The first flight of L39 Aviation Ltd’s British Aerospace Hawk T.1 G-HAWC took place at St Athan in South Wales on December 2 with Dave Harvey and John Hurrel in the cockpit.
The former Empire Test Pilots School (ETPS) jet has been returned to flight by Horizon Aircraft Services.
Rolled out as T.1 XX342 in 1981, the Hawk was delivered to the ETPS at what is now MoD Boscombe Down in Wiltshire, adorned in the operator’s famed ‘Raspberry Ripple’ scheme. It was used for both fast jet continuation and spin training until withdrawn in 2017. Acquired by L39 Aviation two years later, it was moved to St Athan and added to the UK civil register in 2020.
The company is working alongside the CAA on a permit to test flight programme – the Hawk will relocate to L39’s base at Blackpool Airport in Lancashire to complete its certification.
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