Hawker Siddeley Hawk T1 ASTRA, XX341 / 312165, Royal Air Force
This picture is © Martin Laycock and may not be used or published without permission.
Registration: XX341
Construction Number: 312165
Code Number: 1
Military Unit: ETPS
Model Hawker Siddeley Hawk T1 ASTRA
Operator: Royal Air Force
Airport: RAF Fairford (FFD / EGVA), UK - England
Photographer: Martin Laycock
Date Taken: 29/07/1994
Date Submitted: 07/09/2009
Photographed arriving at IAT94, this Hawk was originally allocated the serial XX351 but this wasn't taken up. She was one of three Hawks delivered directly to the Empire Test Pilots' School, this one arriving at Boscombe Down on the 13 May 1981. From January 1984 to June 1988 she underwent a programme of modifications at the Cranfield Institute of Technology to fit a Variable Stability System (VSS). She has subsequently served as an Advanced Stability Training and Research Aircraft (ASTRA). The system was designed and developed by the Flight Systems and Measurements Laboratories, under contract to MOD(PE). The highly modified front cockpit is fitted with force feedback central and side-stick flight controls. Except for the parking brake, all normal front seat controls have been moved to the rear cockpit. The aircraft has full parameter on-board recording and telemetry. The aircraft is being continuously upgraded and has recently been fitted with new colour MFDs, a Hawk 100 specification HUD, Ring Laser Gyro unit, GPS, and a new Computer Symbol Generator. In this photograph she is wearing her original 'raspberry ripple' colour scheme apart from the unpainted rudder. She later flew with added 'ASTRA' titles painted behind the rear cockpit.
Picture ID:1191135