[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] The Air Force's special flight team, the 'Black Eagles,' has decided to participate in a UK airshow for the first time in 10 years, drawing attention to the transportation process.
The Black Eagles fly the T-50B aircraft, which is based on the domestically produced supersonic advanced trainer T-50. To participate in the Southport Airshow (July 9-10), followed by the RIAT Airshow (July 11-17) and the Farnborough Airshow (July 18-24), disassembly of the aircraft must begin by the end of this month.
The T-50B can reach a maximum speed of Mach 1.5 and has a range of 2,500 km. If refueled about four times, it could theoretically fly approximately 9,000 km to the UK. However, due to various constraints, it was decided to disassemble the aircraft and transport it by air cargo for reassembly on site.
The military plans to disassemble nine Black Eagles assigned to the Air Force's 8th Fighter Wing starting at the end of this month. Disassembly will proceed sequentially with three aircraft starting from July 26. The aircraft will be taken apart into the fuselage, left and right wings, left and right horizontal stabilizers, vertical stabilizer, and engine. The disassembled parts will be loaded onto large trailers and transported by road to Incheon Airport over five hours.
Afterward, the disassembled T-50Bs will be loaded onto a B-747 cargo plane, which can carry up to three aircraft at once, and flown from Incheon Airport to Manchester Airport in the UK, a flight of approximately 13 hours.
Once unloaded, the T-50Bs will be transported by road to the UK Air Force's Leeming base, located four hours from Manchester Airport, where they will undergo a five-day reassembly process. Following this, test flight pilots will conduct final functional check flights (FCF), and pre-training is scheduled to be completed by July 8.
After the airshows, the Black Eagles will conduct tour flights in Poland, Slovakia, and Egypt before being disassembled again and returning by cargo plane. Considering their return to Korea is scheduled for August 19, this will mark the longest overseas tour flight period in their history.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
