![]() ![]() In May 1955, three of the pre-production aircraft were assigned for the first stage of service trials with the Central Flying School (CFS) of the RAF to determine the value of the Jet Provost in the ab initio training role and to develop a syllabus for the training program. On 19 February 1955, the first of ten pre-production aircraft, designated as the Jet Provost T1, performed its first flight. While testing proved the overall performance of the Jet Provost to be satisfactory, refinements were made, such as shortening the legs of the landing gear for a smoother ride when deployed at semi-prepared airstrips. By early November 1954, a total of 123 flying hours had been accumulated by the prototype during Hunting Percival's own flight test program, after which the prototype was submitted for official trials at RAF Boscombe Down. A series of seven flights were flown in quick succession over the following three days. ![]() On 16 June 1954, the prototype XD674 conducted its maiden flight from the factory at Luton Airport, flown by Dick Wheldon. That same month, an order for service-test quantity of Jet Provosts was received. The initial design work was performed as a private venture, independent of any service requirement in March 1953, sponsorship from the British Government to support the development was made available as a result of interest from the Ministry of Supply. During development, Hunting Percival had intentionally reused as many existing components and subsystems of the Percival Provost as possible, including the tail surfaces, main planes and main undercarriage legs, to speed development through to the prototype stage. The prototype Jet Provost T.1 with the initial longer undercarriage at the Farnborough Air Show in 1954ĭuring the early design process, a series of increasingly frequent liaisons with RAF Flying Training Command took place, helping to gauge the considerations required to succeed in aspects of the proposed aircraft's design, such as instructional processes and maintenance requirements. The design team aimed to produce an aircraft capable of equalling the handling characteristics of operational jet fighters of the era while also possessing modest approach and stall speeds and remaining simple to handle, as opposed to aiming to obtain maximum performance. At the time, the company was in the process of establishing mass production for the earlier piston-engined Percival Provost basic trainer, but had anticipated that demand for a jet-powered trainer aircraft would be on the horizon. In early 1951, Hunting Percival began work on the design studies that would ultimately lead to the Jet Provost. ![]()
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