News
01/17/08 - Like father like son, HRH Prince William flies Grob G 115E Tutor
HRH Prince William is following in the footsteps of his father, HRH the Prince of Wales, in taking the controls of one of Grob Aerospace’s world leading all composite fibre aircraft. Prince William is undergoing pilot training on the highly versatile G 115E training aircraft used by the Royal Air Force (RAF) to provide “ab initio” training to all new military pilots, 24 years after his father took the controls of a G 103 glider in 1984 (picture available). The Prince of Wales also trained at RAF Cranwell in 1971.
Grob Aerospace boasts a 37 year history as one of the world’s most experienced composite aircraft manufacturers, renowned for its gliders, training aircraft and the world’s first all composite business jet, the spn, all designed and built at its production facility at Tussenhausen-Mattsies, Bavaria, Germany.
“We are honored that the Prince’s first experiences as a pilot under training will be on the G 115E Tutor, which has proved itself in training new pilots with the RAF and other demanding air forces all over the world, meeting and exceeding expectations as an outstanding primary trainer”, said Niall Olver, Grob Aerospace’s Chief Executive Officer.
A 94 strong fleet of G 115Es is in service with the RAF. The aircraft are owned and maintained by defence and support services company VT Group, through its subsidiary VT Aerospace, as part of the Light Aircraft Flying Task (LAFT). Grob works with VT Aerospace in providing a comprehensive spares and technical support service to ensure the required reliability and availability of the G 115E fleet.
“The commitment to VT Aerospace and the Royal Air Force has not only been delivering a superior training aircraft that meets and exceeds the expectations of the RAF, but also in fully supporting our customer throughout the fleet’s service life”, said Hans Doll Director Customer and Product Support, Grob Aerospace.
More than 400 G 115 and G 120 training aircraft built by Grob Aerospace are currently in service with military and civil training schools worldwide, recording more than 60,000 flight hours each year.
The versatility and cost effectiveness of the G 115 and the larger G 120, have secured their status as the primary trainers of choice for the RAF and other discerning customers, including the French, German and Canadian Air Forces. They are certified for both full aerobatics and instrument flying under Instrument Flight Rules (IFR), tasks that are commonly performed on more advanced and expensive training aircraft. Their exceptionally long service life is due to a robust carbon fibre construction, which provides a reliable, low maintenance aircraft with a high dispatch rate and low operating costs.
A repeat order to expand the Canadian Air Force’s fleet of nine G 120A-C to 11 was placed last year by Kelowna Flightcraft of Canada because more advanced tasks could be “downloaded” to the G 120-A-C. Last month the final G 120A-F aircraft was handed over to EADS Military Air Systems to complete the 18 aircraft fleet now in service with the French Air Force at its Training School in Cognac.
The G 115 and G 120 provide the ideal training platform for the full range of conventional high-performance aerobatic maneuvers, including spins, inverted spins, loops, rolls, stall turns, outside turns and recovery from unusual attitudes. They offer excellent handling at both high and low airspeeds, making them ideal to tackle the full spectrum of primary training requirements, including pilot screening, instrument flying, navigation and mission oriented tasks which previously required two different aircraft types.
The designation “Tutor” was given by the Royal Air Force to the G 115E. The Tutor variant of the
G 115 was specifically designed to meet the stringent requirements of the Royal Air Force for a fully aerobatic elementary training aircraft. The Grob Tutor fleet is about to complete the impressive number of 300,000 flying hours in RAF.
Powered by the Lycoming AEIO-360-B1F/B delivering 180 hp of thrust and with a length of 26.4 ft (7.8 m) and a 33.43 ft (10 m) wingspan, the twin-seat G 115 is certified by EASA (JAA) and the FAA to a maximum operating altitude of 18,000 ft (5458 m) and up to +6g / -3g under aerobatic conditions. Like all other current Grob aircraft the G 115E airframe is manufactured entirely from fibre composite, which gives it a competitive advantage by offering high strength and long fuselage life, lightweight construction and associated low fuel consumption and low maintenance costs. It entered service in 1989 with the Australian Flying School in Sydney.
Besides the Tutor also 63 G 109Bs “Vigilant” motor gliders and 100 G 103 “Viking” gliders proudly carry the RAF markings in use by the Air Cadets.