The implementation of Specialized Undergraduate Pilot Training created the need for a replacement for the Cessna T-41. David Willis charts the tumultuous career of the Slingsby T-3A Firefly
In 1989 Lt Gen Robert C Oaks, Commander of Air Training Command (ATC), commissioned a Flying Training Broad Area Review.
One of its conclusions was the need for an Enhanced Flight Screening program – the method used by the US Air Force to identify those unlikely to complete pilot training. It was decided that an aerobatic aircraft was required to replace the T-41 then used for the role.
Up to 125 aircraft were needed based at Hondo Municipal Airport in Texas, and the US Air Force Academy (USAFA), Colorado.
This was later reduced to 113.
Enhanced Screener
A Statement of Need published by ATC on March 5, 1990, called for an Enhanced Flight Screener (EFS) capable of aerobatics and overhead traffic patterns able to withstand moderate g loading that would be acquired in a $57m program. Eight aircraft types were involved in the initial demonstration phase, which was conducted at the USAFA between July 23 and August 10, 1990. They were: the Aermacchi SF260, Aerospatiale TB-20 Trinidad, FFA AS202 Bravo, Glasair IIS and III,…
