The Valmet L-90 Redigo is a
turboprop
A turboprop is a turbine engine that drives an aircraft propeller.
A turboprop consists of an intake, reduction gearbox, compressor, combustor, turbine, and a propelling nozzle. Air enters the intake and is compressed by the compressor. Fuel ...
-powered military basic
trainer aircraft
A trainer is a class of aircraft designed specifically to facilitate flight training of pilots and aircrews. The use of a dedicated trainer aircraft with additional safety features—such as tandem flight controls, forgiving flight characteristi ...
and liaison aircraft, a development of
Valmet's earlier training aircraft for the
Finnish Air Force
The Finnish Air Force (FAF or FiAF; fi, Ilmavoimat, , Air forces; sv, Flygvapnet, , Air weapon) is one of the branches of the Finnish Defence Forces. Its peacetime tasks are airspace surveillance, identification flights, and production of Finnis ...
. The L-90 was the last military aircraft designed and produced in Finland.
Design and development
The prototype, a modified
L-80, first flew on February 12, 1985. A second prototype, powered by a Turbomeca TP319 turboprop, was destroyed in an accident in August 1988.
A total of 29 production aircraft plus the 2 prototypes were produced.
Aermacchi
Aermacchi was an Italian aircraft manufacturer. Formerly known as Aeronautica Macchi, the company was founded in 1912 by Giulio Macchi at Varese in north-western Lombardy as Nieuport-Macchi, to build Nieuport monoplanes under licence for the It ...
purchased the manufacturing rights in
1996
File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...
but never returned the aircraft to production.
The aircraft is of conventional configuration, with retractable
tricycle gear
Tricycle gear is a type of aircraft undercarriage, or ''landing gear'', arranged in a tricycle fashion. The tricycle arrangement has a single nose wheel in the front, and two or more main wheels slightly aft of the center of gravity. Tricycle g ...
and a low wing. The student and instructor sit side-by-side. As is typical with many military trainers, it can also carry light armament for weapons training, or potentially, for use in a close-support role. The Finnish Air Force only used the L-90 as a liaison aircraft.
Operators
;:
Eritrean Air Force
The Eritrean Air Force (ERAF) is the air service branch of the Eritrean Defence Forces.
History
The Eritrean Air Force was established shortly after Eritrean War of Independence in 1994. It was first established by Commander Habtezion Hadgu, ...
6 in service as of 2011
;:
Finnish Air Force
The Finnish Air Force (FAF or FiAF; fi, Ilmavoimat, , Air forces; sv, Flygvapnet, , Air weapon) is one of the branches of the Finnish Defence Forces. Its peacetime tasks are airspace surveillance, identification flights, and production of Finnis ...
, the whole fleet retired
;:
Mexican Navy
The Mexican Navy is one of the two independent armed forces of Mexico. The actual naval forces are called the ''Armada de México''. The ''Secretaría de Marina'' (''SEMAR'') (English: Naval Secretariat) includes both the ''Armada'' itself and ...
7 in service
Specifications (M-290 TP)
See also
References
;Notes
Further reading
*
*
{{Portal bar, Finland, Companies, Aviation
1980s Finnish military trainer aircraft
M-290
L-90
Aircraft first flown in 1985
Single-engined tractor aircraft
Single-engined turboprop aircraft
Low-wing aircraft