Slingsby T-67 Firefly
| RF-6, T67 Firefly | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Slingsby T67M260 Firefly of the British Defence Elementary Flying Training School | |
| Role | Trainer/tourer/sport aircraft |
| Manufacturer | Fournier, Slingsby Aviation |
| First flight | 12 March 1974 |
| Retired | United States Air Force 2006 |
| Status | Limited Service |
| Primary users |
Royal Jordanian Air Force Belize Defence Force Air Wing Bahrain Air Force |
| Produced | 1974-1995 |
| Number built | > 250 |
| Developed into | Sportavia RS-180 |
The Slingsby T67 Firefly, originally produced as the Fournier RF-6, is a two-seat aerobatic training aircraft, built by Slingsby Aviation in Kirkbymoorside, Yorkshire, England. It has been successfully used by the UK armed forces, where the Royal Air Force used 22 Slingsby T67M260s as their basic trainer between 1995 and 2010, with over 100,000 flight hours flown out of RAF Barkston Heath. The Slingsby has also been used by the Royal Hong Kong Auxiliary Air Force, the Royal Jordanian Air Force (still currently used), and other military training schools around the world for many years. Also, in December 2012, the National Flying Laboratory Centre at Cranfield University [3] in the UK acquired a T67M260 to supplement its Scottish Aviation Bulldog aerobatic trainer for MSc student flight experience and training.
The Slingsby is a very competent basic trainer and is still operated by many private individuals for standard-level aerobatics training. It was the HRH Prince Harry's basic trainer during his RAF flying officers course based at RAF Barkston Heath, including his first solo flight in Slingsby T67M260 registration G-BWXG in 2009. Tom Cassells [4] a British Aerobatic Champion regularly flies his Slingsby Firefly. However, in the mid-1990s, the aircraft became controversial in the United States after three fatal accidents during US Air Force training operations, although an Air Force investigation eventually attributed the accidents primarily to pilot error.
The RF-6 was designed by René Fournier, and first flew on 12 March 1974. An all-wooden construction, it featured a high aspect-ratio wing echoing his earlier motorglider designs. Fournier set up his own factory at Nitray to manufacture the design, but after only around 40 had been built, the exercise proved financially unviable, and he was forced to close down production. A four-seat version was under development by Sportavia as the RF-6C, but this demonstrated serious stability problems that eventually led to an almost complete redesign as the Sportavia RS-180.
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