eva lu luaa tion, which las ted from 22 J u l y t o 9 Au Au g u s t , i n v o l v e d 4 3 M - 34 34 6 fliights for a tota l of a bout 50 hours fl hours a nd 42 M-311 flights for a total of about 51 h o u r s . A m a x im im u m o f f o u r s o r t ie ie s p e r d a y w e r e p la la n n e d a n d f lo lo w n b y e a c h
aircraft. Nine UAE pilots, two from Alenia Ae r m a c c h i , a n d t w o f r o m t h e I TA TAF Experimenta Experi menta l Tes t Unit pa rti rticipa cipa ted in the U AE AE e v a l u a t i o n . Th Th e f l ig ig h t s w e r e accomplished in accordance with flying/ fl ying/miss miss ion profiles profiles propo se d b y the U AW AW, to s i m u la la t e o pera tiona l
employment co nditi nditions, ons, bo th for ground ground operations operati ons a nd fli flight. Globa l operati operational onal Alenia Aermacchi CEO Carmelo Cosentino an d Lt Gen Gargini, ITAF ITAF Training Comm ander, during t he delivery ceremon y of the last ITAF SF-260EA. SF-260EA. Photo: AMW
efficiency proved we ll abo ve 90%, efficiency 90%, a nd the customer express express ed s atisfacti atisfaction on w ith both air aircraft. craft.
ITAF IT AF RECEIVES REC EIVES ITS LAST SF-260EA TRAINERS O n 2 7 J u l y Al Al e n ia ia Ae r m a c c h i , a Finmecc anica co mpa ny Finmecc ny,, deliver delivered ed to the Ita li liaa n Air Air Forc e (IT (ITAF) the las t t w o S F-2 F-260 60 prima prima ry trainers trainers in the lates t EA va ri riaa nt, de veloped sp ec if ifica ica lly for the ITAF.
The M-311 sporting sporting its new d esert camouflage. Photo: AMW
a i rc rc r a f t t o r e a c h a d d i t io io n a l t e c h n ic ic a l objectives and thereby confirm its e x t r a o r d i n a r y p o t e n t i a l . I n t e rn rn a t i o n a l observers consider the plane to be one of the the most ad vanced a nd sophisti sophistica ca ted in the a dva nced tr trainer ainer sector. sector.
ITALIAN AIR FORCE ASSOCIATION LITERARY PRIZE
A predelivery shot of a Libyan SF-260 SF-260 at Ve Vergiate. rgiate. Photo: Gregory Alegi collection
Th e a i rc rc r a f t w e r e d e l iv iv e r e d a t Veneg ono w ith Lt G en G iampiero Ga rgini gini,, C o m m a n d e r o f t h e I TAF S c h o o l s , C o l F ra ra n c e s c o Ti Tin a g li, C o m m a n d e r o f t h e 70th Wing Wing a nd se nior Al Alenia Aermac chi executives executiv es pr prese ese nt. The d eli elivery very ma rk rkss the c omp letion of t h e c o n t r a c t s i g n e d i n 2 0 05 05 w i t h t h e Ministry Mi nistry of Defenc e to supp ly thirty thirty S F260EA a ir ircra cra ft. In a d d i t io io n t o t h e d e v e l o p m e n t a n d ce rti rtifi fica ca tion of the new EA variant, the c o n t r a c t a l s o in c l ud ud e d t h e p r o v is is i o n o f training and logistic support services onsite at Latina Air Force Base, where the 70th Wing is based.
OVERHAUL CONTRACT FOR LIBYAN SF-260 FLEET On 28 J ul ulyy Aleni Aleniaa Aermac chi signed a co ntra ct in Tri ripo po li w ith the Libya n Ministry Ministry o f D e f e n c e w o r t h t h r e e m i lllli o n E u ro ro s , which provided for the return to service of 12 SF-260 primary trainers already in use with the Libyan Air Force. The co ntr ntrac ac t co vers the overhaul of the airfr airframe ame and sys tems o f the SF-260 SF-260 a i rc rc r a f t , i n a d d i t io io n t o in s p e c t i o n a n d repair of their propellers and engines.
Work will be carried out locally, with the assistance of personnel from the Libyan Italian Adva nce d Tec hnolog y C o mp a ny (LIA (LIAT TEC ). Th e s e a c t i v it it i e s w i llll commence by the end of the current year and will last for approxima xi ma tel telyy one yea r thereafter. The a greeme nt rep re r e s e n t s a f ir ir s t s t e p towards a broader collaboration between Alenia Aermacchi and the Libyan government, particularly with resp resp ect to future future procurement in the military trainers field.
THE M-34 M- 346 6 REACHES AND SURPASSES 500 FLIGHTS Th e M - 3 4 6 a d v a n c e d t r a i n e r, r, des igned a nd b ui uillt c ompletely by Al Aleni eniaa Aermacchi recently reached and surpas sed the 500 fli flight mark. The tes t fli flight programme has been proceeding at an ever-increasing pace, keeping up with both expectations and programme schedules. Soon the programme’s maturity will enable the
Th e a w a r d s c e r e m o n y o f t h e 6 t h edition of the Italian Air Force Association’s “Aerospace Literary Prize” w a s h e l d o n S u n d a y , 23 2 3 S e p t e m b e r in in Ac q ui Term e. Th e j ur u r y, y, h e a d e d b y I n s p e c t o r G e n e ra r a l E rm r m a n n o Al o i a , a w a r d e d t h e p r iz iz e f o r t h e c o m p a n y o r i n s t it it u t io io n a l book category to “Aermacchi Worldw ide: The The Trad Trad iti ition on o f Inno Inno va tion” ,
Jury Chairman Lt. Gen. Ermanno Aloia awards Dr. Ing. Ing. Massimo Bat tini representing Alenia Aermacch Aermacch i the prize for the best corporate book. Phot o: IAFA IAFA
the sophisticated bilingual book written b y G ia n n i C a t t a n e o a n d G re g o r y Al Ale g i for Aerma Aerma cc hi. With this this p erfectly titled titled volume, vol ume, the authors so ught to de sc ribe the company’s century-long history, in which it progressed from building
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wheels for military wagons to the b u d d in g a v i a t i o n in in d u s t r y, y, b e c o m in in g a l e a d i n g p l a y e r t h ro ro u g h o u t t h e 2 0 t h c e n t u r y, y, e v e n t u a lly p ro d u c i n g t r a i n e r aircraft that are among the most ad vanced in the wo rld. The jury jury fo und the bo ok pa rti rticularly cularly significant due to its design and original p h o t o g r a p h s , a l l o f g r e a t i n t e re re s t a n d expressly presented in blac kk-and and -whi -white, te, i n c l u d in in g t h o s e o f m o d e r n a i rc rc r a f t , i n order to harmonize with the book’s highly original metallic cover.
ITAF CHIEF OF STAFF FLIES WITH THE FRECCE TRICOLORI O n 2 7 J u ly ly t h e C h ie ie f o f S t a f f o f t h e Italian Air Force, Lt Gen Vincenzo C a mpo ri rini, ni, flew flew w ith the Frecc e Tri rico co lori lori,, the renow ned ITAF aerob a tic tea m, on the occ as ion of its redeployment redeployment to the 61st Win g a t Le Le c c e f o r t h e f o ll llo w in g d a y ’ s Gallipoli Air Show over the Ionian coastline. G e n C a m p o r in in i w a s m e t o n b a s e b y t h e C o m m a n d e r o f t h e 61 6 1 s t Wi Wi n g C o l Ste fano C ont, a nd the Tea m Leade r, Maj Mass imo Tam ma ro, tog ether with a ll the other pilots taking part in the pre-flight b r ie i e f in i n g h e l d in in t h e R E S R o o m o f t h e 212th Flight Flight G roup. H e t h e n t o o k o ff ff a b o a r d “ P o n y 9 , ” one of PAN’ PAN’ss MB -3 -339s, 39s, to rehea rse pa rt of the team’s exhibition.
ROLLING OUT THE BOEING 787 Th e r o l ll- o u t c e r e m o n y f o r t h e n e w Boeing 787 Dreamliner was rolled out on 8 J ul uly, y, at B oeing’s Everett fac il iliities. Alenia Aeronautica is a “prime partner”” o f the 787 pr partner prog og ram me w ith a key role in the de vel velopme opme nt of thi thiss air aircraft, craft, including incl uding the produc tion of 14% of its its structure. Aermacchi participates in the programme and has already delivered the initial components for ground testing of the engines and, in the third quarter of 2007, 200 7, w il illl supply G oo dri drich ch Aerostructures w i t h t h e f ir ir s t p r o d u c t io i o n u n it it s f o r t h e aircraft’s engines nacelle .
ROLL-OUT OF THE SUPERJ ET 100 100 On 26 September Alenia Aeronautica, a Fi Finmecca nmecca ni nica ca compa ny ny,, together with the S uk ukhoi hoi Compa ny ny,, presented the first first prototype of the Superjet 100newg e n e r a t i o n re r e g i o n a l je je t a t t h e R u s s ia n fac ili lities ties of Koms omo lsk-on-A sk-on-Amur mur.. A few da ys ea rl rlier ier,, Alenia Alenia Aerona utica and Sukhoi had announced the creation creation of S uperj uperjet et Internationa l, the n ew joint v e n t u re re r e s p o n s i b le le f o r m a r ke ke t i ng ng a n d s a l e s o f t h e S u p e r je je t 1 0 0 re re g i o n a l je je t fam il ilyy in in Eas tern ma rk rkets ets . The a ir ircra cra ft is is the most modern and environmentallyfriendly regional transport available on the m a r k e t , a n d o f fe fe r s t h e b e s t a f t e rr- s a l e s s u p p o r t f o r i t w o r ld l d w i d e . Th e n e w
c o m p a n y i s o w n e d j o in i n t ly l y b y Al Al e n i a Aeronautica (51% 51%)) and S ukhoi Co mpa ny (49%) 49%).. S uperjet Interna tiona l’ l’ss first first Bo a rd of Directo Directo rs immediately elected Amede o Ca poral poraletti etti to be P resident of the Boa rd a n d Al e s s a n d r o F r a n z o n i t o b e C h ie ie f E x e c u t i v e O f fi f i c e r. r. B a s e d i n Ve Ve n i c e , Superjet International will have the ad vanta ge o f the modern infr infras as tru tructure cture a v a il a b l e t h e r e a t A le le n i a A e ro ro n a v a l i,i, a wholly owned Alenia Aeronautica s u b s i d i a r y. y . M o s c o w w i l l b e t h e f ir ir s t international site for the joint venture and, la ter ter,, o ther loc loc a ti tions ons wil willl be inaug ur urate ate d in the more important regional markets. I n a d d it io io n , t h e j o in in t v e n t u r e t a k e s advantage of Alenia Aeronautica’s confirmed confir med experi experience ence in ma rk rketin etingg and pos t-sales s upport for regional regional a ircraft, built up throug h pa rticipa tion in the AT ATR progra mme . ATR is is a w orld lea lea de r in the 50 – 75 75 sea t turboprop a ircraft ma rk rket, et, with over 900 900 so ld s ince the beg inni nning ng o f the programme. All variants in the Superjet 100 family will share the same wing and engines: t w o t u rb r b o f a n S a M 1 46 4 6 b y P o w e rJ rJ e t , p r o d u c e d i n a j o in i n t v e n t u re re b e t w e e n SNECMA (France) and NPO Saturn (Russia) and specifically organized to develop the new engines. Alenia Ae r m a c c h i h a s w o n t h e c o m p e t i t io io n t o d e s ig n t h e a i rc rc r a f t ’ s i n le le t s a n d e n g in e mounts.
GAO CONFIRMS CONFIRMS C-27 C-27JJ J CA VICTORY VICTORY On 28 September the United States G overnme nt Acc Acc ounta bil bility ity Offi Office (G AO) confirmed that the Alenia Aeronautica C-27JJ is the bes t cho ice for the U.S. Air C-27 Air Force and Army, from the point of view of both operations operations a nd of the economic and financ fi nanc ial bid. bid. Thi hiss a genc y that monitors publiic expenditu publ expenditurres thus turned do wn the appeal by Raytheon, the American company which had teamed with EADS The first Superjet Superjet 100 rolls-out of its hangar at Kom somolsk-on-Am ur, in Siberia. Siberia. Photo: Finmecc Finmecc anica
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CASA to offer the C 295 in in t h e J o i n t C a rg o Ai rc rc r a f t (J C A ) c o m p e t i t io io n t o supply the new American tac ti tica ca l trans trans port a ircraft. The G AO ruling confirmed the $2.04 billlion co ntract for 78 Cbil 27JJ s s igned in J une with 27 with L-3 Communications I n t e g ra ra t e d S y s t e m s a s lea der of a cons orti ortium um in in which Alenia North America participates with Bo ein eing. g. In add iti tion on to the United Uni ted S tates, the C-27J C-27J h a s b e e n o r d e re re d b y t h e I t a l ia ia n A ir ir F o r c e (1 2 aircraft), Greece (12), Bulgaria (5) and Lithuania (3), for a total of 110 p l a n e s . Th is is m a k e s t h e C - 2 7 J t h e i n t e r na n a t io io n a l success story among tac ti tica ca l trans trans port a ircraft. The plane ha s recently been s el elected ected by Rumania (7 aircraft) and the related contract is now in the negotiation negotiation phas e. “The “T he c onfir onfirma ma tion of o ur victo victo ry in in the American competition” – said Pier F ra ra n c e s c o G u a rg u a g lin i,i, P re s i d e n t a n d C E O o f F in i n m e c c a n ic i c a – “ is is t h e c l e a r testimony as to the excellence excellence o f theC27J, the only aircraft aircraft in its its c a tego ry able to respond perfectly to today’s worldwide miliita ry a ir trans port need s. The C-27J is mil also an emblematic example of Finmeccanica’s strategic vision of growth in the world markets through the d e v e l o p m e n t o f s t r a t e g i c p a r tn tn e r s h ip ip s w ith key internationa l play play ers in our field.” field.”
THE AIRBUS ACJ FA FAMIL MILY Y AT 100 AIRCRAFT After ab out ten yea rs since the launch of the programme in 1997, in September t h e o r d e r s f o r t h e Ai Ai r b u s C o r p o r a t e J etli etliner ner (A (ACJ ) fam il ilyy b roke the 100100-aa ir ir-craft mark with sales valued at $5.5 billion li on a t list list prices . Tho Tho ug h initia initia ll llyy limited limited to the ACJ mod el bas ed o n the A319 A319 air air-fraa me, the fa mi fr milly has grad uall uallyy been e x-
panded to include the A320 Prestige and the A318 Elite models, which offer new standards of passenger comfort and cabin spa ce in the business business jet sec tor tor.. The ACJ can transport eight passengers over d i s t a n c e s u p t o 1 1 , 1 0 0 km km , t h e A3 2 0 P re s t i g e 3 0 p a s s e n g e r s o v e r 7 , 60 60 0 km km and the A318 Elite eight passengers over 7, 600 km. This yea r a lone, Air Airbus bus ha s ac cumul cumulate ate d 30 new c orpor orporate ate jet orders, as oppo sed to 20 in in 2006; 2006; and the A32 A320 0 family has been joined by five wide-body a i rc r c r a f t , i n c lu lu d i n g f o u r b a s e d o n t h e A340. A typical customer is the J eta lliance G roup of Vi Vienna , which ordered an a dd itional ACJ ACJ to its fleet fleet o f an iniinitial ACJ a nd three A318 A318 El Eliites . Its ACJ ACJ s all have CFM 56-5 engines. Alenia Aerma Aerma cc hi supplies supplies G oo dri drich ch Aerostructures with engine nacelle co mponents for fam fam ily a ircraft eq ui uipped pped with both CFM 56-5 and PW 6000 turbofans.
ROLLS-ROYCE ENGIN ENGINES ES FOR BRITISH AIRWAYS B r itit is i s h Ai A i r w a y s h a s c h o s e n R o l ls ls -
The GAO upheld th e Alenia C-27J victory in the JCA competition. Pho to : ITAF – Troup e Azzurra
R o y c e Tr Tre n t e n g i n e s f o r u p t o 6 1 n e w long -r -raa nge a ircraft tha t it will will purcha purcha se f ro ro m Ai Ai rb rb u s a n d B o e i n g . Th e o r d e r, r, w hich include include s a n innova innova tive Tota lC a re co ntract has a pote nti ntial al list-pri st-price ce value of mo re tha n five five b ill llion ion do ll llaa rs. The Trent 900 is is t he la unc h eng ine for the Air Airbus bus A380 and entered s ervi ervice ce on the fir first st mo de l in in Oc to be r. The The Trent Trent 1000 is the launch engine installed installed on a ll the B o e i n g 7 87 8 7 v e rs rs i o n s a n d w ill b e t h e power source for the aircraft’s first flight sc heduled in the first first q uarter 2008, 2008, with operational service approximately six months later. S ta tors for b oth the Trent 1000 and 900 turbines are made in Italy by Europea Microfusioni Aerospaziali (EMA) S.p.A. at Morra de Sanctis (Avellino), the sole producer in Italy of highperformance precision-cast aeronautical c o m p o n e n t s . E M A i s a jo i n t v e n t u re re
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betw een Rolls-Royce Rolls-Royce a nd Finmecca Finmecca ni nica ca . Alenia Aermac Aermac chi wo n the co mpetiti mpetition on to supp ly Air Airce ce lle w ith fixed fixed fan d ucts and t r a n s l a t i n g d o o r s f o r t h e R o l ls ls - R o y c e Trent 900 an d th e Eng ine All Allianc ianc e G P 7200 for the Airbus A380. On the Boeing 787, Aermacchi won the Goodrich Aer erosp osp ac e co ntr ntrac ac t to provide provide fa n cow ls f o r t h e R o l ls l s - R o y c e Tr Tr e n t 1 0 0 0 a n d Electric GenX.
FIRST EMBRAER 170 FOR VIRGIN BLUE AIRLINES Delivery was made on 3 September of the first first Embra er 170 to the Austra Austra lian a ir irli line ne Vir Virgin gin B lue, w hich ha d p la ce d a firm order for six model 170 and 14 model 190 twinjets. Th e E m b r a e r 1 7 0 /1 /1 9 0 f a m i ly ly c o m p r is is e s f o u r m o d e l s h a v i ng ng s e a t in in g 70-120 70120 pa ss eng ers. The The first first mod el, an Embraer 170, was delivered in March 2 0 04 0 4 , a n d b y l a t e J u n e 2 0 07 07 t h e ma nufacturer had ac cumulated 655 firm firm orderss and 71 order 719 9 options from from 38 operators i n 2 6 c o u n t r ie ie s . Al e n ia ia Ae Ae r m a c c h i developed and produces complete n a c e l le le s f o r t h e E m b r a e r C F 3 4 -8 -8 E /D /D engines.
An Emb raer 170 in in th e colourful Virgin Blue livery. Photo: Embraer
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RECORD REC ORD SALES FOR DASSAULT DASSAULT After two consecutive years of record sales, Dassault Falcon came to the NBAA C o n v e n t io io n i n At At la la n t a , G e o r g i a , w i t h a tota l of 87 orders orders ga thered in the first first six months o f 2007, 2007, compa red to the 52 of the same period in 2006. Af t e r t h e c e r t if if ic ic a t i o n a n d s t a r t o f d e l iv iv e r ie ie s o f t h e n e w F a l c o n 7 X, X, t h e orderss for the new b usiness jet continue order to arrive at a high pace, creating a bac kl klog og that now exceed s - thanks thanks to the lat est order from from Netjets Europe Europe for an a dd iti itiona ona l nine aircra aircra ft - 170 units units . This brings bri ngs to 33 the tota l number of pla pla nes
The beautiful wing plan of the new Dassault Falcon 7X. Phot o: Dassault
ordered by Netjets for delivery beginning in the second trimester of 2008. Alenia Aermacchi developed and built for Pratt &Whitney Canada the P &WC 307A eng ine nac ell elles es for the Fa lcon 7X.
ARJ 21 ROLLROLL-OUT OUT APPROACHING APPROACHING Th e r o l ll- o u t o f t h e C h i n e s e AR J 2 1 regional aircraft is scheduled before the e n d o f t h e y e a r. Th e AR AR J 2 1 i s a co mpl mpletely etely new des ign, even if itit a ppea rs q u i t e s i m i la la r t o t h e M D 8 0 /9 /9 0 f a m i ly ly w h i c h w a s b u i lt lt u n d e r l ic ic e n s e i n t h e Shanghai Aircraft Manufacturing Factory which are now being absorbed by AVIC I C omm ercial Air Aircra cra ft C orpo ration (AC AC ), the AV AVIC I comp onen t tha t is d irecting the ARJ 21 project. project. Am o n g o t h e r c o n s i d e r a t i o n s , t h e internal fuselage diameter is larger (3.14 m) than the MD family, family, and the s tru tructural ctural elements are c ompletely differ different ent from t h e b u lk l k h e a d t o t h e o u t e r s k in in s . Th Th e engines are two General Electric CF3410As, 10A s, d ul ulyy “d e-r e-raa ted ” o n the ARJ ARJ 2121-700. 700. Alenia Aermacchi has a contract to develop the inl nlets ets for the plane’s eng ine nacelles.
A F i n m e cc a n i c a C o m p a n y
