Jaffe/Swearingen SA-32T Turbo Trainer
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The Jaffe/Swearingen SA-32T is a prototype American turboprop- powered training aircraft with side-by-side seating. A single example was built in the late 1980s, but no production followed.
| SA-32T Turbo Trainer | |
|---|---|
| General information | |
| Type | Training aircraft |
| National origin | USA |
| Manufacturer | Jaffe Aircraft Corporation/Swearingen Aircraft Corporation |
| Designer | |
| Status | Prototype only |
| Number built | 1 |
| History | |
| First flight | 31 May 1989 |
| Developed from | Swearingen SX300 |
Design and development
The SA-32T was developed by Ed Swearingen from his Swearingen SX-300 piston-engined homebuilt aircraft on behalf of the Jaffe Aircraft Corporation, who hoped to sell it as a relatively low-cost military trainer.[1][2] The resulting design was a low-wing cantilever monoplane, with a mainly metal structure, but with composite engine cowlings and tips of wings and tails. Skin thicknesses were increased by 50% compared with the SX300 to make the airframe stronger. A laminar flow wing was used, which was claimed to give jet-like handling capabilities,[3] while hardpoints could be fitted to allow weapons to be carried.[2] The pilot and instructor sat side by side under a bubble canopy, with provision for ejector seats to be fitted. It had a retractable nosewheel undercarriage. The prototype was powered by a single Allison 250-B17D turboprop engine driving a three-bladed propeller.[3]
A single prototype was built by Swearingen Aircraft Corporation, making its first flight on 31 May 1989,[3] which was displayed at the Paris Air Show in June that year.[4] The design was offered to the United States Air Force as a replacement for its aging Cessna T-37 Tweet trainers, and to West Germany and Turkey.[2] In 1990, a version with tandem seating rather than the side-by-side seating of the prototype was proposed.[5] Development of the SA-32T had been abandoned by 1992,[6] although as of January 2016, the prototype is still registered as airworthy by the Federal Aviation Administration.[7]
Specifications (Performance estimated)
Data from Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1990–91[3]
General characteristics
- Crew: 2
- Length: 22 ft 6 in (6.86 m)
- Wingspan: 24 ft 4+1⁄2 in (7.430 m)
- Height: 7 ft 9+1⁄4 in (2.369 m)
- Wing area: 71.5 sq ft (6.64 m2)
- Aspect ratio: 8.3:1
- Airfoil: NASA NLF 0416
- Empty weight: 1,560 lb (708 kg)
- Max takeoff weight: 2,600 lb (1,179 kg)
- Fuel capacity: 87 US gal (72 imp gal; 330 L)
- Powerplant: 1 × Allison 250-B17D turboprop, 420 shp (310 kW)
Performance
- Maximum speed: 332 mph (534 km/h, 289 kn)
- Cruise speed: 315 mph (507 km/h, 274 kn) (75% power)
- Stall speed: 76 mph (122 km/h, 66 kn) (undercarriage and flaps down)
- Never exceed speed: 400 mph (640 km/h, 350 kn)
- Range: 1,105 mi (1,778 km, 960 nmi)
- Service ceiling: 25,000 ft (7,600 m)
- g limits: ± 6g
- Rate of climb: 3,700 ft/min (19 m/s)