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We Fly C-27J Spartan at Farnborough

Tuesday afternoon, we belted into the cockpit of Alenia Aeronautica's C-27J Spartan accompanied by Capt. Agostino Frediani and Chief Test Pilot Gianluca Evangelisti for a brief pilot demo just after they'd completed their spectacular flight demonstration. The C-27J is built by the Lockheed Martin (Chalet D10-11)/Alenia (Outside OE 7) joint venture formed in 1997 called LMAATS.

The C-27J combines Alenia's proven G.222 airframe with two of the Lockheed Martin C-130J's FADEC-equipped Rolls-Royce AE2100 engines, plus advanced avionics suite. It's intended for tactical and logistic missions, capable of flying a 22,000 lb (9,979 kg) payload more than 1,000 miles. It's easy to fly, has great cockpit visibility and can operate from unimproved runways. It has strong hot-and-high runway performance, cruises at up to 314 KTAS, as high as 30,000 feet and as far as 2,750 nmi with a 9,700 lb (4,400 kg) payload.

The fully pressurized and air-conditioned Spartan can carry up to 18,700 lb (8,500 kg) on tactical missions with a 3G load limit, and 25,300 lb (11,500 kg) on logistic missions with a 2.25 load limit, Evangelisti explained. The 8.6 ft (2.6 mtr) high, 10.9 ft (3.3.3 mtr) wide, 37.5 ft (11.43 mtr) long cargo bay can accommodate 68 combat troops, 48 paratroops or 36 NATO-standard litters with six nurses. Its cargo floor actually is stronger than that of the C-130J, allowing loads of 410 lb/sq ft (2,000 kg/mtr).

For our flight, Frediani loaded the aircraft with 10,000 lb (4,500 kg) of fuel and started the engines using the in-flight rated Honeywell APU in the left main landing gear pod. He set the flaps to 22.5 degrees and taxied the lightly loaded C-27J into position on Runway 25 for a tactical mission departure, gave us the controls and said, "Let's go!"

We held the brakes briefly, then pushed up the power levers, unleashing 9,280 shp. At a weight of only 48,000 lb (22,000 kg), the aircraft sprinted through the 87 KIAS V1 and rotation speeds, becoming airborne in less than 1,000 feet (300 meters). We initially rotated to 15 degrees nose-up altitude, adjusting attitude to hold the 110 KIAS V2 takeoff safety speed until safely clear of the surface. Calling for gear up, we retracted the flaps at 120 KIAS. We also pulled back the power levers to the max continuous detent, continued to climb to 4,000 feet and headed northwest VFR so that we could evaluate handling qualities.

The Spartan has manual ailerons, but all the other flight controls are full-hydraulic powered, including the flight-by-wire spoilerons, rudder and elevators. The result is moderate control forces in all three axes. It has five, large-format L3 flat-panel displays up front. The outboard PFDs have flight path vector symbology, enabling pilots to control altitude and descent rate with great precision.

Other standard avionics include Honeywell GPS/IRS, FMS and IFF, plus GPWS, enhanced TCAS and digital flight guidance system, Northrop Grumman AN/APN-241 high-resolution ground mapping and weather radar, and Rockwell Collins comm and nav radios. All the gear is NVG compatible, but no HUD is offered.

We couldn't climb high enough for stalls, but we did one approach to stall in the landing configuration, encountering stall warning stick shaker at 75 KIAS. Recovery consisted of ramming the power levers to the takeoff stops and holding attitude. The aircraft flew out of the maneuver with no loss of composure.

Heading back to Farnborough, we configured for a neighborhood-friendly, steep approach landing. Frediani set the Vref bug at 105 KIAS. We held altitude until passing over the Swan and then mushed down to the displaced threshold. We flared slightly, plunked down and yanked the power levers into maximum reverse. Mashing down on the brakes, the aircraft stopped in 750 ft (229 mtrs).

—Fred George