Rhein-Flugzeugbau Fantrainer
| Rhein-Flugzeugbau Fantrainer | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Type: | Trainer aircraft |
| Design country: | |
| Manufacturer: | |
| First flight: |
October 27, 1977 |
| Commissioning: |
1984 |
| Number of pieces: |
32 |
The Rhein-Flugzeugbau Fantrainer is an aircraft designed and built by the aircraft manufacturer Rhein- Flugzeugbau for the initial and ongoing training of jet pilots. In connection with the intended resumption of production, initiated by Fanjet Aviation GmbH, the Fantrainer 600 now operates under the name "Fanjet 600".
history
When, at the beginning of the 1970s, many air forces realized that advanced pilot training would become significantly more expensive due to new, high-tech systems, an alternative was sought that would have the flight characteristics of a jet aircraft on the one hand and the low cost of a propeller aircraft on the other.
At the Mönchengladbach aircraft construction company Rhein-Flugzeugbau had already gathered extensive experience in the use of jacketed screw drives at the end of the 1960s. With the help of the jacket screw test vehicle RFB Sirius , Hanno Fischer was able to demonstrate the jet-like behavior of an aircraft as early as 1968, which was operated with a jacket screw located in the fuselage behind the cockpit. At the 1970 ILA, Rhein-Flugzeugbau presented project sketches for a civil touring aircraft and a military trainer with a jacketed screw drive to the public for the first time. This first Fantrainer design had, like the Sirius I tested at the time, a low-lying horizontal stabilizer. The only difference between civil and military aircraft is the cockpit section in front of the jacketed screw drive, which should be interchangeable so that this part can be adapted to the respective target pattern as quickly as possible in the future.
Since the Luftwaffe showed no interest in the development in 1970, Rhein-Flugzeugbau began developing the civilian version under the name Rhein-Flugzeugbau Fanliner after the Sirius test had been completed with the support of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia in 1972 . Only after its successful maiden flight in 1973 did the Federal Air Force show interest in testing the military variant as a successor to the Piaggio P.149 . In March 1975 Rhein-Flugzeugbau received an order from the Federal Ministry of Defense to build two prototypes of the military fan trainer.
construction
Hanno Fischer used the existing Fanliner I as the starting pattern for the military fan trainer . Instead of the sports aircraft cockpit, the fan trainer was given a cockpit section that was based on the Alphajet used as a climbing pattern by the Air Force . The rear with the jacketed screw drive, including the Wankel engine, was taken over from the Fanliner. Since the wings of the fan liner, which were taken over from the Grumman Yankee, did not allow any jet-like behavior, Fischer decided to use the negative-swept plastic wings from the LFU-205 development by Leichtflugtechnik Union GmbH. As with Hanno Fischer's Rheinflug RW-3 , two wing variants were planned. For beginner training, the fan trainer should be equipped with longer wings, while advanced training should take place with short surfaces suitable for aerobatics. The retractable landing gear required was developed by Gomolzig .
Compared to these "thoroughbred" propeller-driven aircraft, the Fantrainer offered a completely new concept: a small, jet-like fuselage had a jacketed propeller behind the cockpit, the drive of which was located in the aircraft's center of gravity, giving it a jet-like load ratio. In addition, the rotor blades were adjustable, which also accommodated the flight behavior of a jet.
When the end of NSU rotary engine production became apparent during the development of the Fantrainer, Hanno Fischer proposed the construction of the second prototype with a Lycoming LTS-101 turbine engine. The Bundeswehr, however, opted for the Allison 250 C20 turbine used in the Bölkow Bo 105 .
While the Fantrainer operated with a Wankel engine was called AWI-2, the turbine-driven Fantrainer was called ATI-2 (A = starter trainer, W = Wankel / T = turbine / I = integrated jacket screw / 2 = two-seat). A four-seat variant AWI-4 or ATI-4 was also proposed by Hanno Fischer as a replacement for the four-seat Piaggio. The ATI-2KI should be used with a shortened wing of 7.88 m as an aerobatic advanced trainer.
Testing and further development (1977–1979)
On October 27, 1977 RFB test pilot Göbbels took off with the Wankel engine-driven AWI-2 prototype D-EATJ, later at times 98 + 30 in Mönchengladbach for the first flight. The turbine-powered second prototype ATI-2 D-EATI flew for the first time a few days before the start of the Bundeswehr test program on May 31, 1978. In June 1978 both aircraft were handed over to the Luftwaffe test center 61 in Manching, where the comparison flight with the Beech T-34C Turbo Mentor and the Swiss Pilatus PC-7 took place. When the ATI-2 crashed in September 1978 on a transfer flight from Manching to the Airshow in Farnborough in bad weather, the AWI-2 D-EATJ was converted to the Allison turbine, as a preliminary decision between the two models had already been made in favor of the turbine-powered aircraft was. The ATI-2 wins the comparison flight. The Armed Forces Procurement Office then started negotiations in July 1979 for the construction of 30 units of the ATI-2 with Rhein-Flugzeugbau. However, the negotiations were ended in September 1979 after the Air Force had decided to continue operating the Piaggio P.149 until 1984 for reasons of cost.
During the air force trials, Hanno Fischer took up feedback from the flight trials as a basis for the further development of the Fantrainer. In 1979, Fischer met the demand for a more powerfully motorized version of the Fantrainer by installing the more powerful C30 version of the Allison turbine with 600 hp. The cabin fuselage was also somewhat lengthened and raised based on the feedback from the Bundeswehr's test program. This new variant of the Fantrainer was called the Fantrainer FT-600 from 1980, while the Fantrainer with the original C20 variant and modified fuselage was called the FT-400.
The ATI-2 prototype was converted to the C30 variant, but received a reduction gear. The cabin modifications were initially not implemented in the prototype. The FT-400 and FT-600 initially remained drafts.
Further developments and marketing
Next-Generation-Trainer (NGT) tender of the USAF (1980)
After the German Air Force had successfully completed the Fantrainer trials, the US Air Force and the US Navy were also interested in the Fantrainer in the summer of 1979 as the successor to the Cessna T-37B , for which up to 600 units were required. In 1980, Rhein-Flugzeugbau participated in the NGT tender with partner Vought . The cockpit section of the Fantrainer draft FT-600 was exchanged for a variant with two seats arranged side by side. The plastic wings of the Fantrainer were exchanged for metal wings, as Vought had no experience in processing GRP components. In addition, the C30 variant of the individual Allison turbine was exchanged for two coupled C20 variants in order to meet the requirement for two engines in the tender. The design was submitted in April 1980 as Vought V.538 Ealet by Vought Corporation and approved for the study phase by the tendering committee with four competing samples from Cessna, Fairchild, General Dynamics and Rockwell. In the subsequent study phase, Vought changed the layout of the V.538 significantly. The jacket screw integrated into the fuselage is exchanged for two jacketed fans on the fuselage. The stern area was enlarged and boarded. However, the new draft Vought V.539 Ealet proved too heavy to meet NGT requirements. The Vought draft was eliminated from the NGT tender in October 1980. The winner of the NGT tender was the Fairchild T-46 .
Use in the Thai Air Force (1982–1994)
.jpg)
In Thailand, the Science and Weapon Systems Development Center of the Thai Air Force had been working on the development of an RTAF-5 trainer aircraft based on a scaled-down OV-10 Bronco with a pusher propeller drive since 1976 . In order not to delay the introduction of the F-5E Tiger to the Thai Air Force, the use of the Fan Trainer in Thailand was investigated in 1980. In August 1982 the Thai Air Force ordered 16 Fantrainer FT-600 and 32 Fantrainer FT-400 from Rhein-Flugzeugbau. In addition, RTAF signed 26 options on other Fantrainer FT-600. Deviating from the design of the FT-400/600, the Thai fan trainers received a cockpit adapted to the F-5 with ejector seats that were developed by Rhein-Flugzeugbau. Only the production of assemblies was planned at Rhein-Flugzeugbau in Germany. The final assembly of the machines was to take place at SWSDC in Thailand. In order to expand experience in aircraft construction at SWSDC, new metal wings were to be designed for the FT-400 by SWSDC with the help of RFB and later manufactured in Thailand. The FT-600 kept their plastic wings made in Germany. The first two FT-400 and FT-600 were to be produced as sample machines at Rhein-Flugzeugbau in Germany.
On August 12, 1984, the FT-600 prototype D-EATR took off on its maiden flight in Mönchengladbach. The three other sample machines followed in the same month. After completing the pilot training in Mönchengladbach, two sample machines (D-EIWG, D-EIWK) were dismantled and shipped to Thailand. The other two sample machines remained for component production at Rhein-Flugzeugbau in Germany. At the same time, the first assembly kits were shipped to Thailand. The final assembly of the first FT-600 began in 1986. By the end of 1987, 14 units had been delivered to the training associations as BF18k. Due to delays in the development of the metal wings, the final assembly of the first FT-400 did not begin until 1988. They are used as BF18 by the training associations. However, the metal wings turned out to be too heavy and imprecise to manufacture. After the assembly of 11 Fantrainer FT-400, the assembly line in Thailand was closed in 1992. After Rhein-Flugzeugbau went bankrupt in 1994, the Fantrainers were decommissioned and stored by the Thai Air Force.
Second selection process in Germany (1985–1987)
Interest in Germany reawakened in the mid-1980s, as the Air Force was meanwhile looking for a successor to the Piaggio P.149 . Between July and September 1985, both the Model 400 and the Model 600 were subjected to extensive tests, but the Federal Ministry of Defense again decided against the Fantrainer. The military jet pilot training was subsequently completely relocated to the USA in 1987.
In order to be able to carry out the retraining of pilots in Germany, the Luftwaffe decided in 1989 to purchase two low-cost airborne simulators based on the Fantrainer and included them in the budget for 1990. Due to the changed global political situation, the Ministry of Defense was no longer able to adequately justify the need in 1990 in the budget committee meetings and in January 1992 finally refrained from procuring the two fan trainers.
USAF Joint Primary Aircraft Training System (JPATS) (1990)
The former RFB parent company MBB participated in the JPATS tender for a trainer aircraft, which was reissued in the USA in 1989. The MBB Group entrusted its subsidiary Rhein-Flugzeugbau with the development, at which in the meantime Christoph Fischer had taken over the technical management. Under the name Fanranger , Christoph Fischer used the rear metal fuselage of the fan trainer and made the front fuselage part completely in GRP construction. The fan ranger was considerably larger than the original Fantrainer and was powered by a P&W JT15D-5C turbofan engine. After Rhein-Flugzeugbau was sold to ABS International, the development and construction of the first assemblies was carried out in Mönchengladbach. The further work was then moved to Manching and completed together with the American partner Rockwell. The fan ranger, later also Rockwell Ranger 2000, was subject to the Raytheon MkII in the JPATS tender .
Further developments
After the Fantrainer FT-600 had also proven to be underpowered for many tenders, a number of more powerfully motorized Fantrainer designs were developed at Rhein-Flugzeugbau since the mid-1980s. The FT-800 from 1993, FT-1000 from 1988, FT-1200 and FT-1500 have become known. The FT-1000 was specially designed as a weapon carrier for a request from Paraguay.
At the beginning of the nineties under Christoph Fischer at Rhein-Flugzeugbau the design of the Rhein-Flugzeugbau Tiro-Trainer was created . It was to be equipped with a Williams Rolls Royce FJ44 engine and use modern jacket screw technology that Hanno Fischer had developed in the late 1980s as part of the Whisperfan technology. It was offered to the Thai Air Force as a replacement for the RTAF Fantrainer in 1994. After leaving the DASA consortium, Rhein-Flugzeugbau had no more funds to implement the draft.
New edition 2010
In 2010 the company Fanjet Aviation GmbH picked up the recipe for success from the 1970s and acquired design, construction and test documents as well as the approval documents in order to re-initiate the production of the former "Fanjet Aviation". In addition, the company acquired the trademark rights to "Rhein-Flugzeugbau" and the United Flugtechnische Werken (VFW), the former parent company of Rhein-Flugzeugbau.
variants
- RFB AWI-2 - Fantrainer prototype from 1977 with Wankel engine, later converted to ATI-2 standard
- RFB ATI-2 - second Fantrainer prototype with Allison turbine from 1978, lost in 1978 crash
- RFB ATI-2ki - like ATI-2 with a shortened wing
- RFB ATI-4 - projected four-seat fan trainer variant from 1974
- RFB FT-400 - modified cockpit area with Allison 250-C20B from 1984
- RTAF FT-400 - like RFB FT-400 with metal wing made in Thailand
- RTAF BF18 - type designation RTAF FT-400 in Thailand
- RTAF BF18k - type designation RTAF FT-600 in Thailand
- RFB FT-600 - modified cockpit area with Allison 250-C30B from 1984
- RFB FT-800 - projected with 800 HP turbine drive from 1993
- RFB FT-1000 - designed with 1000 HP turbine drive and weapon carrier mount, designed for Paraguay from 1988
- RFB FT-1200 - designed with 1200 HP turbine drive
- RFB FT-1500 - designed with 1500 HP turbine drive
- RFB Tiro Trainer - modernized version of the Fantrainer from 1994
- Fanjet FJ-600 - modernized version of the RFB FT-600
Incidents
- September 7, 1978, RFB-D2, D-EATI, crash in poor visibility near Bingen
- xx.08.1989, RFB-020, RTAF, loss due to crash
- February 29, 1990, RFB-D1, D-EATJ, engine failure and emergency landing near Venlo
- February 17, 1992, RFB-013, RTAF, Crash at Ban Nam Lat with two dead
- October 20, 1993, RFB-025, RTAF, crash at Tambon Tung Bua
- December 12, 1994. RFB-002, RTAF 40211, crash at Tambon Nong Yaphong, two dead
Technical specifications
| Parameter | Fan trainer ATI-2 | Fantrainer 400 | Fan trainer 600 |
|---|---|---|---|
| crew | 2 | ||
| length | 8.95 m | 9.48 m | |
| span | 9.60 m | 9.70 m | |
| Wing area | 13.90 m² | 14 m² | |
| height | 2.90 m | 3.16 m | |
| Empty mass | 925 kg | 1114 kg | 1160 kg |
| Max. Takeoff mass | 1580 kg | 1800 kg | 2300 kg |
| Top speed | 208 kn (385 km / h ) | 370 km / h | 417 km / h |
| Service ceiling | 20,000 ft (6,096 m ) | 6,100 m | 7,600 m |
| Max. Range | 1300 km | 1186 km | 1037 km |
| Engines | 1 × Allison 250-C20B turbine engine | 1 × Allison 250-C30 turbine engine | |
| power | 420 hp (309 kW) | 650 PS (478 kW) | |
See also
literature
- Paul Zöller: Rhein-Flugzeugbau GmbH and Fischer Flugmechanik , 2016, ISBN 978-3-7431-1823-2
- Dieter Schmitt, RFB Fantrainer , Flugrevue, issue 2/1978 (first flight report)
- Mark Lambert, RFB ATI-2 Fantrainer in the Air , Flight International, September 15, 1979
- Dieter Schmitt, test: Fantrainer 400 , Flugrevue, issue 10/1979
- nn, Fantrainer makes progress , Flight International, October 15, 1983
- Air Force Revue, No. 3/85, Fantrainer
- John Fricker, Flying the Fantrainer , Air International, issue 2/1986.
- Modellflug International, issue 12/1989, RFB Fan-Trainer
- Aerokurier, issue 1/2001, Fantrainer
Web links
- Worldmilitair.com - with an overview of Thai fan trainers
- FanJet Aviation GmbH
- RFB Rhein Flugzeugbau Fantrainer on Flugzeuginfo.net
- Recording of a Fantrainer 600 on Luftfahrt.net
Individual evidence
- ^ Spiegel, April 24, 1978: Patented dwarf. Retrieved June 30, 2017 .
- ^ Hanno Fischer: Rhein Flugzeugbau. In: der-wankelmotor.de. Retrieved April 9, 2015 .
- ↑ Flugrevue, issue 10/1979, test: Fantrainer 400
- ↑ Dieter Schmitt: Test: Fantrainer 400, Flugrevue, issue 10/1979
- ^ Flight International, October 15, 1983, Fantrainer makes progress
- ^ Royal Thai Air Force Designator List
- ↑ Printed matter 12/5171 of the German Bundestag from June 17, 1993
- ^ Spiegel, August 10, 1987, Strauss advertises at Stroessner
- ^ Flight International, June 15, 1994, Germans target Thai training needs
- ^ Fanjet Aviation GmbH
- ^ Aviation Safety Network