Originally Posted by
BEagle
How on earth this thing was ever accepted for military training (beyond the very basic stage) is quite beyond me!!
For the same reason a lot of military equipment is procured. It was the lowest bid!
I was at EFTS when the selection for the JEFTS contract was been considered. We flew the four types the contractors were proposing to use and the Firefly wasn't our first choice. And none of the four were as good as the Chipmunk in our opinions. Progress!
The Tincano spin is not particulary problematic. The forces are high and two hands are required to hold the control column in the pro spin position, but that was the case with the JP as well. The erect spin was slightly oscillatory, the inverted spin more stable - but the whole process was drama free. However, two Tucanos have been lost spinning. One due to inadvertant trim application and the other due to a loss of a prop blade.
Students have not been authorised to solo spin any RAF aircraft solo since the 1970s. It's not as a result of the introduction of the Tincan.