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The Slingsby T.67 Firefly is a two-seat civil and military primary trainer. The Slingsby Firefly is a
development of the Fournier RF-6B further developed by Slingsby Engineering Ltd. Production by
Slingsby started with nine T.67As, which were basically licence built RF-6B-120s. The first Slingsby T.67A,
G-BIOW c/n 1988, flew first in 1981. After re-development of the airplane with maximal use of glass fibre
reinforced plastics the T.67B entered production, being the first UK-certified composite aircraft. The
prototype of the T.67B, G-BUIZ c/n 1998, was flown first on 16 April 1981, and served as a development
machine. A 116 hp Textron Lycoming O-235-N2A engine powers the T.67B. Further development of the
aircraft resulted in the Slingsby T.67C Firefly. The T.67C is similar to the T.67B except for its more powerful
120kW (160hp) Textron Lycoming O-320 engine. The T-67C-3 as used by the KLS has wing tanks and a three-piece
canopy. Next to the T.67C a military version, the T.67M was introduced. The first T.67M Firefly, G-BKAM c/n 1999,
flew on 5 December 1982. 112 Slingby T.67M-260s were delivered as Slingsby T-3A Firefly to the U.S. Air Force's
Air Education and Training Command for use as trainer aircraft to screen pilot candidates. 290 civil and military
T.67s of all models were built. |
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In 1990, the RLS bought 9 Slingsby T.67C-3 Firefly for the basic
training. They replaced the 8 Cessna F.152-II operating in this
role since 1980. When in August 1991, the KLM
took over the RLS and transferred it into the KLM Luchtvaartschool: the aircraft were
repainted in the basic KLM colours. The 1990-built Slingsby T67C s/n 2074 was registered
on 4 September 1990 with the Directie Rijksluchtvaartschool as PH-SGA (ex. G-7-137). It
was photographed on May 6th 1993 in the KLS colours. After the PH-SGA was withdrawn from
use, the airframe was sold in the UK and registered G-FLYG on 23 August 2002. |
Luchtvaart déjà vu
