ENAER T-35 Pillán (, Mapudungún: ''volcano'' or ''ancestral spirit'') is a

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

propeller A propeller (often called a screw if on a ship or an airscrew if on an aircraft) is a device with a rotating hub and radiating blades that are set at a pitch to form a helical spiral which, when rotated, exerts linear thrust upon a working flu ...

-driven 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 characteristic ...

. The student and the instructor sit in tandem. Production ceased in 1991 after 7 years but restarted briefly in 1998.

Design and development

Prior to the eighties Chile possessed a decrepit fleet of military trainers obtained under the

Mutual Defense Assistance Act The Mutual Defense Assistance Act was a United States Act of Congress signed by President Harry S. Truman on October 6, 1949. For U.S. foreign policy, it was the first U.S. military foreign aid legislation of the Cold War era, and initially to ...

. However, these trainers had become exceedingly difficult to repair following passage of a US arms embargo in 1976. The PA-28R-300 Pillán was developed by

Piper Aircraft Piper Aircraft, Inc. is a manufacturer of general aviation aircraft, located at the Vero Beach Regional Airport in Vero Beach, Florida, United States and owned since 2009 by the Government of Brunei. Throughout much of the mid-to-late 20th cent ...

in the United States as a two-seat military trainer for assembly in Chile, based on a PA-32R fuselage with a new center-section and wing stressed for aerobatics. The first prototype designated XBT first flew at Lakeland on 6 March 1981 and was followed by a second prototype, designated YBT. The second prototype first flew on 31 August 1981 and was then delivered to Chile. The prototype XBT was delivered to Chile in January 1982 but was written off on 10 March 1982. Production of kits at Vero Beach Municipal Airport commenced with three pre-production kits which were delivered for assembly in Chile in 1982, Vero Beach then produced 120 kits for assembly in Chile for the Chilean and Spanish Air Force. The first production aircraft was delivered by ENAER to the Chilean Air Force Air Academy in August 1985. The Spanish aircraft were assembled in Spain by CASA. Apart from a few turbine powered aircraft, all Pilláns were powered by a 300 hp (224 kW) Textron Lycoming AEIO-540-K1K5 six cylinder horizontally opposed piston engine. In 1985 a turboprop variant was developed by ENAER as the T-35A Aucan. In early 1986 one of the piston-engined pre-production aircraft was sent to Soloy Aviation Solutions in the United States for modification to install a 420 shp Allison 250B-17D engine.

Variants

;Piper PA-28R-300 Pillan :Two Piper built prototypes. ;T-35A :Two-seat primary training aircraft for the

Chilean Air Force The Chilean Air Force () is the air force of Chile and branch of the Chilean military. History The first step towards the current FACh is taken by Lieutenant Colonel, Teniente Coronel training as a pilot in France. Although a local academy was c ...

. 60 delivered by 1990. ;T-35B :Two-seat instrument training aircraft for the

. 20 delivered by 1990. ;T-35C :Two-seat primary training aircraft for the

Spanish Air and Space Force The Spanish Air and Space Force () is the Aerial warfare, aerial and space warfare branch of the Spanish Armed Forces. History Early stages Hot air balloons have been used with military purposes in Spain as far back as 1896. In 1905, with th ...

, known as the E.26 Tamiz. 41 delivered by 1987. ;T-35D :Two-seat primary and instrument training aircraft for

Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...

and

Paraguay Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...

. ;T-35DT :Turboprop powered version, powered by a 420-ehp (313-kW) Allison 250-B17D

turboprop A turboprop is a Gas turbine, gas turbine engine that drives an aircraft Propeller (aeronautics), propeller. A turboprop consists of an intake, reduction drive, reduction gearbox, gas compressor, compressor, combustor, turbine, and a propellin ...

engine. Original designation T-35XT. ;T-35S :Single-seat aerobatic aircraft. ;T-35T Aucan :Improved turboprop powered version. ;Pillan 2000 :Proposed (1998) updated version of the T-35 Pillan with new wing.

Operators

; *

operates 31 aircraft as of 2017. ; * Dominican Air Force operates four aircraft as of 2017. ; *

Ecuadorian Navy The Ecuadorian Navy () is an Ecuadorian entity responsible for the surveillance and protection of national maritime territory and has a personnel of 9,400 men to protect a coastline of 2,237 km which reaches far into the Pacific Ocean. The v ...

– operates three as of 2017. ; * Air Force of El Salvador – operates three as of 2017. ; * Guatemalan Air Force – operates four as of 2017. ; * National Air and Naval Service of Panama – operates four as of 2017. ; * Paraguayan Air Force – operates 9 as of 2017.

Former Operators

; *

– ordered 41, all retired, 7 sold to Dominican Republic, replaced by Pilatus PC21.https://www.infodefensa.com/texto-diario/mostrar/4350083/falta-repuestos-lleva-ejercito-aire-dar-baja-tamiz-antes-previsto

Specifications (T-35A)

Notes

References

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External links

ENAER
{{DEFAULTSORT:ENAER T-35 Pillan Pillan 1980s Chilean military trainer aircraft Single-engined tractor aircraft Low-wing aircraft Piper aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1981 Aircraft with retractable tricycle landing gear Single-engined piston aircraft