Slingsby CT-111 Firefly

(Photo courtesy of FlugKerl2)(Source Harold A Skaarup Web Page)
Slingsby T67C Firefly, two-seat aerobatic training aircraft, built by Slingsby Aviation in Kirkbymoorside, Yorkshire, England.

The Slingsby T67 Firefly, originally produced as the Fournier RF-6, is a two-seat aerobatic training aircraft, built by Slingsby Aviation in Kirkbymoorside, Yorkshire, England. It has been successfully used by the UK armed forces, with the Royal Air Force using 22 Slingsby T67M260s as their basic trainer between 1995 and 2010. Over 100,000 flight hours were flown out of RAF Barkston Heath by Army, Royal Navy and Royal Marines students.

The Slingsby has also been used by the Royal Hong Kong Auxiliary Air Force, the Royal Jordanian Air Force (still currently used), and other military training schools around the world for many years. Also, in December 2012, the National Flying Laboratory Centre at Cranfield University in the UK acquired a T67M260 to supplement its Scottish Aviation Bulldog aerobatic trainer for MSc student flight experience and training.

The Slingsby is a very competent basic trainer and is still operated by many private individuals for standard-level aerobatics training. It was flown by Prince Harry as a basic trainer during his Army Air Corps flying training course, based at RAF Barkston Heath, including his first solo flight in Slingsby T67M260 registration G-BWXG in 2009. Tom Cassells a British Aerobatic Champion regularly flies his Slingsby Firefly. However, in the mid-1990s, the aircraft became controversial in the United States after three fatal accidents during US Air Force training operations, although an Air Force investigation eventually attributed the accidents primarily to pilot error.

The Firefly was used as a basic military training aircraft in Canada, entering service in 1992 and replacing the Beechcraft CT-134 Musketeer. They were, in turn, replaced in 2006 by the German-made Grob G 120 when the contract ended. The aircraft were owned and operated by Bombardier Aerospace under contract to the Canadian Forces. There were no serious operational or maintenance issues with the Firefly in Canadian military service."� Wikipedia and Harold A Skaarup Web Page

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Harold A Skaarup Web Page