UK charity aviation group Aerobility is showcasing a newly overhauled Grob G109B Able motorglider at the Farnborough Airshow, which it uses to introduce disabled people to aviation. Under Project Able, a government-backed program that repurposes former RAF training aircraft for public use, Aerobility offers disabled individuals the chance to learn what it's like to fly a light airplane.
Upgraded with Garmin avionics and a Rotax 912 iSc engine and MT propeller, the Grob on display is “one of, if not the most sustainable aircraft in the show,” said Mike Miller-Smith, CEO of the charity, which was founded in 2021. The Able motorglider uses some 40 percent less fuel than a stock Grob G109B and is certified to fly on unleaded autogas. Sixty of the former military trainers are available for the upgrade program.
Aerobility, based at Blackbushe Airport in Hampshire, plans to add up to six more of Grob Ables to its fleet, where they’re expected to help about 2,600 disabled people annually get airborne. The charity flies some 1,000 disabled individuals per year, and about 30 percent of them thus far are wounded, injured, or ill UK armed forces veterans.
Aerobility will also offer the upgraded Grobs commercially in collaboration with Germany’s Grob Aircraft and the UK’s Southern Sailplanes. The base price of the aircraft is £156,000 ($187,100).