Resurrected Brooklands club chose new Aero AT-3s from Poland
BRAND new flying club, brand new aeroplanes... that’s the scene at Sywell Aerodrome near Northampton. The allgrass airfield recently opened Brooklands Flying Club with two Polish-built Aero AT-3 two-seat aircraft – the first of their kind at a club in the UK.

Brooklands FC is based at the newly-built aviation village next to the Sywell Control Tower but the name has a long association with the airfield. Brooklands Aviation originally opened at Sywell 70 years ago to teach RAF pilots in Tiger Moths.

The new Aero AT-3s, appropriately Registered G-SYWL and G-SWLL, have been painted in Brookland’s own livery and are the first certified UK examples to be fitted with the ELPROP aeroelastic 3-blade propeller.

This propeller, made by Aero, gives a significant increase in takeoff and climb performance, as well as up to an extra 10kt in the cruise for the same rpm settings, without the need for a constant speed unit. It works due to its aero-elastic characteristics, by which the pitch angle of the blades varies according to aerodynamic loading.

Powered by a 100hp Rotax 912S engine, the two all-metal AT-3s were fl own back from Warsaw by Sywell CFI Gareth Aggett and Sywell Aviation MD, Michael Bletsoe- Brown in a nine-hour flight across Europe. Michael is a definite fan: “The AT-3s performed faultlessly... with their short-field performance, 900ft per minute rate of climb and 112kt cruise, they beat the old Cessna 152, Tomahawk and Cherokees hands down.”

The AT-3 R100 is a twoseat all-metal trainer/ tourer in the VLA category. It received its EASA type certification in January 2005. UK distributor, S2T Aviation of North Weald, is negotiating with other flying clubs.

The AT-3 R100 is offered in three variants: Basic, Club and Tourer, with various equipment packages and prices ranging from approx €85,000 (£59,000) to just over €100,000 (£69,000) plus VAT.

W: www.sywellaerodrome.co.uk
W: www.s2taero.com

 Fast Facts:

Aero AT-3 Performance: Vne 120kt Cruise Speed: 108Kt Stall Speed: 44Kt Takeoff Roll: 160mt Landing Roll: 150mt Rate of Climb: 730ft/min Fuel burn: 16lt/hr Cruise Range: 432nm

Aero AT-3 in Brooklands colours outside Sywell

Specifictaions: Power: 100hp Rotax 912 Propeller: 3-blade Elprop Wingspan: 7.5mt Seats: 2 Empty Weight: 350kg Max takeoff weight: 582kg Useful load: 232kg Fuel capacity: 70 litres Base price: £59,000 inc VAT

Cockpit and panel of the AT-3 is clearly laid out.