Military service Japan . The
Japan Self-Defense Forces are the only military operators to have flown the MU-2 in front-line service.
Ground Self-Defense Force The four C-model aircraft built, in addition to 16 MU-2Ks, entered service with the
Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) with the designation LR-1; they were used as
liaison and photo-
reconnaissance aircraft. They were retired in 2016. A number of them have been placed as
gate guardians at JGSDF bases.
Air Self-Defense Force Twenty-nine MU-2Es were purchased by the Japan Air Self-Defense Forces as search-and-rescue aircraft and designated MU-2S. Additional equipment consisted of a "thimble" nose
radome, increased fuel capacity, bulged observation windows, and a sliding door for dropping rafts.
Argentina Four civilian MU-2 (LV-MCV, LV-MOP, LV-OAN, and LV-ODZ) were acquired by the
Argentine Air Force during the
Falkland War. These Mitsubishis were unarmed, but used during combat operations by the
Escuadrón Fénix as pathfinders, reconnaissance, and communications-relay planes. One of their missions was flying as guiding planes to the
IA-58 Pucará replacements required after losses on the
raid on Pebble Island.
New Zealand In late 2009, the
Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) took delivery of four Mitsubishi MU-2F fixed-wing training aircraft from the United States for use as training aids. In New Zealand service, they are known as the
Mitsubishi MU-2 Sumo. The aircraft were ferried to New Zealand and are located at the RNZAF's Ground Training Wing (GTW) at
RNZAF Base Woodbourne near
Blenheim in New Zealand's South Island.
United States Since 1987, MU-2s have been flown by retired
United States Air Force (USAF) pilots working under government contract at
Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida, where they provide USAF undergraduate
air battle manager students of the USAF Weapons Controller School with their initial experience controlling live aircraft. In the tactical simulations, the aircraft usually represent
F-15s and
Mikoyan MiG-29s. Students must control eight MU-2 missions before they can progress to controlling high-performance aircraft such as F-15s or
F-22s.
Flight around the world On 25 August 2013, Mike Laver, owner and pilot of N50ET (a −10 engine converted 1974 K-model equipped with five-bladed MT-composite propellers, which had just received a
supplemental type certificate (STC) under Air First of
Aiken, South Carolina), along with
AOPA Pilot technical editor Mike Collins, embarked on an around-the-world journey in the MU-2B-25. The voyage commenced at Aiken Municipal Airport (now
Aiken Regional Airport) and visited
Nagoya,
Japan, on 14 September 2013, the 50th anniversary of the MU-2.
Safety concerns In the United States, the MU-2 had a spotty safety record during its early decades, as its high performance coupled with a relatively low purchase price appealed to amateur pilots who did not appreciate how demanding it is to fly compared to slower
piston engined aircraft. The absence of adverse yaw eliminates the need to use
rudder for
coordinated flight, but proper and prompt use of rudder is vital to counter the aircraft's tendency to roll in reaction to engine
torque; at low
airspeed, the aircraft will rapidly roll and enter an
accelerated stall if the pilot applies full power without adequate preparation, and safe recovery from this condition is very difficult at low altitude. Most crashes early in the type's service life were attributable to
pilot error, but in 1981, four uncontrolled descents from altitude prompted the United States
National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) to initiate separate investigations into the
cabin pressurization system and
autopilot, but the outcome was inconclusive. In 1983, after more crashes, the NTSB convinced the
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to perform a more comprehensive study of various aircraft systems; the study ultimately did not fault the MU-2's design, but the repeated investigations had damaged the aircraft's reputation by this time. This prompted Mitsubishi, in cooperation with
FlightSafety International, to initiate the Pilot's Review of Proficiency (PROP) seminar program to better educate MU-2 pilots about the aircraft's characteristics. The PROP seminars were suspended following the end of MU-2 production in 1986, but were reinstated in 1994 due to continuing accidents. By 2011, the SFAR was credited with lowering MU-2 accident rates below those for similar turboprop aircraft. Additionally, although some owners had worried that the SFAR would depress aircraft prices even further, resale values rebounded as potential owners recognized that the aircraft is very safe with a properly trained pilot. Despite these early problems, aviation experts have characterized the MU-2 as being robustly designed and constructed, and relatively few MU-2 crashes have been directly attributed to mechanical or structural failures. ==Variants==