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DUBAI–A second homegrown turboprop trainer looks set to emerge from Emirati industry, this time in partnership with a Chinese manufacturer.
The Zhongke TA-20 is a highly modified derivative of the Diamond DART 450 turboprop trainer that is being marketed as a potential replacement for the United Arab Emirates fleet of Pilatus PC-7 basic training aircraft. Zhongke has developed the aircraft with Emirati support, and the aircraft could be produced through a joint venture formed through a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with defense conglomerate Edge Group that is due to be signed here at the Dubai Airshow. It would become Edge’s first crewed aircraft product.
The aircraft has followed a similar development process to that of the Calidus Bader B-250 aircraft, in that it was initially designed and developed outside the UAE and then bought back to the country for refinement and production. The first production standard prototype was unveiled this week.
The 2.4-metric-ton, carbon-fiber fuselage TA-20 has been designed with development scope so that it can be tailored for future customers, Giancarlo Maragucci, Zhongke’s TA-20 project manager, told Aviation Week.
Although it uses a Ukrainian-made, 750-hp Ivchenko turboprop engine, the company is exploring alternative engines and propellers, including a seven-blade prop. The aircraft currently features Chinese and Western avionics, and the tandem-seat cockpit allows for the installation of escape systems from both East and West.
“Our designers have considered a range of options that can be incorporated without making design changes ... and this is the key ... to build something that the customer needs,” Maragucci added.
The aircraft differs externally from the DART 450, incorporating large, blended winglets, an anhedral horizontal stabilizer and leading-edge vortex generators.
The first prototype TA-20 made its debut at the show on Nov. 18 after a multistop flight from Zhongke’s facilities in Wuhu City, where the second prototype is being assembled.
“Edge has been following this and investing in this, and this is the proper time to present it to the market,” Maragucci explained.
As a basic trainer, the aircraft will feature hands-on throttle and stick (HOTAS) controls and reconfigurable large-area displays in the front and rear cockpits. The instructor, in the back, can push new tasks to the student while in flight, Maragucci says. The aircraft is being proposed in several different versions. A version for screening would have a lower power engine, while the basic trainer would have more power available. A single-seat light attack and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) version is also under consideration.
At the airshow, the aircraft is named Hamdan, for the Crown Prince of Dubai, Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum.
The companies have already identified a potential site for production in Abu Dhabi, and the ambition is “to do everything here [in the UAE]. We already consider this an Emirati product,” he said.
Beyond the domestic market, Maragucci says he believes the aircraft will have export appeal.
“We are in the Middle East, but we are also in the middle of the world, and from here we can go all over the market based on the requirements and customize very quickly,” he said.
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