Turkey's first indigenous training aircraft due in 2012: minister
"Test flights are still continuing and the the plane will made its maiden flight this year," Ismet Yilmaz told reporters Thursday during a visit to the mayor of the Aegean port city of Izmir.
Turkey is set to introduce its first indigenous training aircraft in 2012, the country's defense minister has said.
"Test flights are still continuing and the the plane will made its maiden flight this year," Ismet Yilmaz told reporters Thursday during a visit to the mayor of the Aegean port city of Izmir.
The aircraft, Hurkus, or "The Freebird," is a tandem two-seat, low wing, single engine, turboprop aircraft. It is developed by Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) as a new basic trainer and ground attack aircraft for the Turkish Armed Forces. The aircraft is named after Vecihi Hurkus, Turkey's first aviator.
A T-37 with the Turkish Air Forces plunged into the Aegean off-coast of Izmir just days earlier and killed two pilots -- one of them a Pakistani -- raising questions about the Cessna trainer which was involved in a dozen crashes in Turkey in the past.
Turkish Air Forces plans to replace all of its T-37s by the end of this year with North Korean KT-1, manufactured by TAI.
Also touching on Izmir's candidacy for EXPO 2020, Yilmaz said the government exerted intense efforts to secure Izmir's hosting of the event, adding that Colombia and Kyrgyzstan had pledged support for Izmir candidacy.