Slingsby T67 Firefly


The Slingsby T67 Firefly, originally produced as the Fournier RF-6, is a two-seat aerobatic training aircraft, built by Slingsby Aviation in Kirkbymoorside, Yorkshire, England. It has been successfully used by the UK armed forces, with the Royal Air Force using 22 Slingsby T67M260s as their basic trainer between 1995 and 2010. Over 100,000 flight hours were flown out of RAF Barkston Heath by Army, Royal Navy and Royal Marines students, who lived on camp at RAF Cranwell), and at RAF Church Fenton with RAF and foreign students were accommodated at RAF Linton-on-Ouse, bussed to and from the airfield daily.
The Slingsby has also been used by the Royal Hong Kong Auxiliary Air Force, the Royal Jordanian Air Force, and other military training schools around the world for many years. Also, in December 2012, the National Flying Laboratory Centre at Cranfield University in the UK acquired a T67M260 to supplement its Scottish Aviation Bulldog aerobatic trainer for MSc student flight experience and training.
The Slingsby is a very competent basic trainer and is still operated by many private individuals for standard-level aerobatics training. It was flown by Prince Harry as a basic trainer during his Army Air Corps flying training course, based at RAF Barkston Heath, including his first solo flight in Slingsby T67M260 registration G-BWXG in 2009. Tom Cassells a British Aerobatic Champion regularly flies his Slingsby Firefly. However, in the mid-1990s, the aircraft became controversial in the United States after three fatal accidents during US Air Force training operations, although an Air Force investigation eventually attributed the accidents primarily to pilot error.

Development

The RF-6 was designed by René Fournier, and first flew on 12 March 1974. An all-wooden construction, it featured a high aspect-ratio wing echoing his earlier motorglider designs. Fournier set up his own factory at Nitray to manufacture the design, but after only around 40 had been built, the exercise proved financially unviable, and he was forced to close down production. A four-seat version was under development by Sportavia as the RF-6C, but this demonstrated serious stability problems that eventually led to an almost complete redesign as the Sportavia RS-180.
In 1981, Fournier sold the development rights of the RF-6B to Slingsby, which renamed it the T67. The earliest examples, the T67A, were virtually identical to the Fournier-built aircraft, but the design was soon revised to replace the wooden structure with one of composite material. Slingsby produced several versions developing the airframe and adding progressively larger engines. The Slingsby T67M, aimed at the military training market, was the first to include a constant-speed propeller and inverted fuel and oil systems. Over 250 aircraft have been built, mainly the T67M260 and closely related T-3A variants. Although operated successfully in the United Kingdom and Canada, the program would end in the United States because of a fatal crash following an engine failure. The type was meant to not only replace the Cessna T-41 introductory trainer, but also to meet the Enhanced Flight Screening Program requirements. The US Air Force has no replacement for this type, as it no longer provides training to non-fliers. The aircraft were eventually declared in excess of need in the early 2000s and disposed of by scrapping in 2006.

Operational history

The largest Firefly operator was the United States Air Force, where it was given the designation T-3A Firefly. The Firefly was selected in 1992 to replace the T-41 aircraft for the command's Enhanced Flight Screening Program, which would include aerobatic maneuvers. From 1993 to 1995, 113 aircraft were purchased and delivered to Hondo Municipal Airport in Texas, and the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado.
The Commander of the Air Education and Training Command stood down the entire T-3A fleet in July 1997 as a result of uncommanded engine stoppages during flight and ground operations. A major factor driving the decision were the three T-3A Class A mishaps. Three Air Force Academy cadets and three instructors were killed in these T-3A mishaps. The Air Force Accident Investigation Board report summary attributed the three fatal accidents to:
i. 22 February 1995: The instructor pilot failed to apply antispin rudder as directed in flight manual. The IP's spin academic instruction, flying training, and error analysis experience did not adequately prepare him to recognize his improper rudder application.
ii. 30 September 1996: During a simulated forced landing, the engine quit for some unknown reason. After the engine quit, the aircraft entered a stall from which the IP was unable to recover prior to ground impact.
iii. 25 June 1997: The aircraft departed controlled flight for an unknown reason during the turn to downwind. The IP's failure to recognize this departure and take immediate positive corrective action was the primary cause of the accident.
In April 1995 a 3rd Flying Training Squadron lost a T-3A in a landing accident. During a planned student no-flap landing at Hondo Airfield, Hondo, Texas. At touchdown the student jerked the aircraft back into the air and the plane stalled. The instructor took the aircraft and applied full throttle but he couldn't prevent the crash. The aircraft touched down beside the runway and the nose gear struck the lip of a cross runway and collapsed causing loss of control and heavy damage. The only injury was a slight injury to the instructor's foot from the nose gear coming up through the cockpit floor. The mishap was classified as a Class B because it was said the aircraft could be repaired for less than $300,000 even though the Air Force chose to scrap the plane.
The planes had been purchased for $32 million, and following the third accident, $10 million was spent on fixes to make them airworthy after grounding. "The Air Force found the cost of getting the aircraft or any of the aircraft's components in airworthy condition for resale was prohibitive" and "In September 1999, the chief of staff of the Air Force approved termination of the T-3A EFSP, and AETC declared all T-3A aircraft excess to the command's needs." In 2000, the Chief of Staff of the Air Force requested a new mission be found for the T-3A; however, a study completed in 2002 did not recommend a follow-on mission. "The remaining T-3A aircraft were then stored without maintenance at the Air Force Academy and the Hondo Airport. In the 2002 to 2003 timeframe, the 53 aircraft at the Air Force Academy were disassembled, crated and trucked to Hondo." On 9 September 2006, it was announced the remaining 53 disassembled T-3 aircraft, which had been declared in excess need for over six years, were scrapped. Edwards Air Force Base operated a single T67M Slingsby for test pilot training which originated from the fuel system flight tests in 1998 until it crashed in 2014 killing both occupants . Although the Air Force terminated the EFSP, it now uses the non-aerobatic Diamond DA20 for Initial Flight Screening through the third-party Doss Aviation.

Variants

;RF-6B:
;RF-6B/120:
;RF-6C:
;T67A
;T67M Firefly
;T67B
;T67M MkII Firefly
;T67M200 Firefly
;T67C Firefly
;T67M260 Firefly
;T67M260-T3A Firefly
;CT-111 Firefly

Operators

Military operators

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The Firefly is used by the Royal Netherlands Air Force during pilot selection which is contracted out to TTC at Seppe Airport.

Former military operators

The Firefly was used as a basic military training aircraft in Canada. The Canadian Fireflies entered service in 1992 replacing the CT 134 Musketeer. They were, in turn, replaced in 2006 by the German-made Grob G-120 when the contract ended. The aircraft were owned and operated by Bombardier Aerospace under contract to the Canadian Forces. Unlike the United States, there were no serious operational or maintenance issues with the Fireflies in Canadian military service.
The Firefly was used as a basic military trainer in the United Kingdom until spring 2010, when they were replaced by Grob Tutor aircraft. The aircraft are owned and operated under contract by a civilian company on behalf of the military. In the UK, it was under a scheme known as "Contractor Owned Contractor Operated".
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; New Zealand
Spain
; Turkey
; United Kingdom