ENAER T-35 Pillán

Not to be confused with the T-35 Buckaroo. For other uses, see: T35 (disambiguation)

T-35 Pillán
An ENAER T-35 Pillán of the Panamanian Air Force
Role Trainer
National origin Chile
Manufacturer ENAER
First flight 6 March 1981[1]
Primary users Chilean Air Force
Spanish Air Force
National Air and Naval Service of Panama
Paraguayan Air Force
Produced 28 December 1984[1] - 1991
Number built 154[2]

ENAER T-35 Pillán (mapudungún, Spanish pronunciation: [piˈʎan], 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.[2]

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.[3] 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.[4] The first prototype designated XBT first flew at Lakeland on 6 March 1981 and was followed by a second prototype, designated YBT.[4] The second prototype first flew on 31 August 1981 and was then delivered to Chile.[4] The prototype XBT was delivered to Chile in January 1982 but was written off on 10 March 1982.[4] 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.[4] The first production aircraft was delivered by ENAER to the Chilean Air Force Air Academy in August 1985.[4] The Spanish aircraft were assembled in Spain by CASA.[1]

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.[4] In early 1986 one of the piston-engined pre-production aircraft was sent to Soloy in the United States and was fitted with a 420 shp Allison 250B-17D engine.[4]

Variants

ENAER T-35 Pillan of the Chilean Air Force
Piper PA-28R-300 Pillan
Two Piper built prototypes.[4]
T-35A
Two-seat primary training aircraft for the Chilean Air Force.
T-35B
Two-seat instrument training aircraft for the Chilean Air Force.
T-35C
Two-seat primary training aircraft for the Spanish Air Force, known as the E.26 Tamiz.
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
Updated version of the T-35 Pillan.

Operators

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

Specifications (T-35)

Data from Air International April 1985[6]

General characteristics

Performance

See also

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration and era

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 Green 1988, pp. 98–9
  2. 1 2 Endres, Gunther; Gething, Mike (2002). Jane's Aircraft Recognition Guide. Glasgow, UK: HarperCollinsPublishers. p. 392. ISBN 0-00-713721-4.
  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 1987, p. 159
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Directory: World Air Forces". Flight International. 2009-12-15.
  6. ↑ Air International April 1985, p. 174.

References

  • "Hecho En Chile...An Innocuous Devil". Air International. Vol. 28 no. 4. April 1985. pp. 170–175, 208–209. 
  • Peperell, Roger W; Smith, Colin M (1987). Piper Aircraft and their forerunners. Tonbridge, Kent, England: Air-Britain. ISBN 0-85130-149-5. 
  • Green, William. Observer's book of aircraft (1988 ed.). London: Frederick Warne & Co. Ltd. 

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