Textron AirLand, LLC, a joint venture between Textron Inc. and AirLand Enterprises, LLC, has announced that its Scorpion aircraft is progressing on schedule toward a July departure from McConnell Air Force Base in Kansas.
The aircraft’s first flight outside the US is planned to cover about 4,700 nautical miles from Wichita to RAF Fairford-Gloucestershire, 73 miles outside of London. Scorpion will participate in The Royal International Air Tattoo from July 11 to 13, immediately followed by Farnborough International Air Show from July 14 to 20.
The most recent test flights in May-June have gone smoothly, evaluating the aircraft’s performance at speeds up to 455 KTAS. During a typical test flight, Scorpion’s two test pilots execute a planned set of aerial maneuvers and system checks, as the data is automatically gathered and transmitted to the engineering team for analysis. The latest tests have included:
- Avionics and Electrical Systems Evaluations
- Environmental and OBOGS System Evaluations
- High and low speed flight characteristics
On June 21, Scorpion completed its longest test flight to date - executing a flight plan that took it over 1,000 nautical miles from McConnell Air Force Base in Wichita, KS to Oklahoma City, OK. The tandem-pilot team completed a few touch-and-go landings in the tower pattern upon arrival in Oklahoma City. Flight time for the test was 3.4 hours, reaching a new milestone of 100 total flight hours for the aircraft. The return flight was completed on June 23.
In preparation for the July air shows, Scorpion’s all-composite exterior has gone from a flat light gray to a two-tone dark gray over light gray paint scheme. The aircraft, in development for use as a jet trainer, surveillance platform or light strike aircraft, will appear on exhibit, displayed with several weapons models such as: Raytheon Griffin Missiles, Boeing JDAM and SDBs, Textron Systems Weapon & Sensor Systems G-CLAWs, Raytheon Enhanced Paveway 4, and Lockheed Martin Hellfire and DAGR. Scorpion may be configured to accommodate various infrared air-to-air missiles and wing-mounted gun pods.
The aircraft will be on display outside the Textron Chalet, alongside Textron Aviation’s Beechcraft AT-6 light attack turbo prop, T-6 training platform, KingAir 350ER - with the Cessna Grand Caravan EX joining the lineup at Farnborough.
