From the Philippine News Agency (Aug 8): F/A-50 to hone maneuvering capability of PAF pilots
The acquisition of F/A-50 "Golden Eagle" jet aircraft from the Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) will help the Philippine Air Force (PAF) pilots develop their "air command maneuvering" (ACM) skills.
Department of National Defense (DND) spokesperson Dr. Peter Paul Galvez on Thursday said the acquisition of the 1.5-Mach capable plane is now on its closing stage,
Galvez said the plane can detect, track and maneuver into position and destroy hostile aircraft intruding in the country's airspace.
"The F/A-50 (once officially in the PAF inventory) will help our pilots regain their ACM skills. The aircraft is very ideal for this training as it is modeled very closely in with (General Dynamics) F-16 'Fighting Falcon', one of the most successful jet fighter designs in the world," he said.
The ACM skills of Filipino fighter pilots have been seriously eroded with the retirement of the PAF's Northrop F-5 "Tiger" fleet sometime in 2005.
Galvez the F/A-50 will also give Filipino pilots the necessary "fast mover" experience needed once the PAF acquires its real modern fighter aircraft.
"The F/A-50 will be the PAF's interim fighter jet aircraft for the moment and it will teach our pilots the skills needed in piloting high performance jet aircraft," he stressed.
The F/A-50 is also known as the TA-50.
The F/A-50 design is largely derived from the F-16 "Fighting Falcon", and they have many similarities: use of a single engine, speed, size, cost, and the range of weapons.
KAI's previous engineering experience in license-producing the KF-16 was a starting point for the development of the F/A-50.
The aircraft can carry two pilots in tandem seating. The high-mounted canopy developed by Hankuk Fiber is applied with stretched acrylic, providing the pilots with good visibility, and has been tested to offer the canopy with ballistic protection against four-pound objects impacting at 400 knots.
The altitude limit is 14,600 meters (48,000 feet), and airframe is designed to last 8,000 hours of service.
The aircraft has a maximum speed of Mach 1.4 to 1.5.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=552789
The acquisition of F/A-50 "Golden Eagle" jet aircraft from the Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) will help the Philippine Air Force (PAF) pilots develop their "air command maneuvering" (ACM) skills.
Department of National Defense (DND) spokesperson Dr. Peter Paul Galvez on Thursday said the acquisition of the 1.5-Mach capable plane is now on its closing stage,
Galvez said the plane can detect, track and maneuver into position and destroy hostile aircraft intruding in the country's airspace.
"The F/A-50 (once officially in the PAF inventory) will help our pilots regain their ACM skills. The aircraft is very ideal for this training as it is modeled very closely in with (General Dynamics) F-16 'Fighting Falcon', one of the most successful jet fighter designs in the world," he said.
The ACM skills of Filipino fighter pilots have been seriously eroded with the retirement of the PAF's Northrop F-5 "Tiger" fleet sometime in 2005.
Galvez the F/A-50 will also give Filipino pilots the necessary "fast mover" experience needed once the PAF acquires its real modern fighter aircraft.
"The F/A-50 will be the PAF's interim fighter jet aircraft for the moment and it will teach our pilots the skills needed in piloting high performance jet aircraft," he stressed.
The F/A-50 is also known as the TA-50.
The F/A-50 design is largely derived from the F-16 "Fighting Falcon", and they have many similarities: use of a single engine, speed, size, cost, and the range of weapons.
KAI's previous engineering experience in license-producing the KF-16 was a starting point for the development of the F/A-50.
The aircraft can carry two pilots in tandem seating. The high-mounted canopy developed by Hankuk Fiber is applied with stretched acrylic, providing the pilots with good visibility, and has been tested to offer the canopy with ballistic protection against four-pound objects impacting at 400 knots.
The altitude limit is 14,600 meters (48,000 feet), and airframe is designed to last 8,000 hours of service.
The aircraft has a maximum speed of Mach 1.4 to 1.5.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=552789