Epsilon Aircraft - The Socata TB 30 Epsilon is a light military training aircraft manufactured by SOCATA (part of Aérospatiale). It is a composite two-seater aircraft with a metal airframe. The first prototype flew on December 22, 1979.
In 1978, the French Air Force (Armée de l'Air) published a requirement for a new basic trainer aircraft to partially replace the Fouga Magister during the first part of the pilot training program. The new aircraft was expected to have isotopes, a 224 kW (300 hp) piston engine and a three-hour endurance. Similar designs were submitted by SOCATA subsidiary Aérospatiale (based on their TB 10 Tobago light aircraft) and GEPAL (GEPAL Mk II). The SOCATA TB 30B proposal was selected in February 1979.
Epsilon Aircraft
But tests showed the Epsilon had poor handling and was redesigned with a new rear fin with a vtral line and a larger trail plane, while the wing was fitted with oval tips which increased the wingspan from 7.40 m (24 ft 33 ⁄8 in). ). ) to 7.59 m (24 ft 11
Aircraft N607bs (socata Tb 30 Epsilon C/n 140) Photo By Florida Metal (photo Id: Ac1468618)
3 ⁄4 inch). The first prototype with these modifications flew again on October 31, 1980, and it soon became clear that the handling problems were solved.
The Epsilon is a low-wing, all-metal monoplane. It is powered by a Lycoming O-540 flat-six engine driving a two-bladed propeller and is equipped with retractable nose wheel landing gear. The pilot and instructor sit in tandem under a sliding Plexiglas canopy with a cockpit layout designed to facilitate transition to the Dassault/Dornier Alpha Jet, which Frch studs graduate to after completing the Epsilon portion of the training program.
The first prototype was converted to a test-run Turbomeca TP 319 Arrius turboprop, which flew in this form on 9 November 1985.
The test stand was converted to a dedicated turboprop trainer, the TB 31 Oméga, powered by the 360 kW (483 hp) Arrius 1A2 and fitted with ejection seats, which returned to flight on 30 April 1989.
Aircraft N130kl (1988 Socata Tb 30 Epsilon C/n 130) Photo By Florida Metal (photo Id: Ac1558675)
Although it was offered to the US Air Force and US Navy Joint Primary Aircraft Training System competition to replace the Beechcraft T-34 Mtor and Cessna T-37 Tweet, it was rejected and not sold.
The Armée de l'Air placed the first order for 30 Epsilons in 1981 and further contracts followed, with a total of 150 ordered.
The first deliveries began in 1983 and the first training courses based on Epsilon began in September 1984.
Export orders came from Togo for three armed Epsilons in 1984, delivered in 1986 (a fourth was later delivered to replace a crashed aircraft) and from Portugal in 1987 for 18 aircraft assembled by OGMA in Portugal. Members DO more LEARN more Save more - Get MORE from Pilot - CLICK HERE
Pilot Standing In A Socata Tb 30 Epsilon Trainer Aircraft Of The Portuguese Air Force, Beja, Portugal Stock Photo
A hangar chat to celebrate the great T–34 Mentor was interrupted by a visiting French pilot who threw shade at the iconic American trainer.
"Mentor is so slow, so bulky," said Olivier Langeard, an aerobatic pilot and engineer who works for French corporate jet maker Dassault. "I don't understand why you Americans love them so much." We have much better military coaches in France.
Of course you do. And better wine, bread, cheese and art too. Americans have heard this information since Lafayette, and most of the rest of the world has accepted it even longer. But Langeard backed up the boast with an aircraft I had never heard of: the Socata TB30 Epsilon. It turns out that these piston trainers were built for the French Air Force ("Armée de l'Air") between 1979 and 1989, and they looked impressive in Langeard's photos on his iPhone, as well as in the specs. Powered by a 300hp Lycoming AEIO-540 and two-blade Hartzell propeller, the Epsilon has a top speed of 193 knots, is loaded for aerobatics (plus-6 and minus 3 Gs), has a glider and boasts crazy hair, never unmatched speed 281 knots.
Lengar, a civilian pilot, admitted that he had never actually flown an Epsilon. But he had talked to many of his countrymen, and their approval convinced him to form a cooperative group and buy a lot of 19 aircraft that had left the French army. His associates (including colleague Mike Filucci; see "French Connection," p. 54) then traveled to France to disassemble the plane and pack it into shipping containers, then reassemble and, after inspection by a designated airworthiness officer, register them (experimental/exhibition Class ) in Wilmington, Delaware.
Socata Tb30 Epsilon
The first and for over a decade the only Epsilon in the US is owned by Tom Evernham, a former US Air Force pilot (and current Daher TBM 700 owner) who lives in the Spruce Creek Flying Community in Daytona Beach, Florida. He expected his Epsilon to be the first of many that would soon follow, but the contract fell through after its delivery and the rest of the aircraft remained in Europe. Meanwhile, he has logged over 1,000 hours of flight time in his aircraft and kindly provided a flight demonstration for this article while the newly delivered Epsilons were being assembled.
"The Epsilon is great for flying and aerobatics," said Evernham, who flew F-86 and F-100 fighter jets in the military. "It's much faster than the T-34 and I have to wait for a back axle when we fly together. But the Epsilon has a much shorter wing so it doesn't turn with the T-34. They definitely have an advantage there."
The Epsilon is the end of an evolutionary line of piston fighters, and its designers carried over ideas that worked on earlier aircraft.
Tandem seats; metalwork (except fabric-covered steering wheel and lift); sliding bubble canopy; and a heavy-duty trailer chassis with Cleveland wheels and brakes designed for durability, reliability and usability.
File:140 315ze Tb.30 Epsilon Basic Trainer. (3217538905).jpg
Other odd elements are pure Socata (then Aérospatiale). The vertical stabilizer is mounted slightly forward of the hull, the horizontal stabilizer has an unusually wide span, and an external control unit is located on the rudder. Both the front and rear canopies of the Epsilon are equipped with explosive charges designed to shatter the Plexiglas for rescue, and were mercifully removed from this aircraft. The junction where the wing meets the fuselage is huge, angular.
The short wings with oval tips have an extremely high load on the trainer (28.4 pounds per square foot) and this is by design. The Epsilon was designed to prepare pilots for military aircraft with even more critical wings and much higher payloads.
Front and rear cabins are almost as tight by American standards, but quite comfortably equipped. The bucket seats (with five-point harnesses and room for a parachute for a backpack) move fore and aft, up and down, and the backrest angle is adjustable, as are the steering pedals. Engine instruments, warning lights and circular aircraft are grouped. At the rear of the cockpit there is a great view forward over the dashboard and the rear seat is slightly forward of the wing so downward visibility is very good.
The throttle quadrant on the left side of the cockpit is large and easy to operate, as are the triangle wheels (for pitch, pitch and roll). The undercarriage arm is inexplicably like a flap handle - so Evernham went to a hobby shop, bought two small wheels, painted them bright orange and attached them to the gear levers so there would be no doubt that they were meant to be. moving the aircraft wheels rather than the flaps (or coils as they are called).
Portuguese Air Force Socata Tb 30 Epsilon Photo By Paulo Antunes
The 28-volt electrical system, motorized hydraulics, electromechanical undercarriage and fuel system (two wing tanks with a total capacity of 56 liters) are standard.
The rear cover must be closed to start the engine, but the front can be partially open and ventilation in both compartments is sufficient even in warm and sunny Florida. (Unfortunately, the canopy does not open in flight.)
Driving is normal with wheels and differential brakes. The release is standard and the lever is set at 15 degrees. (Full flap expansion is 25 degrees.)
Takeoff at sea level takes about 12 seconds as the Epsilon accelerates to 80 knots and requires moderate back pressure to turn. With the wheels up and the flaps retracted, a 15 degree bank up gives a rate of climb of 2000 fpm at 110 KIAS.
File:socata Tb 30 Epsilon, France
During the aerobatic training range, the high speed power configuration with 25" manifold pressure and 2500 RPM at 3500 feet produces 180 KIAS in level flight.
If I had a choice between flying the T–34 Mentor or the Epsilon, I'd choose the Epsilon every time—and I'm a Mentor fan. Ruling forces are moderate and well balanced, almost no malefic elements. to yawn But a roll rate of about 100 degrees per second (at 160 KIAS) is slower than I would have expected given the short wingspan and relatively large control surface. Loops and other excessive maneuvers are smooth and graceful when entering 180 KIAS or more, and control forces remain relatively constant over a wide speed range, although we never got close to VNE.
A warning whistle is sometimes heard nearby
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