From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Bulldog
|
|
Scottish Aviation Bulldog, arriving at Shoreham Airshow 2012
|
Role
|
Basic trainer with aerobatic capability
Type of aircraft
|
Manufacturer
|
Beagle Aircraft
/
Scottish Aviation
|
First flight
|
19 May 1969
|
Introduction
|
1971
|
Status
|
Active
|
Primary user
|
Royal Air Force
|
Produced
|
1969?1982
|
Number built
|
328
|
Developed from
|
Beagle Pup
|
The
Scottish Aviation Bulldog
is a British two-seat side-by-side (with optional third seat)
training aircraft
designed by
Beagle Aircraft
as the
B.125 Bulldog
.
The prototype Bulldog flew on 19 May 1969 at
Shoreham Airport
. The first order for the type was for 78 from the Swedish Air Board. Before any production aircraft were built, Beagle Aircraft ceased trading and the production rights for the aircraft, with the Swedish order, were taken over by
Scottish Aviation (Bulldog) Limited
. All subsequent aircraft were built at
Prestwick Airport
by Scottish Aviation, and later by
British Aerospace
.
Operational history
[
edit
]
Sweden
[
edit
]
The first 58 aircraft (known as the
SK 61A
and
SK 61B
) were delivered to the
Swedish Air Force
in 1971. Twenty more aircraft were delivered to the
Swedish Army
as
FPL 61C
in 1972, although these were transferred to the Air Force in 1989 as
SK 61C
. By 2001 all the Swedish aircraft had been withdrawn from military service. 26 were bought in 2004 by the
Hungarian
company AVIA-Rent.
United Kingdom
[
edit
]
The largest customer was the
Royal Air Force
, which placed an order for 130 Bulldogs in 1972, entering service as the
Bulldog T.1
in 1975. It was used by the Royal Air Force as a basic trainer, in particular as the standard aircraft of the
University Air Squadrons
and, later,
Air Experience Flights
, providing flying training. The aircraft was also used by the Royal Navy for Elementary Flying Training (EFT) at
RAF Topcliffe
.
The RAF sold off its remaining Bulldog trainers in 2001 as
general aviation
light aircraft for a low price. They were replaced by the
Grob Tutor
.
Variants
[
edit
]
The following Bulldog models were produced:
[1]
[2]
- Bulldog Series 1
- One prototype built by Beagle Aircraft (
G-AXEH
), one built by Scottish Aviation; now in the collection of the
National Museum of Flight
at
East Fortune
,
East Lothian
.
- Bulldog Series 100
- Model 101
: Export model for Sweden. Swedish military designation
SK 61
(AF) or
FPL 61
(Army). 78 built.
- Model 102
: Export model for
Malaysia
. 15 built.
- Model 103
: Export model for
Kenya
. Five built.
- Model 104
: Refurbished second prototype (
G-AXIG
)
- Model 121
: Primary trainer for the
Royal Air Force
. RAF
designation
Bulldog T.1
. 130 built, five of which transferred (sold) to the
Armed Forces of Malta
in 2000.
- Model 122
: Export model for
Ghana
. Six built.
- Model 122A
: Export model for Ghana. Seven built.
- Model 123
: Export model for
Nigeria
. 37 built.
- Model 124
: Company demonstrator (
G-ASAL
). Used for weapons trials.
- Model 125
: Export model for
Jordan
. 13 built.
- Model 125A
: Export model for
Royal Jordanian Air Force
. Nine built.
- Model 126
: Export model for
Lebanon
. Six built.
- Model 127
: Export model for Kenya. Nine built.
- Model 128
: Export model for
Royal Hong Kong Auxiliary Air Force
. Two built.
- Model 129
: One aircraft for a civil customer in
Venezuela
(
YV-375-CP
).
- Model 1210
: Export model for
Botswana
. Six built. Light attack variant with underwing hard points
- Bulldog Series 200
- Four-seat variant with retractable undercarriage. One prototype built (
G-BDOG
). Also known as the
Bullfinch
in civilian guise.
Operators
[
edit
]
Military operators
[
edit
]
-
Kenya
-
Lebanon
Former military operators
[
edit
]
-
Botswana
-
Ghana
-
Jordan
-
Hong Kong
-
Malaysia
-
Malta
-
Nigeria
-
Sweden
-
United Kingdom
Former civil operators
[
edit
]
-
Sweden
Aircraft on display
[
edit
]
- United Kingdom
- Bulldog 104
G-AXIG
at
National Museum of Scotland
, Edinburgh, Scotland.
[4]
- Bulldog 125
G-BDIN
at
South Yorkshire Aircraft Museum
, Doncaster, England.
[5]
- Bulldog T.1
XX634
at
Newark Air Museum
, Nottinghamshire.
[6]
- Bulldog T.1
XX654
at
Royal Air Force Museum Cosford
, Shropshire.
[7]
- Bulldog T.1
XX669
at
South Yorkshire Aircraft Museum
.
[5]
- Bulldog T.1
XX520
at 172 (
Haywards Heath
) Squadron
Air Training Corps
(Haywards Heath TA Centre), Sussex
- Bulldog T.1
XX637
at
Ulster Aviation Society
, Maze Long Kesh, Lisburn, Northern Ireland (Current markings are a XX530 tribute)
Specifications (Bulldog Series 120)
[
edit
]
Data from
Bulldog Series 120 Owner's Manual
[8]
General characteristics
- Crew:
2, model 101 has 3
- Length:
23 ft 3.06 in (7.0881 m)
- Wingspan:
33 ft 1.85 in (10.1054 m)
- Height:
8 ft 11.5 in (2.731 m)
- Wing area:
129.4 sq ft (12.02 m
2
)
- Aspect ratio
:
8.4
- Airfoil
:
NACA 63
2
615
[9]
- Empty weight:
1,475 lb (669 kg)
- Max takeoff weight:
2,350 lb (1,066 kg)
- Powerplant:
1 ×
Lycoming IO-360-A1B6
4-cylinder air-cooled horizontally-opposed piston engine, 200 hp (150 kW)
- Propellers:
2-bladed
Hartzell
constant speed propeller
Performance
- Maximum speed:
130 kn (150 mph, 240 km/h)
- Stall speed:
54 kn (62 mph, 100 km/h)
- Never exceed speed
:
185 kn (213 mph, 343 km/h)
- Range:
540 nmi (620 mi, 1,000 km)
- Service ceiling:
16,000 ft (4,900 m)
- g limits:
+
6g
-
3g, with no longer than 15 seconds sustained inverted flight.
- Rate of climb:
1,034 ft/min (5.25 m/s)
- Wing loading:
18.2 lb/sq ft (89 kg/m
2
)
Armament
- All armament is optional. The Bulldog was designed so that it could be fitted with four hard points. These armaments were tested on company demonstrator aircraft
G-ASAL
. They were never used in RAF service although some weapons training was done on the Bulldog trainers in Sweden. Although hardpoints are available, there is no provision for production weapons launch control systems in the Bulldog.
[10]
See also
[
edit
]
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era
Related lists
References
[
edit
]
External links
[
edit
]
Scottish Aviation Bulldog Cockpit Flying Video
Media related to
Scottish Aviation Bulldog
at Wikimedia Commons
|
---|
Attack aircraft (
A
)
| |
---|
Bombers (
B
)
| |
---|
Army aeroplanes (
Fpl
)
| |
---|
Gliders (
G
/
Lg
/
Se
)
| |
---|
Helicopter (
Hkp
)
| |
---|
Fighters (
J
)
| |
---|
Advanced trainers (
O
)
| |
---|
Trials aircraft (
P
)
| |
---|
Reconnaissance (
S
)
| |
---|
Trainers (
Sk
)
| |
---|
Torpedo bombers (
T
)
| |
---|
Transports (
Trp/Tp
)
| |
---|