Grob G520

History of the Grob G520

The Grob/E-Systems/AlliedSignal Egrett was a reconnaissance aircraft developed in Germany by international partners in the 1980s. It is designed to meet Air Force/USAF joint requirements for a high-altitude, long-term surveillance platform for contract review and environmental monitoring. The program, dubbed "LAPAS" - Germany's primary airborne stand-off reconnaissance system and America's "Advanced Guardian", initially attempted to buy a Lockheed TR-1 (U-2) for the role, but failed, A new aircraft was sought.

The Egret (named after the three companies involved in its design: E-Systems, Grob Aircraft and Garrett, which was later renamed AlliedSignal) is a traditional mid-wing aircraft with a very high aspect ratio.

Power is provided by a single turboprop with three-wheel landing gear, the main unit retracted into fairings on the wings. The first development aircraft, the D-450 Egrett I, first flew in 1987 and set a class altitude record of 16,394 m (53,787 ft) the following September.

There were two pre-production machines in 1989 and 1990 as the D-500 Egrett II, before the final G-520 design was installed in 1991. The latter two aircraft are owned by E-Systems and Grob respectively for promotional purposes, E-Systems is used for various sensor packages, and Grob (renamed Strato 1) will market the design to civilian agencies as a resource management platform.

In 1992, the Air Force ordered the production of nine Egret IIs, in addition to the G 520T two-seat trainer and a demonstrator.

However, in February 1993, before mass production, when Eastern Europe was no longer seen as a threat, the entire program was scrapped. However, the two-seater was eventually completed and sold to Adelaide-based Airborne Research Australia.

Rough G520 Specs

Basics

Year of Service

1991

Origins

Germany

Status

Active.

Limited service.

Crew

1

Production

6

Manufacturer

Grob Aircraft - Germany

Carrier

Argentina; Australia; Germany; USA

Roles

Intelligence-Surveillance-Reconnaissance (ISR), Scouts

Monitor ground targets/target areas to assess surrounding threat levels, enemy strength, or enemy movement.

Dimensions and Weight

Length

45.3 feet

(13.82m)

Width/span

108. 3 feet

(33.00m)

Height

18.5 feet

(5.65m)

Cured weight

7,275 lbs

(3,300 kg)

MTOW

10,362 lbs

(4,700 kg)

Wgt Difference

+?3,086

(+1,400 kg)

Performance

Installed:

1 x 750hp Honeywell TPE331-14F turboprop driving a four-bladed propeller unit in the nose.

Maximum speed

292 km/h

(470 km/h | 254 knots)

Maximum

50,033 feet

(15,250 m | 9 km)

Area

2,280 km

(3,670 km | 6,797 nautical miles)

rate of climb

900 ft/min

(274 m/min)

Range (MPH) Subsonic: <614mph | Transonic: 614-921 | Supersonic: 921-3836 | Hypersonic: 3836-7673 | Hypersonic: 7673-19180 | Reentry: > 19030

Armor

None.

VARIANTS

G520 - Name of the base series. G520T - 2014 two-seater model; trained model; single example completed. G520NG - The next generation facelift of the production G520T model introduced in 2014.