ENAER T-35 Pillán

T-35 Pillán
An ENAER T-35 Pillán of the Spanish Air and Space Force
General information
TypeTrainer
National origin
Chile
ManufacturerENAER
StatusIn service
Primary usersChilean Air Force
Number built154
History
Manufactured28 December 1984 – 1991
First flight6 March 1981
Developed from
Piper PA-32R

ENAER T-35 Pillán (Spanish pronunciation: [piˈʎan], Mapudungún: volcano or ancestral spirit) is a Chilean propeller-driven basic trainer aircraft. The student and the instructor sit in tandem. Production ceased in 1991 after 7 years but restarted briefly in 1998.

Design and development

Prior to the eighties Chile possessed a decrepit fleet of military trainers obtained under the Mutual Defense Assistance Act. However, these trainers had become exceedingly difficult to repair following passage of a US arms embargo in 1976. The PA-28R-300 Pillán was developed by Piper Aircraft in the United States as a two-seat military trainer for assembly in Chile, based on a PA-32R fuselage with a new center-section and wing stressed for aerobatics. The first prototype designated XBT first flew at Lakeland on 6 March 1981 and was followed by a second prototype, designated YBT. The second prototype first flew on 31 August 1981 and was then delivered to Chile. The prototype XBT was delivered to Chile in January 1982 but was written off on 10 March 1982. Production of kits at Vero Beach Municipal Airport commenced with three pre-production kits which were delivered for assembly in Chile in 1982, Vero Beach then produced 120 kits for assembly in Chile for the Chilean and Spanish Air Force. The first production aircraft was delivered by ENAER to the Chilean Air Force Air Academy in August 1985. The Spanish aircraft were assembled in Spain by CASA.

Apart from a few turbine powered aircraft, all Pilláns were powered by a 300 hp (224 kW) Textron Lycoming AEIO-540-K1K5 six cylinder horizontally opposed piston engine.

In 1985 a turboprop variant was developed by ENAER as the T-35A Aucan. In early 1986 one of the piston-engined pre-production aircraft was sent to Soloy Aviation Solutions in the United States for modification to install a 420 shp Allison 250B-17D engine.

Variants

ENAER T-35 Pillan of the Chilean Air Force
Piper PA-28R-300 Pillan
Two Piper built prototypes.
T-35A
Two-seat primary training aircraft for the Chilean Air Force. 60 delivered by 1990.
T-35B
Two-seat instrument training aircraft for the Chilean Air Force. 20 delivered by 1990.
T-35C
Two-seat primary training aircraft for the Spanish Air and Space Force, known as the E.26 Tamiz. 41 delivered by 1987.
T-35D
Two-seat primary and instrument training aircraft for Panama and Paraguay.
T-35DT
Turboprop powered version, powered by a 420-ehp (313-kW) Allison 250-B17D turboprop engine. Original designation T-35XT.
T-35S
Single-seat aerobatic aircraft.
T-35T Aucan
Improved turboprop powered version.
Pillan 2000
Proposed (1998) updated version of the T-35 Pillan with new wing.

Operators

A T-35 Pillán formation of Chilean Air Force above Santiago, 2009.
 Chile
 Dominican Republic
 Ecuador
 El Salvador
 Guatemala
 Panama
 Paraguay

Former operators

 Spain

Specifications (T-35A)

Data from Jane's all the World's Aircraft 1988–89

General characteristics

1,315 kg (2,899 lb) aerobatic

Performance

255 km/h (158 mph; 138 kn) 55% power at 5,120 m (16,798 ft)
115 km/h (71 mph; 62 kn) flaps down
1,204 km (748 mi; 650 nmi) 55% power at 3,660 m (12,008 ft) (45 minutes reserve)
1,260 km (780 mi; 680 nmi) 75% power at 3,660 m (12,008 ft) (no reserve)
1,362 km (846 mi; 735 nmi) 55% power at 3,660 m (12,008 ft) (no reserve)
55% power at sea level 5 hours 36 minutes
3,050 m (10,007 ft) in 8 minutes 48 seconds

Avionics

See also

Related development

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era

Notes

  1. 1 2 Endres, Gunther; Gething, Mike (2002). Jane's Aircraft Recognition Guide. Glasgow, UK: HarperCollinsPublishers. p. 392. ISBN 0-00-713721-4.
  2. 1 2 3 Green 1988, pp. 98–9
  3. ↑ John R. Bawden,"Cutting Off the Dictator: the United States Arms Embargo of the Pinochet Regime, 1974–1988", Journal of Latin American Studies, 45:3 (August 2013): 513–43.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Peperell & Smith 1987, p. 159
  5. 1 2 3 Lambert 1990, p. 30
  6. 1 2 Jackson 2003, p. 71
  7. ↑ Jackson 2003, p. 72
  8. ↑ Hoyle 2017, p. 36
  9. 1 2 3 Hoyle 2017, p. 38
  10. ↑ Hoyle 2017, p. 41
  11. 1 2 Hoyle 2017, p. 48
  12. ↑ https://www.infodefensa.com/texto-diario/mostrar/4350083/falta-repuestos-lleva-ejercito-aire-dar-baja-tamiz-antes-previsto
  13. ↑ Taylor, John W.R., ed. (1988). Jane's all the World's Aircraft 1988–89 (79th ed.). London: Jane's Information Group. pp. 32–33. ISBN 0-7106-0867-5.

References

  • "Hecho En Chile...An Innocuous Devil". Air International. Vol. 28, no. 4. April 1985. pp. 170–175, 208–209.
  • Hoyle, Craig (5–11 December 2017). "World Air Force Directory". Flight International. Vol. 192, no. 5615. pp. 26–57. ISSN 0015-3710.
  • Jackson, Paul, ed. (2003). Jane's All the World's Aircraft 2003–2004. Coulsdon, UK: Jane's Information Group. ISBN 0-7106-2537-5.
  • Lambert, Mark, ed. (1990). Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1990–91. Coulsdon, UK: Jane's Defence Data. ISBN 0-7106-0908-6.
  • Peperell, Roger W; Smith, Colin M (1987). Piper Aircraft and their forerunners. Tonbridge, Kent, England: Air-Britain. ISBN 0-85130-149-5.
  • Green, William (1988). Observer's book of aircraft (1988 ed.). London: Frederick Warne & Co. Ltd.