| Pictured above are
Hawks of the Royal Air Force Aerobatic Demonstration Team "The
Red Arrows" The Team fly nine Hawks in a dazzling variety of aerobatic
sequences. The Team are much appreciated performers at British Airshows, over the
years they have graced shows all over the World and they certainly rank as one of the
World's finest display teams. A speciality of the Red Arrows is an extensive
sequence of opposition manoeuvres, this never ceases to enthral the spectators. The
team has a extensive repertoire of manoeuvres to suit prevailing conditions. It is
certain that the impressive display abilities demonstrated by the Red Arrows has assisted
in making the Hawk a great export success for the United Kingdom. The British Aerospace Hawk used by the team was originally
designed as the Hawker Siddeley HS.1182, to replace the Royal Airforce's Gnat and Hunter
trainers. It was selected in 1971. In March of 1972 an order was placed for
176 aircraft to be designated Hawk T.1. The Hawk is a transonic ground attack and
training aircraft, with a low wing configuration, and stepped tandem seats. The
airframe structure is designed for a life of 6,000 hours. A basic requirement was that the
aircraft would achieve a high utilisation rate, and that it would be inexpensive to
operate. It can be prepared for its next flight in less then twenty minutes by one
man, and in the offensive training role it can be rearmed by four men in under fifteen
minutes. The power-plant is the highly fuel efficient Rolls Royce/Turboméca
Adour turbofan, any module of which can be replaced without the requirement to rebalance
the rotating assemblies. Large doors beneath the engine bay allow for easy
access and removal. The gas-turbine starter uses the aircraft fuel supply,
development was trouble free and it entered service 27 months after the first
flight. The Hawk is cleared to to Mach 1.2 in a dive and has a level Mach of 0.88,
this allows student pilots to experience transonic flight and handling at low-cost.
In November 1981 a special version of the Hawk was selected by the U.S. Navy to replace
the T 2 as a standard pilot trainer. It is vary rare for the U.S. to purchase from
outside their own industry, thus confirming the fine qualities of the Hawk. |
