Textron AirLand’s SCORPION makes its public debut at the Farnborough Air Show. Textron AirLand is a joint venture between Textron and AirLand Enterprises. The aircraft’s first flight outside the US was planned to cover about 4,700nm from Wichita to RAF Fairford-Gloucestershire, 73 miles outside of London. The most recent test flights in May-June have gone smoothly, evaluating the aircraft’s performance at speeds up to 455KTAS. During a typical test flight, Scorpion’s two test pilots execute a planned set of aerial manoeuvres and system checks, as the data is automatically gathered and transmitted to the engineering team for analysis.
The latest tests have included:
On June 21, SCORPION completed its longest test flight to date— executing a flight plan that took it over 1,000nm from McConnell Air Force Base in Wichita, KS to Oklahoma City, OK. The tandem-pilot team completed a few touch-and-go landings in the tower pattern upon arrival in Oklahoma City. Flight time for the test was 3.4 hours, reaching a new milestone of 100 total flight hours for the aircraft. The return flight was completed on 23 June.
In preparation for the July air shows, SCORPION’s all-composite exterior has gone from a flat light grey to a two-tone dark grey over light grey paint scheme. The aircraft, in development for use as a jet trainer, surveillance platform or light strike aircraft, appearing on exhibit, displayed with several weapons models such as: Raytheon GRIFFIN Missiles, Boeing JDAM and SDBs, Textron Systems Weapon & Sensor Systems G-CLAWs, Raytheon Enhanced PAVEWAY 4, and Lockheed Martin HELLFIRE and DAGR.
SCORPION may be configured to accommodate various infrared air-to-air missiles and wing-mounted gun pods. The aircraft is on display outside the Textron Chalet, alongside Textron Aviation’s Beechcraft AT-6 light attack turbo prop, T-6 training platform, King Air 350ER—with the Cessna Grand CARAVAN EX joining the lineup at Farnborough.
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| SCORPION's six weapons stations are designed to carry a range of precision munitions such as HELLFIRE, JDAM and air-to-air missiles. (Photo: Textron) |
The latest tests have included:
- Avionics and Electrical Systems Evaluations
- Environmental and OBOGS System Evaluations
- High and low speed flight characteristics
On June 21, SCORPION completed its longest test flight to date— executing a flight plan that took it over 1,000nm from McConnell Air Force Base in Wichita, KS to Oklahoma City, OK. The tandem-pilot team completed a few touch-and-go landings in the tower pattern upon arrival in Oklahoma City. Flight time for the test was 3.4 hours, reaching a new milestone of 100 total flight hours for the aircraft. The return flight was completed on 23 June.
In preparation for the July air shows, SCORPION’s all-composite exterior has gone from a flat light grey to a two-tone dark grey over light grey paint scheme. The aircraft, in development for use as a jet trainer, surveillance platform or light strike aircraft, appearing on exhibit, displayed with several weapons models such as: Raytheon GRIFFIN Missiles, Boeing JDAM and SDBs, Textron Systems Weapon & Sensor Systems G-CLAWs, Raytheon Enhanced PAVEWAY 4, and Lockheed Martin HELLFIRE and DAGR.
SCORPION may be configured to accommodate various infrared air-to-air missiles and wing-mounted gun pods. The aircraft is on display outside the Textron Chalet, alongside Textron Aviation’s Beechcraft AT-6 light attack turbo prop, T-6 training platform, King Air 350ER—with the Cessna Grand CARAVAN EX joining the lineup at Farnborough.