Hunter PP-XHH

Read the forum code of contact

Member for

17 years 5 months

Posts: 128

Hi

In the book entitled Hawker Hunter Fifty Golden Years, it states that Embraer operate Hawker Hunter T72 PP-XHH, as a chase-plane. There's a photo of the aircraft taken at El-Bosque near Santiago, before it was delivered.

I have recently contacted Embraer, and asked if they still operate this aircraft. Their responce was no.

So is there any one out there who can answer this question? Was this aircraft ever delivered to Embaer and if so where is it now?

Thanks for taking the time to read my request.

Freebird

Original post
Profile picture for user Phantom Phil

Member for

16 years 4 months

Posts: 1,067

Hi there,

As far as I know she is still operating with Embrear.

Might be worth calling someone else at the same company??

Phil.

Member for

17 years 2 months

Posts: 11

PP-XHH

I too tried contacting Embraer without luck as did a couple of Chilean friends. As far as I know, the Hunter is still maintained and in use.

Chilean AF J-736. ex. XE704 /XE688. Cen. Fuse. C/N 41HR-HABL003031.

G-9-397. Delivered 02-1974, in the second part of ‘Operación Atlante’, ferrying of six airplanes Purchased in England by the FACh. across the Atlantic. The economic difficulties prevalent then, shortly after the overthrow by the Chilean military of the socialist government of Salvador Allende in 09-73, influenced the decision by the FACh's Dirección de Operaciones (Operations Command) to undertake this complex and long flight. The 8,438 nm route from London to Santiago had technical stops in Sevilla, Las Palmas, Dakkar, Monrovia, Ascension, Recife, Salvador, Rio de Janeiro, Asunción and Antofagasta.
Built during mid-1955 in Blackpool, Lancashire, England, it left the factory as an F.Mk.4, entering service the same year with the RAF. However, there is some question as to the accuracy of information from the time it entered RAF service. Most histories of this aircraft indicate that the aircraft bore C/N HABL 003035, and that this aircraft, XE704, served with 112 Squadron and later passed to the CFS, before becoming an instructional airframe in Halton, Bucks, in 1963, as 7788M.
The factory plate located in the main landing gear well of J-736, clearly shows the C/N as 41HR-HABL003031. This information is shown in the official Chilean documentation for J-736. The aircraft built with C/N HABL 003031 was given serial XE688, but was W/O, on 23-10-57 and broken up on 19-05-61, to use its parts for spares.
In 1972 it had been acquired by HSA, and it is probable that the nose section was recovered and the aircraft re-built with other components for its transfer to Chile as a Hunter T.Mk.72. Upon its arrival in Santiago, it served with the Grupo de Aviación Nº 8. On 26-04-79, while being flown by two officers on an instrument approach to the Pudahuel airport (re-named Arturo Merino Benitez airport), it hit, during its landing run, a support vehicle that had been parked beside the runway, as a result, the airplane lost a third of its starboard wing. Far from attempting to stop the aircraft, the pilots managed to get it back in the air and circled the airport at a low altitude, carrying out an immediate landing without any further damage, the crew suffered no injuries. The airplane was repaired shortly afterwards and returned to operations.
In 1989 this aircraft, together with almost the entire FACh's Hunter fleet, received the ‘Programa Águila’ (Eagle Program) upgrade, as well as the replacement of some of the original British instruments by others supplied by the USA. Structured around a completely redesigned cockpit, the Programa Águila involved in-depth Modified with to the navigation and communication equipment, cockpit alarms, installation of transponder and circuit-breakers, ergonomic re-location of all the instrument panels, replacing the old wiring, a new engine starter system, and provisions for the employment of the 360º Caiquén II radar warning system receivers. At the same time a parallel project installed the Eclipse chaff / flare dispenser. All work was carried by the Electronics Department of FACh's Ala de Mantenimiento (Maintenance Wing). Later there was a retrofit upgrading, unofficially known as Programa Águila II, of the weapons management panel, to all the Hunters in service with the FACh.
In early 1995, this airplane arrived to the Los Cerrillos, in Santiago for its final operations – allowing Chilean Air Force General Officers to take Hunter re-qualification courses so they could participate in the last flights during the Hunter retirement ceremony.
On 19-4-95, all the Hunters were withdrawn from service in Santiago. J-736 was subsequently transferred to the Escuela de Especialidades (the FACh's Technicians School) at El Bosque AB, to be used as a training aid. While it was at this location, it caught the attention of Brazilians from EMBRAER. By June 2000 the sale of the airplane and a considerable stock of spares were well underway, EMBRAER had indicated its interest in acquiring an airplane with a good transonic acceleration capability, to fulfill photographic chase flights during the testing of the prototypes and aircraft manufactured by them in Brazil.
In 8-2000, a group of Brazilian and Chilean technicians worked on the airplane at Chile’s ENAER's installation, where it received a complete overhaul. In early 2001 it was assigned the Brazilian civilian registration PP-XHH.
By mid-05-01 the airplane was undergoing the first test flights in the hands of British test pilot Dan Griffith, from the British CAA, (known particularly for his testing and flight reports for the British aviation magazine Air Forces Monthly), accompanied by Luiz Fernando Tedeschi, EMBRAER's test pilot. The aircraft had by then been re-painted in the EMBRAER corporate livery of white-yellow-blue. After several tests and the last technical verifications, by the end of 05-01, the airplane took off from Los Cerrillos en-route to Sao Jose dos Campos, Sao Paulo, Brazil, and was immediately put to work.
(Source; http://www.laahs.com)

David

Member for

17 years 5 months

Posts: 128

PP-XHH

Morning all

Thanks Rafohunter for the information you provided about this aircraft. I also found the web-site to be well worth a look.

As for Embraer, the reply I received this week, to the question do you still operate the Hunter was no. Let's hope someone in Brazil can come up with some up to date information as to the current state of this aircraft.

Freebird

Member for

17 years 7 months

Posts: 1,861

From a friend at the LAAHS forum - he asked Mr. Mercadal, a man working by Embraer.
'...ese avión fue utilizado y es utilizado todavía para acompañamiento de aeronaves en vuelos experimentales (prototipos)...'
rough translation
'...that airplane was still used and is used for support of airships in experimental flights (prototypes)...'
His answer in short: PP-XHH was and is still used.
It's in Spanish - but...
http://www.laahs.com/cgi-bin/Blah/Blah.pl?b-1/m-1201947519/s-new/
Reply 3-3

Freebird, hope it could be of any help.
Martin

Member for

17 years 5 months

Posts: 128

Evening all

Pleased to hear she is still serving Embraer after so many years and thanks to everyone who helped answer my question.

Freebird

Member for

17 years 7 months

Posts: 1,861

I just read in another forum that PP-XHH made a chase flight today to watch the performance of the brand-new Very Light Jet (VLJ) Embraer Phenom 100.

Martin

Member for

9 years 4 months

Posts: 105

Major thread resurrection (apologies!) but, PP-XHH has recently arrived at RAF Scampton to join the HHA stable.

Member for

3 years 1 month

Posts: 1

PP-XHH, call sign SMZ33, is airborne over Somerset today. JN7

Member for

4 years 5 months

Posts: 716

Cant view that page as I do not have FaceAche.

Good to hear its doing lots of work.

Member for

18 years 11 months

Posts: 8,847

Above post seems irrelevant?!

Member for

18 years 1 month

Posts: 2,123

Be careful about that post by "minion". It looks like another scam, like those this forum suffered from last year. Mods (if any still around), or "Key Aero": can you check? Thanks.

PS: 8 posts in 6 hours, so there must be others lurking.

I just saw that Christer has found some too. Action needed.

Laurence

Member for

18 years 1 month

Posts: 2,123

Thanks for removing minion !

Laurence