PAC CT / 4 airtrainer

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PAC CT / 4 airtrainer
The first PAC CT / 4 airtrainer
Type: Trainer aircraft
Design country:

New ZealandNew Zealand New Zealand

Manufacturer:

Pacific Aerospace

First flight:

February 23, 1972

Number of pieces:

approx. 153

The PAC CT / 4 Airtrainer is a two-seat training aircraft from the New Zealand manufacturer Pacific Aerospace .

History and construction

PAC's predecessor Aero Engine Services Ltd derived the CT / 4 from the earlier four-seat prototype Victa / AESL Aircruiser , itself a further development of the Victa / AESL Airtourer , whose production began in Australia in the 1960s and was then relocated via Tasmania to New Zealand , where in the 1970s 87 copies were made in Hamilton .

The CT / 4 Airtrainer is a two-seater, single-engine all-metal monoplane with a non-retractable nose wheel landing gear . Outwardly, the CT / 4 differs from the Airtourer and Aircruiser primarily in terms of the larger engine and the cockpit canopy.

The CT / 4 prototype ZK-DGY first flew on February 23, 1972. Two prototypes were built, at which time AESL New Zealand Aerospace Industries Ltd. the first order for 24 copies from the Thai Air Force. This type was then also selected by the Royal Australian Air Force as a beginner's training aircraft . From the 62nd machine onwards, the machine was delivered as a CT / 4B with detailed improvements, especially in the instrumentation. The CT / 4B was ordered by the Royal New Zealand Air Force (19) and the Rhodesian Air Force (14). The Rhodesian aircraft were not delivered due to the embargo that had meanwhile been imposed and were in storage for 6 years before they were bought by the Royal Australian Air Force. This caused financial problems for the manufacturer, which after reorganization and re-establishment now led the name Pacific Aerospace .

Although production had ceased for several years , two new CT / 4 cells were produced in 1991 in an attempt to win a lucrative US Air Force tender, the CT / 4D turboprop and the CT / 4E with a 300 hp Piston engine, a 3-blade propeller and 100 mm longer fuselage, as well as a rearward-shifted wing. At that time, orders were placed again, so that in 1998 PAC resumed production of the CT / 4E for the Royal New Zealand Air Force (13) and Royal Thai Air Force (16).

variants

  • CT / 4A: Driven by a 210 hp Continental piston engine, 78 produced
  • CT / 4B: Driven by a 210 hp or 225 hp Continental piston engine, 38 built
  • CT / 4C: Turboprop variant, converted CT / 4B of the RNZAF, 1 prototype - later dismantled
  • CT / 4D: (also called CT / 4CR) suggestion of a retractable landing gear version that never flew
  • CT / 4E: Driven by a 300 hp Lycoming engine with a three-bladed propeller, the CT / 4E was developed to take part in a USAF tender, although the tender was not won, RTAF, RNZAF and Singapore ordered machines. This is the current production model.
  • CT / 4F: This version was offered for a RAAF tender with a 300 HP engine, and in connection with Raytheon Australia glass cockpit avionics, as it is also used in the Beechcraft T-6 , was installed. In addition, suspension points were installed under the wings, air conditioning and the center of gravity moved to the rear. A prototype was built.
  • CT / 4G: an aircraft based on the CT / 4E with a Garmin G1000 glass cockpit.

Military use

Technical specifications

Parameter Data
crew 2
length 7 m
span 7.9 m
height 2.6 m
Wing area 11.98 m²
Empty mass 780 kg
Max. Takeoff mass 1202 kg
Top speed 426 km / h
Service ceiling 5547 m
Range 1112 km
Engines 1 × Teledyne Continental IO-360-HB9 piston engine with 157 kW

See also

literature

  • Ewing, Ross and MacPherson, Ross The History of New Zealand Aviation , Heinemann, 1986
  • Knowles, Alan, New Zealand Aircraft , IPL Books, Wellington, 1990

Web links

Commons : PAC CT / 4  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ David Rendall: Jane's Aircraft Recognition Guide . HarperCollins Publishers , Glasgow, UK 1995, ISBN 0-00-470980-2 , p. 505.