Skyfox Ushers In New Era For T-33 Jet Trainer

As the company is headed by a wealth of design and managerial talent from Lockheed Skunk Works it is understandable to expect that the design modifications are more than cosmetic. The team that produced the original T-33, itself one of the most respected military jet aircraft of the period, and the team that later progressed onto the U-2, YF-12 SR-71 Blackbird and more recently the TR-1 and stealth fighter projects for DARPA has apparently produced another viable product in the Skyfox.

Visually it is impossible to recognise the lineage of the Skyfox except for the under carriage which remains unchanged. The single 5200 lb thrust Allison J33 turbojet is replaced by two Garrett TFE731-3 turbofans each of 3700 lb thrust. Skyfox has approximately50 per cent more thrust and 20 per cent less weight than the T-33 and consumes less fuel per hour to boot, thanks to its modern generation turbofans. The TFE731 is the prime mover in most Learjets, Westwinds, 125-700s and Falcons in addition to already being in a military trainer via Spain’s CASA C-101 Aviojet.

Skyfox retains around 70 per cent of the basic T-33 airframe. The majority of the fuselage, wings and landing gear are retained while a LEX (LeadingEdgeExtension), Peregrine-like anhedral winglets, contoured forward fuselage fairing and totally re-designed empennage and externally tail-mountedGarrets make the Skyfox appear to be a totally new design.

Quoted performance is sufficient toplacetheSkyfoxin the Alpha Jet/Hawkclassyetat aroundhalf thepriceclaim Skyfox Industries. Amaximumlevelspeedof 505ktsandfiveminutestoclimb to30,000 ft in addition toa7. 3 G load limit at sea level far beyond the wildest dreams of your average T-Bird driver of the fifties. Skyfox grosses at 14,400 lb (6532 kg) and can ferry out to ranges of 3000 nautical miles. The flight test prototype, which is flying, will retain the empty space vacated by the original turbojet engine. However, this cavernous area can be utilised for additional fuel, sensors or internal weapons in future derivatives. Skyfox Industries are quick to point out that just like the original T-33 there exist many growth possibilities in the basic Skyfox design.

More than 6500 T-33 trainers were built in the USA, Canada and Japan from 1948 through to 1959. There remain still at least 1500 in existence including several hundred excellent examples stored at Davis Monthan. Skyfox Industries have already purchased eight aircraft and plan to buy an additional 150 following the entry of service of the initial Skyfox examples into the Portuguese Air Force. The original T-33 airframe is not lifed and thus Skyfox can virtually deliver zero-time aircraft with excellent performance, future multi-mission development prospects and at a price roughly half that of aircraft in a similar performance category.

While a project like Skyfox might be beyond the comprehension of those entrusted with the aircraft acquisitions process at Russell Hill it regardless still remains a concept worthy of future examination. If, in the next five or seven years, Skyfox does everything that its ex-Lockheed creators claim it will, then maybe there will be truth in another famous saying, ‘That life begins at forty!