Coarse G 120A

Coarse G 120A
Type:	Training aircraft
Design country:	Germany
Manufacturer:	Gross Aircraft
Production time:	since 2001

The Grob G 120A is a two-seat, aerobatic single-engine aircraft made by Grob Aircraft from Mindelheim .

history

At the end of the 1980s, Grob participated with the G 115T in a tender for a light training aircraft for pilot selection for the US Air Force. This machine flew for the first time in June 1992 and was equipped with a retractable landing gear and a Lycoming AEIO-540 six-cylinder injection engine with 191 kW and a four-blade variable pitch propeller. Since Grob did not win the tender, the project was suspended and was only continued in 2000 as the G 120A. The German approval took place in November 2001, at the beginning of 2002 the American approval according to FAR 23 . The first customer was Lufthansa Flight Training for the Airline Training Center Arizona in Goodyear .

The G 120A was developed as a training aircraft and is operated by the German , Israeli and Canadian air forces as part of basic pilot training. The French Air Force has also been using the aircraft from Base Aérienne 709 Cognac-Châteaubernard for basic training since April 2007 .

The German Air Force currently has six aircraft leased from Lufthansa Flight Training in Goodyear, numbered from N861AF to N867AF. The registration number N866AF carried a Grob that crashed on May 22, 2002, killing the pilot, employed by the Airline Training Center Arizona . The first two aircraft were then transported by air to the USA , the remaining aircraft were shipped.

On March 2, 2020, one of the planes, N864AF, had to land at Goodyear airfield with its landing gear retracted. The two crew members were uninjured, and property damage occurred to the aircraft.

construction

The G 120A is made of fiber composite material. The fuselage and wings are made of carbon fiber reinforced plastic ("carbon"). The service life of the cell is specified by the manufacturer as 15,000 hours. The seats are arranged side by side. The aircraft is approved for aerobatics and for flights under VFR day / night and IFR outside of icing conditions. The currently delivered G 120A has a six-cylinder boxer engine Lycoming AEIO-540-D4D5 with 8,865 cm³, which is approved for aerobatics . It delivers 194 kW (260 hp) at 2,700 min ^-1 at sea level and drives a three-bladed constant speed propeller from Hartzell with a diameter of 1.98 m at which to speeds from 1,800 to 2,700 min ^-1 can be set .

Grob G 120TP

→ Main article : Grob G 120TP

At the ILA 2010 in Berlin, Grob presented the new version G 120TP. This is equipped with a Rolls-Royce M250-17BF turboprop engine , a glass cockpit from Elbit Systems and, as an option, the Mk.15B ejection seat from Martin Baker . The later approved series version of the G 120TP was equipped and delivered without ejection seats and with a glass cockpit from the American supplier Genesys Aerosystems .

operator

Two Grob G 120A of the IAF flight academy over Israel

One of a total of 6 G 120A of the Kenyan Air Force

•  Royal Canadian Air Force
•  Luftwaffe - 6 planes (operated by Lufthansa exclusively for the Luftwaffe) in Goodyear
•  French Air Force - based in Cognac
•  Israeli Air Force - IAF Aviation Academy at Chazerim Air Base
•  Kenyan Air Force - 6 machines were delivered in November 2013

Technical specifications

Parameter	G 120A
length	8.11 m
span	10.18 m
height	2.66 m
Wing area	13.3 m²
Wing extension	7.8
payload	50 kg + 220 kg crew + 182 kg fuel
Empty mass (BEW)	1080 kg
Max. Takeoff mass	1490 kg for "utility" use, 1450 kg for aerobatics
Minimum speed	58 KIAS (approx. 107 km / h) with the flaps fully extended
Travel speed at 75% efficiency.	166 KTAS (approx. 307 km / h)
Top speed	235 KIAS (approx. 435 km / h)
drive	a Lycoming AEIO-540-D4D5
power	194 kW (260 hp)
consumption	54-131 lbs / h (25-59 kg / h)
Tanks	2 × 208 lbs (total: 416 lbs, 400 usable)
Load factor	+ 4.4 / -1.76 (utility); + 6 / –4 (aerobatics)
Service ceiling	18,000 ft (approx. 5,500 m)
Range	635 NM (5000 ft, 75% MCP)

Web links

Commons : Grob G 120  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Type certification of G 120A - EASA-TCDS-A.075 (PDF; 110 kB)
• Manufacturer's data sheet , PDF file, accessed August 15, 2015
• 3. German Air Force Training Staffel on the Air Force homepage ; accessed on March 13, 2010
• Manufacturer website G 120A ( Memento from July 5, 2010 in the Internet Archive )

Individual evidence

1. ^ Grob and Aquila - New start in Brandenburg and in the Allgäu . In: FliegerRevue . No. 10 , October 2009, p. 58-61 .
2. ^ Cognac-Chateaubernard, France June 1, 2007
3. ↑ NTSB Identification: MIA02FA098. National Transportation Safety Board, accessed March 1, 2015 . 
4. ↑ [1] Lufthansa Training GROB-120 makes BELLY LANDING AT PHOENIX | Both Uninjured!
5. ↑ Interview Flugrevue: G 120ATP with glass cockpit and ejection seats (from June 11, 2010)
6. ^ Grob G 120A Basic Trainer Aircraft, Germany
7. ↑ Craig Hoyle: France receives first Cirrus trainer under 23-aircraft deal. Flightglobal.com, August 23, 2012, accessed on August 24, 2012 (English): "CATS already supplies basic training services for the French air force using a company-owned fleet of 18 Grob G 120s based at Cognac [...]" 
8. ↑ Guy Martin: Kenya Air Force acquires Grob G120 trainers. In: DefenseWeb.co.za. February 5, 2014, accessed on March 2, 2015 : “The Kenyan G120s were observed practicing for the Jamhuri Day flypast on December 12, 2013. According to Grob, six aircraft have been delivered. The aircraft were handed over to the Kenyan military in November in Germany and subsequently flown to the African country after four Kenyan pilots were trained in Mattsies, Germany. "