[BITList] I didn't know that the RAF had any aircraft left?

[John Feltham]

Why are the RAF buying German aircraft?



The German-built Grob 115E Tutor aircraft have not flown since January 9th It follows two incidents at RAF Cranwell in January and in August last year. On both occasions propeller came off in flight forcing an emergency landing A Row has broken out between the manufacturer and the maintenance contractor  

By Daily Mail Reporter
PUBLISHED: 07:17 GMT, 31 May 2013 | UPDATED: 10:02 GMT, 31 May 2013

The RAF has had to ground an entire fleet of training aircraft following two incidents when propellers came off in mid-flight, meaning they have been unable to teach new pilots for almost five months.

Defence sources have described the grounding of the Grob 115E Tutor aircraft, which are maintained by defence contractor Babcock, as a 'complete fiasco'.

The aircraft have not flown since January 9th following an incident at RAF Cranwell in Lincolnshire when a plane's propeller broke off in flight forcing an emergency landing.



A Grob 115E 'Tutor' aircraft at RAF Cranwell. 

The RAF's entire fleet of the German-built planes has been grounded following two incidents when propellers broke off in mid air

An almost identical incident which took place on August 23, also near RAF Cranwell, had been put down to lightning strike.

And In 2004, a propeller on one of the Grobs broke up as it performed an aerobatic manouvere.

Both Princes William and Harry flew Grobs at RAF Cranwell as part of their training to become helicopter pilots.The aircraft, which have a top speed of around 200mph, were introduced into the RAF in 1999.



Prince William is seen next to an instructor in the cockpit of a Grob Tutor during his training to become a helicopter rescue pilot in 2008

The RAF website states: 'The Tutor is a cost-effective, modern elementary training aircraft. The combination of docile handling characteristics and good performance make it very suitable for its training role.' 

A defence source told the Times: 'There is now a bottleneck. No military pilot has started training for six months and there is no solution in sight.'

According to the source a row has now broken out between the defence contractor Babcock and the German manufacturers about who was responsible for the failures.




Safety fears: On both occasions the aircrafts' propellers broke off in mid flight

The source added: 'The aircraft are provided by Babcock under a PFI. The contract is to provide plying hours per year.

'They are wriggling out of it saying it is a design fault, which is surprising considering the the supply of flying hours is the essence of the contract.'

According to the Times a second defence source suggested an attempt to fix the problem using a newly designed propeller had so far failed and that there were problems with the oil supply.

An MOD spokesman said: 'The MOD can confirm that the Babcock Grob Tutor aircraft are currently undergoing a pause in flying operations whilst an on-going mechanical issue is investigated. 

'The impact to the training pipeline is being mitigated by the adoption of a number of measures including the use of other platforms. 

'Whilst the Tutor aircraft is not being utilised to deliver basic flying training at this time, flying training activity as a whole has not ceased. There has been no impact to the front line.' 

Babcock are expected to comment later today.

In 2009, two teenage air cadets and two pilots were killed when two Grob Tutors collided in mid air above the Kenfig nature reserve. Following the disaster the RAF has completed a £2.8m safety upgrade to all its basic training aircraft.



ooroo

PS. One of the comment below the article.

"A crap plastic aeroplane, maintained by a bunch of clowns, managed by greedy bosses. Funny how the DH Chipmunk and SA Bristol Bulldog never went tech for months on end when being maintained by the RAF. PFI has been a disaster for service flying instruction and especially the air cadets (not that anyone cares about them) A similar story is unfolding with the air cadet gliders, also a Grob product managed by imcompetents."





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