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The HAL HF-24 Marut ("Spirit of the Tempest") was an Indian jet fighter aircraft developed and manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) during the 1960s and early 70s. The Marut was designed by the German aeronautical engineer Kurt Tank, with the Project Engineer being George William Benjamin. The aircraft was the first Indian-developed jet fighter and the first in Asia, outside the Soviet Union, to go beyond the test phase and into serial production and active service. On 17 June 1961, the type conducted its maiden flight; on 1 April 1967, the first production Marut was officially delivered to the IAF. While the Marut had been envisioned as a supersonic-capable interceptor aircraft, it would never manage to exceed Mach 1. This limitation was principally due to the engines used, which in turn had been limited by various political and economic factors; multiple attempts to develop improved engines or to source alternative powerplants were fruitless. The Marut's cost and lack of capability in comparison to contemporary aircraft were often criticised. Nevertheless, the Marut performed relatively well in combat, primarily as a fighter-bomber in the ground attack role. Most notably participating in the Battle of Longewala during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. A total of 147 Maruts were manufactured, with the Indian Air Force (IAF) being the sole operator. By 1982, the Marut was becoming increasingly obsolescent, and was gradually phased out during the late 1980s. During the 1950s, Hindustan Aircraft Limited (HAL) had developed and produced several types of trainer aircraft, such as the HAL HT-2. However, elements within the firm were eager to expand into the then-new realm of supersonic fighter aircraft. Around the same time, the Indian government was in the process of formulating a new Air Staff Requirement for a Mach 2-capable combat aircraft to equip the Indian Air Force (IAF). However, as HAL lacked the necessary experience in both developing and manufacturing frontline combat fighters, it was clear that external guidance would be invaluable; this assistance was embodied by Kurt Tank. In 1956, HAL formally began design work on the supersonic fighter project. The Indian government, led by Jawaharlal Nehru, authorised the development of the aircraft, stating that it would aid in the development of a modern aircraft industry in India. The first phase of the project sought to develop an airframe suitable for travelling at supersonic speeds, and able to effectively perform combat missions as a fighter aircraft, while the second phase sought to domestically design and produce an engine capable of propelling the aircraft. Early on, there was an explicit adherence to satisfying the IAF's requirements for a capable fighter bomber; attributes such as a twin-engine configuration and a speed of Mach 1.4 to 1.5 were quickly emphasised. During development, HAL designed and constructed a full-scale two-seat wooden glider to act as a flying demonstrator. Designated HAL X-241, this replicated production aircraft in terms of dimensions, control configuration, and aerofoil sections. The wheel brakes, air brakes, flaps, and retractable undercarriage were all actuated using compressed gas, with sufficient gas storage aboard for multiple actuations per flight. On 3 April 1959, the X-241 flew for the first time, after being towed into the air by a Douglas Dakota Mk.IV (BJ 449). A total of 86 flights were conducted prior to the X-241 sustaining considerable damage in a landing incident , when the nose undercarriage failed to extend. On 24 June 1961, the prototype Marut conducted its first powered flight. It was fitted with the same UK-manufactured Bristol Siddeley Orpheus 703 turbojets that were installed in the Folland Gnat airframes that were already being manufactured, under license, by HAL. While the Marut had been designed around significantly more powerful engines, the un-reheated Orpheus 703 was a viable powerplant for testing purposes. This meant that the Marut was barely capable of Mach 1, even though a top speed of Mach 2 had originally been considered necessary. Before suitable, afterburning engines had been obtained, the Indian Government decided to order 16 pre-production and 60 production Maruts, powered by the Orpheus 703. For more details of development, operational history and variants, click here.

The Raytheon T-1 Jayhawk is a twin-engined jet aircraft used by the United States Air Force for advanced pilot training. T-1A students go on to fly airlift and tanker aircraft. The T-400 is a similar version for the Japan Air Self-Defense Force. The T-1A Jayhawk is a medium-range, twin-engine jet trainer used in the advanced phase of Air Force Joint Specialized Undergraduate Pilot Training for students selected to fly strategic/tactical airlift or tanker aircraft. It is used also for training Air Force Combat Systems Officers in high and low level flight procedures during the advanced phase of training. It also augmented or served in lieu of the T-39 Sabreliner in the Intermediate phase of US Navy/Marine Corps Student Naval Flight Officer training until the joint Air Force-Navy/Marine Corps training pipeline split in 2010 and now remains solely in operation with the U.S. Air Force, leaving the Navy with the Sabreliner pending its eventual replacement. The T-1 Jayhawk shares the same letter and number as the long retired T-1 SeaStar under the 1962 United States Tri-Service aircraft designation system. The swept-wing T-1A is a military version of the Beechjet/Hawker 400A. It has cockpit seating for an instructor and two students and is powered by twin turbofan engines capable of an operating speed of Mach .78. The T-1A differs from its commercial counterpart with structural enhancements that provide for a large number of landings per flight hour, increased bird strike resistance and an additional fuselage fuel tank. A total of 180 T-1 trainers were delivered between 1992 and 1997. The first T-1A was delivered to Reese Air Force Base, Texas, in January 1992, and student training began in 1993. Another military variant is the Japan Air Self-Defense Force T-400 (400T) trainer, which shares the same type certificate as the T-1A. Variants T-1A United States military designation for trainer powered by two JT15D-5B turbofans, 180 built. T-400 Japanese military designation for the Model 400T powered by two JT15D-5F turbofans, also known by the project name TX; 13 built.

The Ryan Brougham was a small single-engine airliner produced in the United States in the late 1920s and early 1930s. Its design was reminiscent of the M-1 mailplane first produced by Ryan in 1926, and like it, was a high-wing, strut-braced monoplane of conventional design. The plane was named by Tom Mathews after Henry Brougham, 1st Baron Brougham and Vaux, designer of the Brougham (carriage). Unlike the M-1, the Brougham had a fully enclosed cabin for the pilot and four passengers. The Brougham prototype was derived from the later M-2 and was powered by a 150 hp Hispano-Suiza 8 water cooled inline V8 engine. Originally priced at $12,200, the price was reduced to $9,700 when fitted with a Wright J-5, and $5,750 with Hispano. One Brougham was fitted with floats. The only common parts shared with the famous Spirit of St. Louis and the first Ryan B-1s were the tail surfaces and a few of the wing fittings. Later B-1 Brougham production versions shared no common parts. Welded Chrome moly steel tubing was used to make the fuselage. Wood was used for the wing, but did not have and dihedral or angle of incidence. The first production B-1 Brougham was The Gold Bug, flown by Frank Hawks. It was preceded by three Hisso Broughams. Charles Lindbergh had come to the factory to examine that first B-1, but had instead ordered a completely new aircraft to his specifications. He used the Ryan NYP Spirit of St. Louis on his record-breaking transatlantic flight of 1927. Hawks renamed his B-1 "Spirit of San Diego" and flew to Washington with his wife to greet the triumphant Lindbergh. In the ensuing glare of publicity, Hawks was hired by the Ryan Aircraft company to be its official representative. With the public idolizing Lindbergh, Hawks toured the country, selling rides in the aircraft "like Lindy flew." His Spirit was actually painted gold, but looked the part to the public. Another reason for the success of the Brougham was its performance at the 1927 National Air Races in Spokane, Washington where Hawks, who had obtained a contract with Maxwell House Coffee, with the now renamed "Miss Maxwell House" came in first for speed in the Detroit news Air Transport Speed and Efficiency Trophy Race. Later, at the 1928 Ford Tudor Reliability Trial and Air Tour, Hawks placed sixth in "Miss Maxwell House". Hawks popularized the type, which stimulated demand among small airlines and charter operators. The Brougham not only sold well in the domestic market, but was exported to China, Guatemala, Mexico and Salvador. Production peaked at 20 per month but was eventually halted by worsening economic conditions in the United States that led to the sale of the Ryan factory in October 1930. Lindbergh's successful trans-Atlantic flight led to a slightly modified Ryan Brougham being ordered for the first attempted trans-Tasman flight between Australia and New Zealand. Named Aotearoa, the Māori name for New Zealand, and crewed by New Zealanders Lieutenant John Moncrieff and Captain George Hood, the aircraft left Richmond near Sydney on 10 January 1928, on a flight expected to take about 14 hours. Radio signals were heard from the plane for 12 hours before abruptly ceasing. The aviators failed to arrive in New Zealand, and no trace of them or their aircraft has ever been found. Variants B-1 - initial production version with Wright J-5 engine (ca 150 built) B-2 - one-off version with extended wingspan for Charles Lindbergh promotional tour (1 built) B-3 - version with roomier cabin, sixth seat and larger tail (9 built) B-5 - production version with Wright J-6 engine (61 built) B-7 - version with Pratt & Whitney Wasp engine (8 built)

The Cirrus VK-30 is a single-engine pusher-propeller homebuilt aircraft originally sold as a kit by Cirrus Design (now Cirrus Aircraft), and was the company's first model, introduced in 1987. As a kit aircraft, the VK-30 is a relatively obscure design with few completed aircraft flying. Its most important legacy is that the work done on developing and marketing the aircraft convinced the designers, the Klapmeier brothers, that the best way to proceed in the future was with a more conventional layout and with a certified production aircraft. Thus the lessons of the VK-30 were directly responsible for the design of the Cirrus SR20 and SR22, which have been the best-selling general aviation airplanes in the world every year since 2003. The VK-30 also served as a significant inspiration for the creation of the company's latest aircraft, the Cirrus Vision Jet, which in 2018 won the Collier Trophy for becoming the first single-engine personal jet with a whole-plane parachute recovery system. The VK-30 design was conceived in the early 1980s as a kit plane project by three Wisconsin college students: Alan Klapmeier and Jeff Viken from Ripon College, and Alan's brother, Dale Klapmeier, who was attending the University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point. Together after college, in the Klapmeier brothers' parents' dairy barn in rural Sauk County, Wisconsin, they formed Cirrus Design in 1984 as the company to produce the VK-30 ("VK" standing for Viken-Klapmeier). Jeff's wife, Sally Viken, designed the aircraft's flap system. During the kit's early developmental phase, the Klapmeiers and Vikens sought frequent help and advice from homebuilt innovator Molt Taylor, who specialized in pusher configurations dating back to the 1940s. The aircraft has an all-composite construction and was designed to achieve natural laminar flow over the fuselage, wing and tail surfaces to provide for very low drag—using a NASA NLF(1)-0414F airfoil designed by Jeff Viken. The original prototype incorporated scrapped parts from production aircraft out of junkyards the Klapmeier brothers visited in order to reduce cost, including both a control system and nose landing gear from a Piper Cherokee (welding parts onto it to convert it to a retractable gear), as well as an O-540 (290 hp) engine off a wrecked de Havilland Heron. The VK-30 was designed to be a five-seat aircraft from the start, which made it considerably larger than most other amateur-built aircraft of its day. It incorporated a mid-engine design, driving a three-bladed pusher propeller behind the tail through an extension shaft. The powerplant in later models was a Continental IO-550-G piston engine developing 300 hp (224 kW). The VK-30 was introduced at the 1987 EAA AirVenture Oshkosh convention in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, and first flew on 11 February 1988. Kit deliveries commenced shortly thereafter. In the late 1980s, the Klapmeier brothers approached jet engine manufacturer Williams International about the possibility of installing a small, single Williams FJ44 turbofan engine on the VK-30. The idea never materialized at that time, however, it significantly inspired the original design concept of the Vision Jet in the mid-2000s. Cirrus discontinued production of the aircraft in 1993, and in 1996, announced plans to develop a stronger replacement wing for about 28 VK-30s supplied to past customers. Cirrus delivered about 40 kits, and built four additional factory prototypes. The company estimated that there were 13 customer VK-30s completed. As of 11 February 2018, four were still registered with the Federal Aviation Administration in the US, although at one time a total of 12 had been registered. Variants Cirrus/Israviation ST50 The VK-30 was the predecessor of the Cirrus ST50, which had an almost-identical configuration to the VK-30, but included a larger ventral fin on the tail of the aircraft, a slightly larger fuselage, and was powered by a Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6-135 turboprop engine in place of the piston engine used in the VK-30. Cirrus designed and initially developed the aircraft under contract to an Israeli aircraft manufacturer named Israviation, and first flew it in Duluth, Minnesota in 1994. Isravation attempted to certify and market the ST50 in the proceeding years but it never entered production by the company.

The Flylab Tucano (English: Toucan) is an Italian ultralight aircraft, produced by Flylab, of Ischitella. The aircraft is supplied as a kit for amateur construction or as a complete ready-to-fly-aircraft. The aircraft was produced in the 1990s by Ferrari ULM of Castelbaldo. The Tucano is a derivative of the Chotia Weedhopper and was designed to comply with the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale microlight rules with the design goal of being a low-cost aircraft. It features a strut-braced parasol wing, a two-seats-in-side-by-side configuration enclosed or open cockpit, fixed tricycle landing gear or floats and a single engine in pusher configuration or on some models twin engines in centreline thrust arrangement. The aircraft is made from bolted-together aluminum tubing, with its flying surfaces covered in Dacron sailcloth. Its 10.17 m (33.4 ft) span wing has an area of 17 m2 (180 sq ft) and is supported by V-struts and jury struts. There is a cabane strut that passes through the windshield and cockpit area. The aircraft is built around a central bent aluminum keel tube that runs from the cockpit to the tail. Controls are standard three-axis type. Standard engines available are the 50 hp (37 kW) Rotax 503 and 64 hp (48 kW) Rotax 582 two-stroke powerplants. The fuel tank is of plastic construction, mounted under the pusher engine. The Tucano V has a glide ratio of 11:1. Variants Tucano Base model with Rotax 582 powerplant. Tucano V (Specificationns below) Improved model, with aerodynamic clean-ups and enclosed cockpit Tucano HV A Tucano V mounted on floats (hydro). Tucano Delta3 Open cockpit model powered by a Rotax 503 Tucano HD3 Float-equipped model based on the Tucano Delta3, powered by a Rotax 503 Tucano HD3A Amphibious float-equipped model based on the Tucano HD3, powered by a Rotax 503 Tucano Delta3 TW Twin-engined (TW) version with Rotax 582 engines mounted in the nose and aft of the cockpit, based on the Tucano Delta3 Tucano Delta3 VTW Twin-engined version with Rotax 582 engines mounted in the nose and aft of the cockpit, with the Tucano V aerodynamic and cockpit refinements Tucano X2 Twin-engined version with Rotax 582 engines mounted in the nose and aft of the cockpit, produced in the 1990s by Ferrari ULM.

The Airbus Helicopters H145 (formerly Eurocopter EC145) is a twin-engine light utility helicopter developed and manufactured by Airbus Helicopters. Originally designated as the BK 117, the H145 is based upon the MBB/Kawasaki BK 117 C1, which became a part of the combined Eurocopter line-up in 1992 with the merger of Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm's helicopter division of Daimler-Benz into Eurocopter. The helicopter was earlier named EC145; an updated version, EC145 T2, was renamed H145 in 2015. The H145 is a twin-engine aircraft and can carry up to nine passengers along with two crew, depending on customer configuration. The helicopter is marketed for passenger transport, corporate transport, emergency medical services (EMS), search and rescue, parapublic and utility roles. Military variants of the helicopter have also been produced under various designations, such as H145M or UH-72, and have been used for training, logistics, medical evacuation, reconnaissance, light attack, and troop-transport operations. The EC145 was a joint development between Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm, subsequently Eurocopter and Kawasaki Heavy Industries on the basis of their successful prior jointly produced BK 117 C1. Rather than pursuing an entirely clean sheet design, the forward cockpit and modern avionics of Eurocopter's EC 135 were adopted in combination with the proven BK 117's rear section; Flight International described the new helicopter, originally designed as BK 117 C2, as being "90% a combination of these two aircraft [The EC135 and BK 117 C1]". However, there were significant areas of redesign, advantages held by the EC145 over its predecessor include possessing a greater range and payload capacity, a considerably increased and uninterrupted cabin area, reduced vibration and noise emissions, and measures to simplify maintenance and minimise operational costs. The noise signature of the EC145 is reportedly 60% lower than that of the BK 117 C1. The new model was type-certificated as the BK 117 C2; in December 1997, it was selected by the French Defense and Civil Guard for air rescue mission, 31 EC145s were ordered to replace their fleet of ageing Aérospatiale Alouette III in a deal costing $170 million. The first EC145 completed its maiden flight at Donauwörth, Germany, on 12 June 1999; Eurocopter conducted a major publicity event for the emerging type at the US Helicopter Association International Show in February 2000. Safety certification of the EC145 was awarded by the German Luftfahrt-Bundesamt[8] and Japanese Civil Aviation Bureau[citation needed] in December 2000; and by the United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in January 2002. The EC145 features a larger cabin space than the older BK 117 C1 helicopter with internal space increased by 46 cm (18 in) in length and 13 cm (5 in) in width, increasing cabin volume by 1.0 m3 (35 cu ft) to 6.0 m3 (210 cu ft). Other improvements over the BK 117 include an increased maximum take-off weight and greater range, achieved partially by the adoption of composite rotor blades, which were derived from the smaller EC135. The EC145 has a hingeless rotor system with a monolithic titanium hub; the helicopter was originally powered by a pair of Turboméca Arriel 1E2 turboshaft engines, later aircraft are powered by the upgraded Turboméca Arriel 2E engine. A key feature of the rotorcraft is the variable rotorspeed and torque matching system (VARTOMS), derived from the BK 117, which Eurocopter has attributed as making the EC145 "the quietest helicopter in its class". The EC145 is fitted with an all-glass cockpit, consists of a Thales Avionics MEGHAS Flight Control Display System with active matrix liquid crystal displays (LCDs); it can be piloted by either one or two pilots. A number of systems are independently redundant, including the autopilot system, hydraulic boost, transmission lubrication, and some of the onboard sensors. The EC145 T2 features additional and newer avionics systems, such as a full 4-axis autopilot and dual-channel Full Authority Digital Engine Control (FADEC); three large LCD primary displays were also introduced to control these systems. The type is fully capable of Category A operations; in November 2008, an EC145 performed the first medical transport flights under instrument flight rules (IFR) in Europe; the type is able to fly entirely under GPS navigation from takeoff to final approach when required. The EC145 is also the first civil helicopter to be fitted with night vision-compatible cockpit instrumentation and lighting straight off the production line. Typical cabin arrangements allows for eight passengers in a club seating configuration, or nine passengers in a high density seating configuration, passenger seating is designed for quick rearrangement based upon current demands. The cabin can be accessed either through sliding doors in either side of the aircraft or via large clamshell doors at the rear of the cabin; in combination with the high mounted tail boom, the clamshell doors are designed to provide safe clearance for loading and unloading activities even while the rotors are turning. In an EMS/casualty evacuation arrangement, the EC145 can carry up to two stretchered patients with three accompanying medical staff. The helicopter can be fitted with emergency floats, rescue hoist, search light, load hook and specialist equipment for other operational requirements. For more details of development and design, operational history and variants, click here.