Boeing’s new advanced trainer, the T-7A Red Hawk, cleared a significant hurdle earlier this month by entering taxi trials. Boeing has been flying a pair of production-representative jets for some time and has amassed about 500 flight hours and cleared nearly 8,000 data points with them, but the taxi test marks the first time that the production advanced pilot trainer has moved under its own power. Further taxi trials at increasing speeds followed, signaling that a first flight is imminent, likely in the coming weeks.
The aircraft involved in the trial was APT2, the first of five engineering and manufacturing development machines to be built for the U.S. Air Force. Two Boeing pilots were aboard, including chief T-7 test pilot Steven Schmidt in the front cockpit. The first test successfully validated ground handling functions.
Boeing and the Air Force are now working to resolve issues with the T-7A raised by a U.S. Government Accountability Office report. The principal area of concern involves the pilot extraction system. The T-7 is the first platform for the new-generation Collins Aerospace ACES 5 ejection seat, which the company designed to cater to a wide anthropometric range, covering pilots weighing between 105 and 290 pounds. The wider weight range, especially at the lower end, has raised some concerns over the severity of pilot/seat separation, but solutions are in progress. Engineers appear to have solved another problem with the explosive canopy-fracturing system, with a successful test having been conducted in February.
Boeing and industrial partner Saab have won a contract to provide 346 T-7As to replace the elderly Northrop T-38 Talon in the U.S. Air Force’s advanced pilot training program, plus the five EMD aircraft for Air Force tests. The contract includes a comprehensive ground-based training package, with 46 simulators designed with 8k imagery projection for training situations needing high visual definition, such as simulating the transition of aerial engagements from beyond visual range (radar) to within visual range.
The T-7 system, including aircraft and ground training, provides “one push” capability, in which any software upgrades can apply across the whole system. It is fully live-virtual-constructive (LVC) capable, with the ability of the instructor in the aft cockpit to introduce simulated scenarios for the front-seat student in flight. Boeing is working on augmented reality (AR) capability in which, for instance, a simulated air or ground target generated in the system can also be seen "out of the window" on a head-worn AR display.
Boeing acknowledges that the T-7 is generating a lot of interest among international customers and also that the type could be adapted to a number of other roles, such as dedicated adversary aircraft and light attack platform. However, for now, the company is “focused on delivering the advanced trainer to the U.S. Air Force.”