Dear readers, starting today there will be a brand new series to house projects that have been flown up and are no longer suitable for the introduction of the "Roll Back to the Drawing Board" series. The planes you can see anywhere are not my focus. The standard for this series is that it is rare enough and interesting enough.
G 520
In the 1980s the Luftwaffe and the Good Friends U.S. Air Force raised a common demand that the U-2 high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft used by NATO to monitor Soviet nuclear tests was aging and in urgent need of a new replacement, a flight platform capable of providing long-term monitoring at high altitudes. The project is known in Germany as the "long-distance primary reconnaissance system", abbreviated "LAPAS" (Abstandsfähigesprimär-aufklärungssystem, Airborne, long distance primary reconnaissance system) and the United States as the "Senior Guardian". @nordland Today's headlines Original debut
G 520, wide enough
Originally, Germany intended to buy the Lockheed TR-1 (U-2) directly, but at that time, the old machine had been discontinued, just in line with the need to upgrade the United States. The West German government, which was seizing the search, did not intend to replicate the industrial miracle of the skunk factory, and the demand was available and low cost, so civilian contractors became the first choice.
The so-called long-distance primary reconnaissance is actually a stratosphere over the Arctic Circle, collecting trace radioactive products from Soviet nuclear tests to analyze the progress of the other side's nuclear weapons. Of course, in the 1980s, the United States and the Soviet Union signed several nuclear disarmament agreements, and these peeping cards were very important at the negotiating table. At this point, this type of reconnaissance no longer requires penetration into hostile territory.
GROB is a glider manufacturer founded in 1971 and is also passionate about manufacturing single-engine trainers and sport aircraft. The company has been exploring carbon fiber composites technology since its inception and has successfully applied them to products, where 75% of the structural components of their products are made of composites. For GROB, a military project like LAPAS was almost an unimaginable order at the time, and it was not too difficult to complete an excellent composite fuselage, but the electronic equipment was different, and GROB found partners E-SYSTEMS and ALLIDSIGNAL EGRETT to take charge of the electronic system.
D-450 prototype
The prototype, the D-450 EGRETT I, first flew in 1987 and set an altitude record of 16,329.35 meters in September of the following year. Although there is a slight difference from the U-20,000-meter cruise, it is cheap enough. Two pre-production D-500 EGRETT II from 1989 to 1990 rolled off the production line and the final production G-520 was designed in 1991.
D-500 pre-production version
The last two D-500 aircraft were owned by E-Systems and GROB respectively and were used for promotional purposes: E-Systems tested various sensors, and GROB (number Strato 1) brought it to market as a "resource management" platform.
D-500 Reconnaissance Equipment Cabin
The G 520 test flight, note that pilots need U-2 class high-altitude flight suits
The GROB's design is very simple, similar to the large outstrip wings of the U-2, and the towering single-hanging tail, a Honeywell TPE 331-14F turboprop engine provides full power, the front of the fuselage is a pressurized cockpit, and the rear half is 12 active-load compartments, providing up to 850 kg of adjustable mission loads, and the appearance is not much different from that of a small sports aircraft. The G 520 becomes an ideal multi-role platform for a variety of high-altitude missions. The G 520T's cockpit expands to provide space for pilots and sensor operators, and also adds space for equipment that must be placed inside the pressurized cabin. The dashboard is optionally equipped with a digital glass cockpit.
In 1992, the Luftwaffe issued an order for the production of the EGRETT II, and the mass-produced G 520T was a two-seater. However, in February 1993, the German government re-examined the procurement process before it was about to be mass-produced. And on the grounds that the threat in Eastern Europe was reduced, the program was canceled.
G 520 cockpit
D-500 fuselage production
However, in the end, GROB found a buyer, and the two-seat version of the G 520T was completed and sold to Affled, Australia. In 2014, GROB Airlines bought back the G 520T and flew it back to Germany.
G 520NG
Also in 2014, GROB announced the redrawing of the G 520 drawings and resumed production of the G 520T, a new aircraft called the G 520NG, thanks to the ultra-low cost of use, although it did not successfully enter service, the G 520 still found its own good market in the field of civil atmospheric research, mapping and resource surveys. @nordland Today's headlines Original debut
G 520NG
G 520NG
G 520NG
Basic data
Unit: 1
Payload: 1 passenger / 850 kg (1,870 lb)
长: 13.82 m (45 ft 4 in)翼展: 33.0 m (108 ft 3 in）高: 5.66 m (18 ft 7 in)
Wing area: 39.67 m2 (427.0 sq ft)
Empty weight: 3,300 kg (7,275 lb)
Maximum takeoff weight: 4,700 kg (10,362 lb) Fuel Load: 1,070 kg (2,360 lb)
Power: 1 × Honeywell TPE331-14F turboprop engine, 560 kW (750 hp) propeller: 4-bladed Hartzell, 3.04 m (10 ft 0 in) diameter constant speed propeller
manifestation
Maximum speed: 469 km/h (291 mph, 253 kn)
Cruising speed: 283 km/h (176 mph, 153 kn) at 11,000 m (35,000 ft) ISA,
Stall speed: 107 km/h (67 mph, 58 kn) (MLW, landing configuration)
航程: 3,670 km (2,280 mi, 1,980 nmi) at 15,000 m (50,000 ft) ISA,MTOW, 45 min reserve fuel, 500 kg (1,100 lb)
续航时间: 7.5 hours at 15,000 m (50,000 ft) ISA, MTOW, 45 min reserve fuel, 500 kg (1,100 lb)
服务高度: 15,240 m (50,000 ft) (max. certified operating altitude)Rate of climb: 7.3 m/s (1,440 ft/min)
Climb time: 50 min to 14,000 m (45,000 ft)
起飞滑跑距离15 m (50 ft): 670 m (2,200 ft) (MSL, ISA, MTOW, no wind, no slope)
着陆滑跑距离 15 m (50 ft): 685 m (2,247 ft) (MSL, ISA, MTOW, no wind, no slope)