You want a fighter jet as your personal aircraft; do not deny it. You want to travel faster than the speed of sound and play Top Gun in the sky. Well, it may be possible soon for you to do this, if you have the cash of course. Having studied the possibilities and options for a Supersonic Jet Trainer for fighter aircraft, one might notice that there have been lots of recent media discussions and many solutions at this years Paris Airshow. One such aircraft is the Mako trainer by Mercedes Benz. Top speed 1050 mph. Many years back we used the T-38 an F-5 Tiger with two seats. These units are needed because before you put someone in an F-22 Fighter, which costs 100 million dollars, they better be able to fly the damn thing and fly it well. The Mako could also be a fighter if needed for small countries to be their Air Force. It can use either the EJ200 by Eurojet or an F414 by GE or even Snecma M88 (a company out of France trying to make itself popular in aerospace circles for lightweight high out put engines). http://www.flug-revue.rotor.com/FRHeft/FRH9906/FR9906g.htm They see this aircraft as an intro to the F-16 or F-22. Many third world countries go to Arizona and use old vintage A-4s for training or train in the desert in CA. This aircraft is long like the T-38 about 45 feet. Aviation Week had some interesting things to say about this project. http://www.aviationnow.com/content/publication/awst/2002outlook/aw28.htm However many companies are competing for these aircraft for trainers including the Koreans T-50, which we have discussed before and the price tag is good and they are readily available now while the Mako is about early 2003 bound and delivered in 2005. The US is now taking delivery of Raytheon's T-6A Texan 2 has the security of U.S. military procurement. Now as a matter of fact I talked to a training pilot in San Antonio who said they were getting their first ones in last June. Many Aerospace consultants in Europe believe this aircraft may take the lead around the world as the trainer of place. Many countries still are not exactly feeling good about buying the Korean T-50s. http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/biz/2002/01/03/stories/2002010300320200.htm http://www.global-defence.com/air-eur.html In any case what a wonderful fun and cool aircraft to have as a sport plane. You know you want one. Think about it. |
