BAE Systems has developed a series of modifications to upgrade the fleet of CT-4B aircraft used for Australian Defence Force (ADF) Flight Screening and Basic Flying Training to contemporary civil standards.
The incorporation of the crash protection modifications will ensure that the fleet of CT-4B aircraft that has supported ADF flying training in Tamworth since 1992 will be capable of providing safe and effective Flight Screening and Basic Flying Training into the future.
The modifications, introduced in line with the ADF’s Aircraft Crash Protection Policy, provide additional protection for pilots, including a new seat design that absorbs greater dynamic loads in a crash situation.
BAE Systems, in partnership with Aeronautical Engineers Australia (AEA), successfully conducted dynamic testing on the new seat at the Autoliv Australia Test Centre in Victoria in late February.
The complex test program involved several test runs of a modified CT-4B fuselage along a test track, occupied by a heavily instrumented Hybrid-III Anthropometric Test Dummy (ATD).
The program demonstrated that the loads sustained by an occupant in a simulated crash met the latest regulatory requirements.
BAE Systems and AEA will now work with the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) to achieve a Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) for the CT-4B to meet the Federal Aviation Regulations (FAR 23) Part 23 crash protection requirements.
“BAE Systems has understood the requirements of the ADF Airworthiness Authority and delivered a set of modifications that will bring the CT-4B aircraft to the contemporary standard,” John Quaife, general manager aviation solutions at BAE Systems Australia, said.