Training Wings

The Swiss Trainer combines European practicality with flying fun.

When you talk about the Swiss Trainer, you have to mention its modular construction, unique European design, and practical application to a variety of training missions. But let's skip all that for a minute and cut through to the most important part right up front: This airplane is loads of fun to fly. Here's a fully aerobatic two-seater with a nice big plexiglass canopy and joysticks — not steering wheels — that feels and flies like what God meant an airplane to be. You wear the Daetwyler MD3-160 as much as you sit in it. Stressed to the standard aerobatic plus-6 and minus-3 Gs, the Swiss Trainer is as comfortable in a loop or a roll as it is in 125-knot cruise flight. In fact, the controls are so well harmonized and responsive, it's difficult to force yourself to remain in straight-and-level flight for long. Granted, The MD3-160 is no beauty queen on the ramp. Its tricycle gear, guppy-shaped fuselage, and high-dihedral, rectangular wings leave it looking less than rakish. But vanity aside, the most important view in any airplane is from inside the cockpit, and the Swiss Trainer's canopy provides outstanding visibility. Whether you're a student pilot looking for other airplanes in the pattern, a budding aerobatic ace trying to keep an eye on the horizon in the midst of a Cuban 8, or just someone out to enjoy a nice view of the countryside, this is no small blessing.

Lest you think this aircraft is intended only for joyrides, be advised that IFR certification is planned for the MD3-160 and that it counts towing gliders among its myriad missions.

Which sort of brings us back to the beginning of our story.

Max Daetwyler AG, based in Bleienbach, Switzerland, is known more for its sophisticated machinery designed for the printing industry than for building airplanes. The company counts the U.S. Treasury, Soviet newspapers, and National Geographic magazine among clients that use Daetwyler-machined printing cylinders. But Daetwyler has yet to become a household name in aviation circles.

Not that Daetwyler is new to aviation. The company began in the 1950s by refurbishing and overhauling Europe-based Piper Cubs and Super Cubs, then branched out to providing charter, sightseeing, and flight instruction operations in Germany, which was still under a post-World War II ban against operating its own aircraft. Over the years, as Daetwyler got more and more involved in the printing business, aviation became merely a sideline. But Max Daetwyler, the company's founder, retained his interest.

"The Swiss Trainer was Mr. Daetwyler's dream that goes back 20 years," says Norbert Koenig, president of the East Farmingdale, New York-based Nassau Flyers, Incorporated, and the U.S. distributor for the MD3-160 Swiss Trainer.

Daetwyler envisioned an aerobatic aircraft that could meet a variety of training roles. The manufacture and maintenance of the Swiss Trainer would be made simple and inexpensive through the use of modular design concepts, which are applied to the MD3-160 to an extent unique among light aircraft. The entire wing consists of only five major components, which are interchangeable between left and right wings. Aileron, flap, elevator, and rudder components are identical. So are the horizontal and vertical stabilizers. The illustration on p. 50 demonstrates the remarkable extent of the commonality of parts.

"If somebody dings a wing on a fuel truck or a tree, you can get a leading edge off in about half an hour and put on a new one," says Koenig. "Then, you can decide whether to fix it or throw it away. But in the meantime, the airplane is flying and you don't lose that utility."

Asked whether parts availability might be a problem for an aircraft manufactured overseas, Koenig stresses, "That's the thing we want to have right from the beginning. We are going to have a full support operation — parts support and service." He says Daetwyler plans to do what Volkswagen did with automobiles: Set up the parts and service first, then start selling airplanes. Daetwyler's large printing machinery facility in Huntersville, North Carolina (just north of Charlotte), will provide space for the warehousing and shipping of Swiss Trainer parts. Aircraft will be sold in the United States through Nassau Flyers.

The Swiss Trainer prototype first flew in 1984. Daetwyler applied for a type certificate in 1988 and got one from Swiss aviation authorities in January 1991. The aircraft is certified in Switzerland to U.S. FAR Part 23 specifications, and the company plans to gain U.S. certification this year.

"We hope to deliver planes next summer," says Peter Daetwyler, son of company patriarch Max and the head of Daetwyler's operations in the United States. The airplane's cost will be about $100,000.

Efforts to certify the airplane in this country and to spool up production overseas are running in parallel. But one major stumbling block remains before Daetwyler can launch full production of the Swiss Trainer: The company doesn't have a factory yet. Manufacture of the airplane in Switzerland would prove far too costly, so Daetwyler is negotiating with authorities in Romania about building the Swiss Trainer there. Daetwyler would provide the tooling, training, and materials. The Romanians would provide finished airplanes. Probably only the paint job would be added, to customer specifications, in the United States or other destination countries.

Wherever the airplane is built, one thing is certain: Daetwyler plans to sell the Swiss Trainer in the United States. "We definitely want to market it here," says Koenig, although he confesses that "Europeans are less sensitive to price. They understand that you can't buy a new aircraft for $50,000 anymore." Potential customers would include the civil and military markets in Europe and the Third World.

Meanwhile, the design continues to undergo refinement. The prototype, for example, had a greenhouse that extended well aft of the pilots' seats. It contributed little to visibility but did help turn the cockpit into a miniature steam bath; it was eliminated in the second, certified airplane. Three more airplanes now under construction in Switzerland will include improved head- and legroom, a redesigned panel and power quadrant, and other minor changes.

Daetwyler planned to enter the Swiss Trainer in competition for a lucrative U.S. Air Force trainer contract. It was for that reason that the number-two airplane was shipped here last July (complex Swiss customs issues made ferrying impractical). The Air Force bid fell through, but it did provide an opportunity for the rest of us to get a look at the sporty little import. Daetwyler showed off the MD3-160 at the annual Oshkosh extravaganza last summer and at the AOPA Expo '91 in October. Pilots liked what they saw.

"We got many positive comments," says Koenig. "People had no problems with the stick controls. They loved the canopy, with the great visibility." Many Experimental Aircraft Association members wondered aloud whether the Swiss Trainer would ever be offered in kit form, and Daetwyler is studying the possibility of doing that — after the factory airplanes are rolling off the production line.

Following Oshkosh, the MD3-160, with Koenig at the controls, embarked on a whirlwind tour of the United States that concluded in November, when the airplane was boxed up and shipped back to Switzerland. We connected with Koenig and the MD3-160 when he stopped at AOPA headquarters in Frederick, Maryland, on the way from North Carolina to his home base at Long Island's Republic Airport.

The Swiss Trainer is unassuming on the ramp but does attract attention with its unusual lines. The canopy slides smoothly forward over the nose to reveal a wide-open cockpit. For aerobatics, seat-back cushions are removed, and the pilots climb up over the leading edge of the wing root into the cockpit, then strap snugly into bucket seats, with parachutes on their backs. The canopy slides back and latches easily behind the pilots' heads. There is nothing unusual about the preflight, except for where you check to see if the nosewheel is engaged.

One of the Swiss Trainer's more uncommon features is a lever that selectively engages or disengages the nosewheel steering mechanism. The nosewheel is left engaged for taxi and takeoff, then disengaged in flight. If left disengaged on the ground, the nosewheel would simply caster freely, like that on an American General Tiger.

Ground handling is conventional. We used one notch (15 degrees) of flaps for takeoff, and the Swiss Trainer was airborne after a brief run. We retracted the flaps and, once on the downwind, disengaged the nosewheel steering. The difference was remarkable. With the nosewheel "disconnected," there was tremendously improved travel of the rudder pedals, with a need for far less control force and a resulting responsiveness that mimicked the feel of a taildragger. With the nosewheel disengaged, the controls were much better balanced.

If you are in the left seat and used to the right-hand stick, left- hand throttle configuration common in most tandem-seat aircraft, holding the stick in your left hand while grasping the console-mounted throttle with your right may seem awkward at first. But you adapt quickly. One minor annoyance is the placement of the elevator trim wheel where you can't help but brush it with your forearm while manipulating the throttle. A brush is all it takes to add an unwanted trim input. There is electric rudder and aileron trim (elevator trim is a manual cable connection), but we didn't need to use it at all, and it likely will be optional on production models, says Koenig. Flight controls are operated via push rods, yielding a very solid control feel.

Koenig and I flew north of Frederick at about 1,000 feet agl, enjoying the tremendous view out of the canopy. Cruise at 65-percent power (around 2,550 rpm) yielded a speed of about 125 knots. But we didn't stay in cruise flight for long. Steep turns, Dutch rolls, and the like were too much fun. After climbing a few thousand feet and clearing the area, we tried several loops and rolls. Entry speed for most maneuvers is 125 knots, requiring no nose-over to gain airspeed before entry. The MD3-160 performed admirably. Then we tried slow flight, followed by power-on and -off stalls. In all respects, the airplane proved responsive and forgiving. Stalls were quite tame, with no wing drop.

The before-landing check list includes reengaging the nosewheel steering, which Koenig stresses as a good training device for pilots who plan to transition to complex airplanes. In the Swiss Trainer, there's something to do for the "U" part of your "GUMPS" check. Landings were straightforward, with no surprises.

The airplane we flew — the only one as yet certified — has a 160- horsepower Lycoming 0-320-D2A powerplant with a fixed-pitch prop. An extended ventral exhaust stack, necessary to meet tight Swiss noise rules, won't be included on airplanes sold here. Future production is slated to include a 115-hp Lycoming-powered model and one with a fuel-injected 160-hp Lycoming and inverted oil system.

Although the current aircraft — carbureted and lacking inverted oil systems — will not sustain prolonged inverted flight, it is capable of the full range of aerobatic maneuvers, including rolls, loops, Cuban 8s, and Immelmanns. It is not yet approved for snap maneuvers such as snap rolls; Daetwyler wants to first complete more extensive fatigue testing and put 1,000 hours on the airframe (it has logged 267 hours so far).

"It's not designed to be a competition-type aerobatic airplane; it's designed to be a teaching platform," Koenig points out. "Of course, a lot of people don't want to go upside-down, but instructors need spin training."

Daetwyler sees the airplane as ready to meet a wide array of training needs in an industry that is crying out for new trainers. So all that remains now is for the company to get things squared away and start building airplanes. We look forward to flying a production model someday soon.