Airforces - Typhoon school

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NEWS United Kingdom

// APRIL 2018 #

THE ROYAL Navy aircraft

carrier HMS Queen

Elizabeth (R08) arrived

back in Portsmouth on

February 27 after successful

first-of-class rotary-wing

trials in the Atlantic.

The tests involved two

Merlin HM2 and two

Chinook HC5 aircraft and a

team of 56 aircrew, analysts

and engineers from the

Air Test and Evaluation

Centre (ATEC) at MOD

Boscombe Down, Wiltshire.

Chinooks landed on board

the vessel for the first time

on February 2 as the UK’s

future flagship prepared to

sail from Portsmouth. The

Chinook crews included

RAF, Royal Navy and

Royal Marines personnel.

Three days later, 820

Naval Air Squadron (NAS)

became the initial squadron

to embark in the carrier,

with its two Merlins. The

unit’s helicopters have been

working with the ship since

her maiden voyage from

Rosyth last June. This,

however, was the first time

820’s aircraft, equipment

and personnel were all

permanently embarked.

Another two Merlin HM2s

provided force protection.

According to a navy press

release: “A thousand deck

landings were carried

out in a range of sea and

weather conditions, with

the specially equipped

helicopters gathering data

to identify the operating

limits of the aircraft from the

carrier at sea. Both aircraft

types flew an average of ten

hours a day.” The Chinooks

recorded 450 deck landings

and the Merlins 540.

Data from the tests will

be used to produce Ship

Helicopter Operating Limits

(SHOL) information for

types including the Merlin

Mk2, 3 and 4, Chinook,

Apache and Wildcat.

The warship’s Commander

Air, Cdr Mark Deller added:

“We have been operating

on the likely limits that this

ship will operate to and

therefore have seen most of

the weather conditions that

we are likely to be exposed

to. The ship has held up

well, the deck is good and

consequently the aircraft

have behaved themselves,

so all good news.”

First T-6C Texan IIs arrive at Valley

THE FIRST two new T-6C

advanced turboprop

trainers touched down

at RAF Valley, Wales on

February 16. The Texan

IIs are part of a planned

fleet of ten that will provide

tuition for fixed-wing Royal

Air Force and Royal Navy

pilots from next year.

The T-6Cs were ordered

as part of the UK Military

Flight Training System

(UKMFTS) private finance

initiative, a partnership

between the UK Ministry of

Defence (MOD) and Ascent

Flight Training Ltd. Affinity

Flying Services Limited – a

50:50 joint venture of Elbit

Systems UK and Kellogg

Brown and Root Limited –

received a £500m contract

from Ascent in February

2016 to provide and

maintain the aircraft. The

initial example for the RAF

first flew on May 28 last

year (see First T-6 for RAF

takes flight, July 2017, p8).

Group Captain Nick

Tucker-Lowe, RAF Valley

Station Commander, said:

“Today marks the arrival

of the first Texan aircraft

which will enhance the

MOD’s basic flying training

provision for the next

generation of RAF and

Royal Navy fighter pilots

from 2019 onwards. I

am delighted that RAF

Valley will be the home of

basic flying training and

that the Texan fleet will

offer our trainee fighter

pilots a first-class lead-

in aircraft to prepare them

for their advanced jet

training on our existing

fleet of Hawk T2 aircraft.”

Above: RAF T-6C ZM326 ‘326’ (N2770B) arrived at Edinburgh Airport together with ZM325 (N2843B) on February 15. The

aircraft had fl own there from Kefl avík International Airport and continued the next day to RAF Valley. Chris Melaisi

HMS Queen Elizabeth completes initial rotary-wing trials

Merlin HM2s from 820 NAS and MOD Boscombe Down land on HMS ‘Queen Elizabeth’ to carry out fl ying trials. In the

foreground is ZH826, which previously conducted fi rst-of-type performance trials aboard HMS ‘Illustrious’ in 2012. Crown Copyright