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Aviation History
2003
2003 - 0449.PDF
Cover story Cockpit layout mimics that of the Australian F/A-18:the HUD is the primary instrument flight display 330kt gave a roll rate of around 100a/s. Roll control forces were light, and the aircraft easily stopped at the desired bank angle. Rolls were accomplished with feet on the floor, the yaw damper preventing any discernible sideslip developing. Next we were joined by a Hawk T1A, which acted as a photography platform. About lOmin of close-formation flying fol lowed, a skill 1 had not exercised in years. But during a series of 20-35B banked turns at speeds of 300-330kt, I was easily able to maintain the desired formation position. Control harmony was excellent, while the responsive pitch trim system relieved manoeuvring stick forces. Power response from the FADEC-controlled engine was good, easing the station-keeping task. After completing the photo shoot, we climbed to 18,000ft to see how the HNDA behaved in the low-speed portion of its flight envelope. With 1,030kg of fuel the aircraft weighed 5,903kg as it slowed in idle power for a clean-configuration stall. Light buffet preceded the onset of moderate buf fet and small pitch nodding, while the left wing dropped to 30s bank at the 126kt stall speed. Pitch attitude was 16s nose high with an angle of attack (AoA) of 15.22. Control in all three axes was good, even at this elevated AoA. Moving the control stick forward to break the stall effected recovery. Stall warning To improve turning performance, the HNDA has only a single breaker strip on the leading edge of each wing, whereas the T1A has two. Unlike the T1A, the HNDA in the landing configuration, gear down and flaps full, has no reliable aerodynamic stall warn ing cues. As the aircraft slowed through 115kt there was a small amount of aerody namic buffet, the stall warning tone sound ing at 113kt/9.2s AoA. Continuing to hold stick backpressure brought the nose up to a 20e pitch attitude. As the speed slowed to lOOkt the aircraft briefly pitched up, then dropped to a 10Q nose-low attitude. Recovery was immediate when the stick was moved forward of the neutral position. After determining the HNDA had good stall warning cues, we climbed to 26,000ft for a deliberate spin. In a 20s nose-high, 30s left-bank climb, I retarded the throttle to idle at 200kt. Slowing through 145kt, I abruptly pulled full aft stick while simulta neously putting in full right (opposite) rud der. Initially the nose pitched up as the air craft rolled over the top to the right. The aircraft settled into a 45s nose-low attitude, with a stabilised yaw rate of about 70Q/s. After three complete turns, I centred the rudder and released the stick passing 21,000ft. In less than a quarter of a turn the yaw rate stopped and the aircraft was flying again in a 70B nose-low attitude at 17,500ft. After pulling less than 4gs, the aircraft was in level flight at 15,000ft. Should a student enter a spin while training in the Hawk, simply releasing the controls should result in an expeditious recovery. Before descending for a low-level flight through England's Lake District, I flew two simulated bombing passes on the Hilpsford Point lighthouse. The stores management system display on the left MFD showed we had four simulated Mk82 225kg bombs. The first pass was shallow dive attack simu lating the drop of a low-drag bomb. Weapons symbology in the HUD, designed to reflect that presented in Australian F/A-18s, was logical and easy to interpret. The second pass was a 20° dive on an unplanned target with a low-drag bomb. After visually acquiring the target, I slewed the HUD's target box over it and designated the target with a button on the throttle. Following steering guidance in the HUD, I started a gentle pull, the bomb releasing 2.2km away. Again, specific switch actions mimicked those in the F/A-18. The two passes showed that the HNDA is a stable bombing platform able to gener ate combat-representative delivery speeds and g loading for weapon escape manoeu vres. Additionally, five pylons give the HNDA the ability to employ both training and real air-to-ground ordnance. While HUD camera film analysis is a great train ing aide, actually feeling a bomb come off the wing and seeing it hit the target are an essential part of a fighter pilot's training. While the threat and corresponding tac tics are constantly evolving, the ability to fly at high speed and low altitude is a skill fighter pilots will continue to need. Over a low-level route, I was able to see how the HNDA performed at low altitude. Before coasting in from Morecambe Bay, I levelled the HNDA at 500ft above ground level, as displayed by the radar altimeter readout in the HUD. At a typical speed of 420kt, fuel flow was 844kg/h. Increasing to 520kt, more representative of the final run to a tar get, upped the fuel flow to 2,040kg/h. Raw speed matters for low-level flying training, and is an area where straight-wing aircraft like Aero Vodochody's L-159 fall short. With over 1,270kg of internal fuel, the HNDA clearly has the ability to fly an hour-long, low-level training route at tacti cal speeds, and the excess power to acceler ate to realistic weapon-delivery speeds. Flying at 500ft over the rolling terrain showed the HNDA to be a stable low-level training platform. Control in the pitch axis was responsive yet precise enough to accu rately follow terrain contours. Roll control was equally as responsive, allowing aggres sive turns at low altitudes. The INS/GPS provided accurate steering guidance for the route in the HUD. 30 25 FEBRUARY - 3 MARCH 2003 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL www.flightinternational.com
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