Converting A Citation Business Jet to a military trainer

Abstract

The United States Navy needed a replacement for aging T-39 Naval Flight Officer (NFO) training aircraft. NFOs perform radar and navigation functions on Navy aircraft. It was decided that conversion of FAA certified business aircraft would be the most economical approach. They also upgraded the ground-based training systems. The Cessna Aircraft Company won the competition, proposing the Citation Model 550 which had to be heavily modified to meet the rigorous training requirements, including high G air intercept maneuvers and high-speed low-level flight. Wing, tail, tailcone, and windshield beef-up and higher thrust engines resulted in a new FAA certification and a new model number assigned to the aircraft as well as the Military T-47A designation. The interior of the aircraft was changed to accommodate an instructor, two students in the cabin and one in the copilot position. The copilot instrument panel was dominated by the radar display similar to Navy attack aircraft and the airplane was flown single pilot. Cessna, on its own initiative, performed a full-scale fatigue life test and gathered field service data to prove the design was satisfactory. The Navy declared the T-47A training system was the most successful during the T-47A tenure.