| Aermacchi Mb-326 |
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| italian military trainer aircraft 1950-1959 | |
| italian attack aircraft 1970-1979 | |
| embraer aircraft | |
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The Aermacchi or '''Macchi MB-326''' is a two-seat military Jet Trainer Aircraft designed in Italy . DEVELOPMENT Aermacchi began design work on the MB-326 in 1954 and it first flew in December 1957 . Conventional in appearance, the MB-326 had a single Bristol-Siddley Viper Turbojet engine in the 9 kN (2,000 lbf) thrust class, a low, straight wing, and the two seats in tandem. Flight testing showed that the type was agile and powerful, and the Italian Air Force began taking delivery of the first of 106 in 1962 . Macchi also developed an armed version with underwing Hardpoint s for bombs, rockets, or guns, and increased performance with more powerful versions of the Viper (which was now officially a Rolls-Royce product) and offered it for export. OPERATIONAL HISTORY The MB-326 sold well, particularly in Latin America ; it was bought by Argentina , Australia , Brazil , Ghana , Paraguay , South Africa , Togo , Tunisia , the United Arab Emirates , Zaire , and Zambia . The most surprising sale, however, was that of four MB-326Ds to the Italian national airline Alitalia . South Africa locally assembled 191 as the Impala Mk.I, starting in 1966 . Australia manufactured 97 '''MB-326H'''s under licence from 1967 , choosing the type in preference to the Saab 105 , Canadair Tutor , and BAC Jet Provost . 170 MB-326 aircraft were built under licence in Brazil by Embraer and were given the Brazilian Air Force designation '''AT-26 Xavante'''. The MB-326, like its competitors the Cessna T-37 and the Jet Provost , was designed and ordered in the period when the "all-through" jet trainer was a fashionable concept in many air forces. The idea was to provide a single type that could be used for both elementary and advanced training right through to near combat-ready standard. In practice it was soon discovered that the simplicity and economy of scale of operating just one type for all training purposes was far outweighed by the purchase and operating costs of a large all-jet training fleet. Most operators quickly added a cheaper piston-engined type for basic training, and the MB-326 found its primary role as a lead-in trainer to prepare pilots for transition to very high performance Fighter Aircraft . In trainers to reduce flying hours and the last examples had been withdrawn by 2001. A single-seat light attack variant of the MB-326, the MB-326K with a further uprated 4,000 lbf (18 kN) thrust Viper engine and strengthened airframe was offered for sale from 1970. It found no buyers to begin with, but from 1974 small numbers were ordered by the UAE, Ghana, Tunisia and Zaire, and 80 were assembled by South Africa as the '''Impala Mk.II''', making it one of the more successful single-seat developments of a two-seat jet trainer. The MB-326 is to be replaced by the EADS Mako/High Energy Advanced Trainer . SPECIFICATIONS (MB-326A) General characteristics
Performance
Armament
RELATED CONTENT Related development: Aermacchi MB-339 Comparable aircraft: Designation sequence: EXTERNAL LINKS |
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