The Fuji T-5 or KM-2Kai is a Japanese turboprop-driven primary

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 ...

, which is a development of the earlier

Fuji KM-2 The Fuji KM-2 is a Japanese propeller-driven light aircraft, which was developed by Fuji Heavy Industries from the Beech T-34 Mentor which Fuji built under licence. Various versions have been used as primary trainers by the Japan Self-Defense Fo ...

. The student and the instructor sit side-by-side.

Design and development

The Fuji T-5 was developed by

Fuji Heavy Industries is a Japanese multinational corporation and conglomerate primarily involved in both terrestrial and aerospace transportation manufacturing. It is best known for its line of Subaru automobiles. Founded in 1953, the company was formerly named ( ...

as a replacement for the piston-engined

(itself a development of the

Beechcraft T-34 Mentor The Beechcraft T-34 Mentor is an American propeller-driven, single-engined, military trainer aircraft derived from the Beechcraft Model 35 Bonanza. The earlier versions of the T-34, dating from around the late 1940s to the 1950s, were piston- ...

) as a primary trainer for the

Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force , abbreviated , also simply known as the Japanese Navy, is the maritime warfare branch of the Japan Self-Defense Forces, tasked with the naval defense of Japan. The JMSDF was formed following the dissolution of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) ...

. Fuji refitted a KM-2 with an

Allison Model 250 The Allison Model 250, now known as the Rolls-Royce M250, (US military designations T63 and T703) is a highly successful turboshaft engine family, originally developed by the Allison Engine Company in the early 1960s. The Model 250 has been pro ...

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 ...

engine in place of the original Lycoming

piston engine A reciprocating engine, also often known as a piston engine, is typically a heat engine that uses one or more reciprocating pistons to convert high temperature and high pressure into a rotating motion. This article describes the common featu ...

, the resulting KM-2D first flying on 28 June 1984 and being

certified Certification is the provision by an independent body of written assurance (a certificate) that the product, service or system in question meets specific requirements. It is the formal attestation or confirmation of certain characteristics of a ...

on 14 February 1985. The KM-2Kai is a further development of the KM-2D, with a modernised cockpit with side-by-side seating and a sliding

canopy Canopy may refer to: Plants * Canopy (biology), aboveground portion of plant community or crop (including forests) * Canopy (grape), aboveground portion of grapes Religion and ceremonies * Baldachin or canopy of state, typically placed over an a ...

replacing the original KM-2's car type side doors (which were retained by the KM-2D). The T-5 is an all-metal low-wing cantilever monoplane powered by an Allison 250-B17D turboprop with a three-bladed constant speed propeller. It has a retractable tricycle landing gear with the main gear retracting inwards and nose gear rearwards. The T-5 has an enclosed cabin with a sliding canopy and two side-by-side seats, and dual controls, in the aerobatic version and four seats in pairs in the utility version.

Operational history

The KM-2Kai was ordered by the JMSDF as the T-5 in March

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...

, with deliveries of the KM2-Kai to the Japanese Self Defence Forces beginning in 1988, with a total of 40 being built. The T-5 serves with the 201 Air Training Squadron at

Ozuki Air Field is a military aerodrome of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force . It is located in Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan. Accidents and incidents *28 September 2009, Japanese Maritime Self Defense Force , abbreviated , also simply kno ...

. The original KM-2 is no longer in service.

Operators

; *

Specifications (T-5)

References

{{JSDF aircraft designations 1980s Japanese military trainer aircraft Low-wing aircraft Single-engined tractor aircraft T-5 Single-engined turboprop aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1984

Design and development

Operational history

Operators

Specifications (T-5)

See also

References