Third Preparatory Test Flight Completed

Raytheon Systems Limited at Broughton, England, has just completed the third of five test flights of a green Bombardier Global Express -- an unmodified ASTOR aircraft -- from Hawarden Airfield in North Wales. These flights are being carried out under RSL's newly achieved Ministry of Defence AvP67 Flight Approval and are in preparation for the maiden flight of Broughton's first modified Sentinel RMk1 ASTOR aircraft, ZJ 691, which is anticipated in July.

The first of these flights, which are being undertaken by the fifth aircraft, ZJ 694, took place on the 11th May. The flight lasted about two hours and 20 minutes with the aircraft being flown first to RAF Waddington, where the ASTOR squadron will be based with the newly formed Number 5 (AC) Squadron, and then back to Hawarden. The second, longer, flight took place on the 19th May with the aircraft flying to both RAF Boscombe Down and RAF Waddington. The third flight on the 8th June took flying hours for this series of test flights to some 10 hours.

The aircraft captain for the first flight of ASTOR #5 was Squadron Leader Tim Butler from the Heavy Aircraft Test Squadron (HATS) at Boscombe Down, who is also the RAF's ASTOR Project Test Pilot. Co-pilot on this flight was Peter Collins, Head of Flying at Raytheon in Broughton and the ASTOR Raytheon UK Project Test Pilot.

After the third flight Peter Collins commented, "These successful flights of ASTOR aircraft #5 are an important mini-milestone for RSL Broughton because they prove that, operationally, the whole organisation is now ready for the far more complex challenge of flying and flight testing ASTOR #2, the first UK integrated ASTOR aircraft, later this month. The whole Raytheon Broughton team has worked incredibly hard over the last 12 months to ensure that our MoD Flight Regulator, Director Flying at Boscombe Down, is fully confident with the approvals he has granted RSL Broughton under the Military AvP67 Regulations. It is very much a team effort to launch an aircraft and it is a great pleasure to see that team working so well."

Aircraft #5 will be the last of four Bombardier Global Express aircraft, all currently based at RSL's Broughton facility, scheduled to be modified and configured into Sentinel RMk1's for the Royal Air Force. The first Sentinel RMk1 is being modified and integrated at Greenville, Texas, and made its maiden flight last year.

FMI: www.raytheon.co.uk