The Boeing T-7A Red Hawk has hit three milestones for its advanced pilot trainer with the Climate Chamber Test, the Escape System Test and the Flight Control Law boosting the jet program to be used in the U.S. Air Force’s service.
The Boeing T-7A Red Hawk has hit three milestones in recent times as it keeps the tempo for leading toward a revolutionary way forward for its advanced pilot trainer to be used in the U.S. Air Force’s service. Boeing is one of the world’s leading aerospace companies that engage in design, manufacture, and service of a wide range of commercial airplanes, defense products, and space systems for the customers of over 150 countries. Boeing provides the economic opportunity, sustainability, and community impact, extracting a deep global supplier base, that drives innovation and advances in aerospace.
“The T-7A Red Hawk is poised to revolutionize pilot training, delivering enhanced safety, performance and adaptability, and completing these three milestones shows significant progress in the program’s development,” said Evelyn Moore, vice president and program manager for T-7 Programs Boeing. “We will continue with flight testing and the next round of escape system testing throughout this year and into 2025,” he further added.
Climate Chamber Test: One of the five engineering and manufacturing development aircraft, T-7A aircraft APT-3, is undergoing climatic testing at Eglin Air Force Base. The testing covers extreme temperatures ranging from –25°F to 110°F. The performance of all system performances, including propulsion, hydraulic, fuel, electrical, secondary power, environmental control, and overall operations, was assessed. After successfully completing the test, the aircraft returned to St. Louis for further testing and evaluation.
Escape System Test: Boeing, with the help of the Air Force, has conducted the Dynamic Sled test at Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico. The aim of the tests was to assess design improvements in the ACES 5 ejection seat by Collins Aerospace, an RTX company, and Pacific Scientific EMC’s canopy fracturing system. The primary aim was to reduce injury risks during ejection. The testing included variable timing to slow down the ejection seat with the drogue chute and through the study of the canopy fracturing system patterns. The team is now preparing for the next development testing based on what it has learned from this testing.
Flight Control Law: Boeing reported significant progress in February with the development of new software flight control law for the T-7A Red Hawk. The aircraft has now completed over 10 flights since then, including flying a 25-degree angle of attack. Most impressively, three of those flights have demonstrated the aircraft’s fine tracking at high angles of attack, a critical capability in pilot training. The new control law 17.5 has opened the path for the Air Force to start high angle of attack and departure resistance testing at Edwards Air Force Base.
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As the T-7A Red Hawk continues to progress with flight tests and completions, Boeing is concurrently setting up a new production line for low-rate initial production of the aircraft. The company expects to load the first forward and aft fuselages for LRIP by midyear with suppliers continuing to develop parts for production. These developments reflect Boeing’s ongoing delivery of advanced solutions for pilot training and supporting the U.S. Air Force’s mission.
