Atlas ACE
The Atlas ACE is a turbopropgetriebenes trainer aircraft of the South African manufacturer Atlas Aviation and should replace as a standard training aircraft of the South African Air Force, the North American Harvard. The aircraft was not built in series and instead Pilatus PC -7 purchased.
History and construction
The development of the Atlas ACE (All Composite Evaluator ) began in 1986, actually as Verbundwerkstofftechnologiedemonstrator under the name Ovid. 1991 Atlas involved with the machine in the competition for the succession of the North American Harvard. The ACE is a two-seat low-wing monoplane with tandem seats and a Pratt & Whitney PT6A turboprop engine. It has a retractable tricycle landing gear and a conventional tail. The aircraft is mainly made of carbon fiber reinforced plastic. The prototype took off for the first time on 29 April 1991. On 14 January 1995, the prototype while landing at the Jan Smuts Airport was damaged beyond repair. The second machine is probably not flown.