It’s a bold move to pitch an all-new aircraft for a price-competitive bidding process, but the Boeing/ Saab team rolled out its ‘clean-sheet’ jet trainer design on September 13 and flew it on December 20.
BOEING CARRIED OUT the first flight of its ‘cleansheet’ BTX-1 trainer — jointly developed with Saab — on December 20, 2016, at its St Louis, Missouri, facility. A second prototype is undergoing ground testing and is expected to fly soon. The BTX-1’s initial 55-minute flight validated key aspects of the single-engine trainer and testing has continued apace.
The team had revealed its contender for T-X on September 13, 2016. Internally known as the BTX-1, the aircraft has been designed from the outset to be cost-effective and to meet all T-X program requirements, according to the manufacturer.
At the time of the roll-out, Boeing/ Saab had built two aircraft — T1 and T2, registrations N381TX and N382TX respectively — which Boeing says are ‘not prototypes, but production aircraft’.
Leanne Caret, Boeing Defense, Space and Security president and CEO, said the aircraft is ‘real, ready, and the right choice for training pilots for generations to come’.
BTX-1 design
The Boeing/Saab offering features a twintail de…
