Swiss RU-38 Twin Condor
| RU-38 Twin Condor | |
|---|---|
| Type: | Reconnaissance plane |
| Design country: | |
| Manufacturer: | |
| First flight: |
March 31, 1995 |
| Commissioning: |
May 1997 |
| Production time: |
RU-38A 1995-1997 |
| Number of pieces: |
2 RU-38A |
The Swiss RU-38 Twin Condor is a two- to three-seat reconnaissance aircraft in a low-wing configuration with a double tail girder and rigid landing gear .
RU-38 is the name of the US military (Reconnaissance, German: Enlightenment, Utility, German: Universal). The manufacturer's name is Schweizer SA 2-38A Condor for the two- seat version and Schweizer SA 3-38A Condor for the three-seat version.
Based on the motor glider Schweizer SGM 2-37 , five RU-38s were built between 1995 and 2005.
prehistory
From the development of the motor glider Schweizer SGM 2-37 for use at the United States Air Force Academy , two reconnaissance aircraft of this type with the manufacturer designation SA 2-37A and SA 2-37B were created . In the CIA , US Army and US Coast Guard , they were referred to as RG-8A and RG-8B and used for border security and surveillance missions.
In the mid-1990s, the US Coast Guard decided that the aircraft would be more useful if they had night flight capabilities and more sensory equipment. Negotiations with Schweizer Aircraft led to the plan to upgrade two RG-8 machines and build a new aircraft.
development
The RU-38 was intended for reconnaissance missions both at low altitudes over water or enemy territory and at high altitudes.
The proposed mission profiles for the RU-38A were:
- Border Guard
- Counter-Terrorism Surveillance
- Monitoring drug trafficking
- Electronic reconnaissance
- Fisheries monitoring
- Monitoring illegal immigration
- Maritime surveillance
- Pollution monitoring
- Search and Rescue
In the course of developing the RU-38A from the RG-8A, massive changes were made:
- Replacement of the Lycoming O-540 -B with 235 PS (173 kW) by two Continental GIO-550A (one in tractor and one in pusher configuration )
- Enlargement of the interior
- Improvement of the silencer
- Increasing the span of 56.5 ft (17.2 m ) to 84.13 ft (25.6 m)
- Replacement of the stern with a double tail girder
- Massively enlarged sensor shafts
- Improved noise profile
- Replacement of the tail wheel landing gear with a nose wheel landing gear
RU-38A
The resulting aircraft has little in common with the original RG-8. The double ladder supports allow considerably more sensors to be installed. The left carrier contains an AN / APN-215 (V) -X-band multifunction color radar with mapping function. The right carrier contains an An / AAQ-15- FLIR and a low-light video surveillance system.
For navigation , the RU-38A originally had both OMEGA - as well as through GPS receiver, the OMEGA receiver in 1997 removed after the discontinuation of the system. The aircraft is also equipped with radio equipment for the HF , VHF and UHF range for encrypted and unencrypted voice communication and radio navigation . The crew can also use night vision devices.
Due to its motor glider heritage, the aircraft does not have landing flaps , but brake flaps on the top and bottom of the wings . The MTOW of the RU-38A is 5,300 lb (2,404 kg).
The RU-38A is designed in such a way that it flies with both engines to its operational area and the rear engine is switched off there. The aircraft is then in what is known as “low-noise monitoring mode”. The second engine remains available for emergencies or for the return flight to the base.
The Coast Guard's first RG-8A was handed over on January 24, 1994 for conversion into a RU-38A. The original plan was to convert two RG-8As and build another RU-38A from scratch.
The first flight of the converted aircraft took place on May 31, 1995. The second machine to be converted into a RU-38A crashed near Puerto Rico in 1996 . After this accident, it was decided to take only two RU-38As into service with the Coast Guard. The loss of the RG-8A delayed the program for many months and it wasn't completed until May 1997.
The first RU-38 was tested by the US Air Force's 445th Flight Test Squadron at Edwards Air Force Base on behalf of the Coast Guard from July 1998 . Around 100 test flights were completed with the machine during the four-month test program.
In September 1999, the two converted RU-38A were delivered to the Coast Guard in Miami , Florida and used to monitor drug trafficking in the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean .
RU-38B
The company improved the aircraft further by the exchange of the two piston engines by two turboprop type Rolls-Royce Model 250 -B17F, whereby the MTOW was increased to 7,200 lb (3266 kg). The new aircraft bears the military designation RU-38B.
The RU-38B has four cubic feet of storage space for equipment weighing up to 800 lb (363 kg). The loading bays all have large access hatches and are located both in the tail girders and behind the seats in the fuselage . If necessary, there is space for another team member behind the seats. Thanks to modular sensors, the aircraft can be quickly converted for the various missions.
In slow flight with propeller speeds of 1000 min −1 , the RU-38B can perform very quiet operations. This is made possible by the wings derived from a glider , which enable very slow flight speeds.
The exhaust of the front engine is routed over the wing, which makes the noise profile even quieter.
Two RU-38Bs were shipped to the US Department of Justice in 2004 and 2005.
The pattern was actively marketed by Schweizer in 2011.
Admission
Neither the RU-38A nor the RU-38B are type approved . Instead, the machines are operated as experimental aircraft.
operator
- Swiss Aircraft Corporation - Two RU-38A and one RU-38B
- United States Department of Justice - Two RU-38B
Technical data (RU-38B)
| Parameter | Data |
|---|---|
| crew | 2/3 |
| length | 35.1 ft (10.7 m ) |
| span | 84.13 ft (25.6 m) |
| Wing area | 334.2 ft² (31 m² ) |
| Wing profile | Wortmann FX 61-163 |
| payload | 2,935 lb (1,331 kg ) |
| Empty mass | 4,265 lb (1,935 kg) |
| Max. Takeoff mass | 7,200 lb (3,266 kg) |
| Cruising speed | 83 kn (154 km / h ) |
| Top speed | 168 kn (311 km / h) |
| Service ceiling | 30,000 ft (9,144 m) |
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k Alex Stoll: Swiss RU-38A Twin Condor. September 2001, accessed February 10, 2020 .
- ↑ a b c d e f g Swiss RU-38B. Schweizer Aircraft, 2011, archived from the original ; accessed on February 9, 2020 (English).
- ↑ a b c d e f g Swiss RU-38B Twin Condor. spyflight.co.uk, accessed February 9, 2020 .
- ^ Directory of Airplanes. Smithsonian Institution, 2004, accessed February 9, 2020 .
- ↑ a b c d e f g h John Pike: Swiss RU-38B Twin Condor. GlobalSecurity.org, accessed February 10, 2020 .
- ^ The Sounds of Silence . In: Air & Space / Smithsonian . July 2004, p. 13 (English).
- ↑ a b FAA Registry. Federal Aviation Administration , July 2008, archived from the original ; accessed on February 10, 2020 (English).
- ^ FAA Registry. Federal Aviation Administration , July 2008, archived from the original ; accessed on February 10, 2020 (English).
- ^ FAA Registry. Federal Aviation Administration , July 2008, archived from the original ; accessed on February 10, 2020 (English).
