Short Tucano

Origins Development of the Short Tucano commenced in May 1984, following an agreement between Brazilian aircraft manufacturer Embraer and Northern Ireland aviation firm Short Brothers to collaborate on a response to an outstanding British requirement, which sought a replacement for the aging BAC Jet Provost basic trainer for the Royal Air Force (RAF). During June of that year, the TPE331-10 engine was replaced by the improved TPE331-12B, with a major difference being the integration of an Electronic Engine Controller (EEC) system. On 10 March 1987, the second aircraft made its first flight, and, by April, a third Tucano had joined the test fleet for clearance and final testing, which was largely undertaken at MOD Boscombe Down. The fourth aircraft to be built was the first delivered to the RAF on 16 June 1988 at the Central Flying School. Deliveries would continue to the RAF for another five years, the final aircraft arriving on 25 January 1993. In addition to the sizable order for the RAF, multiple export customers emerged for the Shorts-produced Tucanos. The Kenyan Air Force ordered a total of 12 units while a further 16 Tucanos were exported to Kuwait. Those Tucanos delivered to the Kenyan Air Force were combat-capable; they were armed for the purposes of both weapons training and light attack duties; both export aircraft variants are fitted with four hard points, each capable of mounting various rocket pods, cannons, bombs, and external fuel tanks. Due to its Garrett engine, the Short Tucano is more responsive to thrust changes and is somewhat noisier than the original Tucano. In addition to the revised engine, the major differences of the Short Tucano are a strengthened airframe for an improved fatigue life, a cockpit layout similar to the RAF's Hawk advanced trainer, a revised oxygen system, a flight data recorder, a four-bladed propeller, ventral airbrake and restyled wingtips. Two Martin-Baker MB 8LC ejection seats are used and the canopy was modified to meet the RAF's bird strike requirements. During its production run, Shorts commonly promoted the airframe as being "100% British-built". In order to meet RAF requirements, the EMB-312 has some 900 modifications, which reduces its commonality with the original aircraft to roughly 20% of its content. ==Operational history==

During June 1988, the first Tucano deliveries were made to the RAF; induction of the type commenced thereafter. The type has been principally operated by No. 1 Flying Training School, based at RAF Linton-on-Ouse, where it has been used to provide basic fast-jet flying training to RAF and RN student pilots, on 72 (Reserve) Squadron. Typically, student pilots would fly around 130 hours during their training course on the Tucano before progressing to the jet-powered Hawk T2 aircraft, based at RAF Valley. The Tucano's accident record has also been remarkably better than other ab-initio training aircraft, with only five aircraft written off with no fatalities in over 20 years. In March 2007, while discussing the British military contribution to the War in Afghanistan, the British Parliament discussed the concept of replacing the region's detachment of RAF Harriers and Tornados, which were being used to provide close air support to Allied forces, with a number of armed Short Tucanos, which would be re-roled as a dedicated counter-insurgency asset. Such use would have required extensive modifications to the RAF aircraft, as they were not fitted with underwing hard points for mounting armaments and equipment upon. Air Chief Marshal Stephen Dalton was dismissive of this suggested use of the Tucano, stating that it would cost lives amongst those on the ground and damage Britain's credibility and influence within the coalition forces in Afghanistan, and criticising its lack of operational flexibility. At one point, Shorts with Marshall Aerospace as their contractor championed the concept of upgrading the Tucano fleet as an inexpensive means of meeting the RAF's future basic trainer requirements. The prospective upgrade introduced a 'glass' cockpit with HUD, a number of aerodynamic refinements which along with minor engine upgrades, Shorts analysis showed could raise that the max. SL speed to over 300kts. This and gains in time to climb, moved it closer to the Pilatus PC21 capability. The concept development was funded by MoD but was ultimately dismissed as not being cost-effective. By 2010, the Tucano fleet was scheduled to be withdrawn from RAF service in 2015, at which point it was to have been replaced by the winner of the UK Military Flying Training System (UKMFTS) programme. However, the type's out of service date was put back to Oct. 2019; the last of the Beechcraft T-6Cs, the Tucano's direct replacement, was delivered to RAF Valley on 3 December 2018. On 25 October 2019, the Tucano was withdrawn from RAF service; to mark the type's retirement, an aerial display was performed at RAF Linton-on-Ouse, North Yorkshire, which was also set for closure. The last Shorts Tucano operational flight was completed with the first production aircraft ZF135. ==Accidents and incidents==

On 22 Feb 1990, the first export Tucano Mk 51 ZH203 (destined for Kenya) crashed near Rathlin Island due to tailplane flutter in high speed weapons carriage trials, killing Shorts chief test pilot Allan Deacon, who ejected but drowned. The RAF lost five aircraft in service, all non-fatal (four involved ejections): ZF316 on 12 May 1992, ZF270 on 13 May 1996, ZF293 on 22 Aug 2000, ZF344 on 12 Mar 2009 and ZF349 on 8 Jan 2013. On 22 June 2015, movie soundtrack composer James Horner died when the Tucano he was piloting crashed in central California in a remote region of the Los Padres National Forest about 60 miles (97 km) north of Santa Barbara. Horner was the sole occupant of the plane. ==Variants==

;Tucano T1 :Two-seat basic trainer for the RAF – 130 delivered (one other aircraft (T42) was severely damaged by an IRA bomb blast whilst in final assembly in 1990 and was subsequently sold privately to the USA in 2013 by Shorts). ;Tucano Mk.51 :Export version for Kenya – 12 delivered (13 were flown as the first was lost - see above). ;Tucano Mk.52 :Export version for Kuwait – 16 delivered. ==Operators==

2005 ; • Kenya Air Force (1990 – present) • Flying Training School Former operators ; • Kuwait Air Force (1995 – 2025) • 19th Training Squadron (Grounded) ; • Empire Test Pilots' School • Royal Air Force (June 1988 – October 2019) • No. 1 Flying Training School • No. 72 Squadron (July 2002 – October 2019) • No. 76 (Reserve) Squadron (May 2007 – May 2011) • No. 207 (Reserve) Squadron (July 2002 – January 2012) • No. 3 Flying Training School • No. 7 Flying Training School ==Aircraft on display==

• G-BTUC Prototype Tucano T.1 at Ulster Aviation Society • ZF167 Tucano T.1 at South Yorkshire Aircraft Museum, Doncaster • ZF372 Tucano T.1 at Newark Air Museum, Newark on Trent • ZF378 Tucano T.1 at Ulster Aviation Society, Northern Ireland • ZF448 Tucano T.1 at Yorkshire Air Museum, Elvington ==Specifications (Tucano)==

as flown by Brian Kingcome in 1940 ==See also==