Grob G 520 Egrett
Grob Aircraft · Germany · first flew 1987 · reconnaissance aircraft
The Grob G 520 Egrett is a turboprop-powered, high-altitude, long-endurance reconnaissance and surveillance aircraft, one of the largest fully composite manned aircraft.
Recognition (WEFT)
| W — Wings | Mid-mounted, straight |
|---|---|
| E — Engines | 1 × turboprop, nose-mounted |
| F — Fuselage | Slender fully composite fuselage with a detachable lower payload bay |
| T — Tail | Conventional |
WEFT is AircraftIQ's four-point recognition method — how it works.
Spot it by:
- Extremely high-aspect-ratio wings, 33 m in span, that flex in flight
- Slender fully composite fuselage with a detachable lower payload bay
- Single turboprop with large exhaust mufflers driving a four-blade propeller
It is a mid-wing monoplane with very long, slender wings and a tricycle undercarriage whose main units retract into wing fairings. Up to 12 payload compartments are provided beneath the slim fuselage.
Specifications
- The Grob G 520 Egrett has a length of 13.82 m (45 ft).
- It has a wingspan of 33 m (108 ft).
- Its maximum speed is 469 km/h (291 mph).
- Typical crew: 1.
Figures are for the representative variant described above; marks differ. See how AircraftIQ sources figures.
History
It was developed in the 1980s with E-Systems and Garrett to meet a joint German Air Force and United States Air Force requirement. The D-450 Egrett I development aircraft first flew on 24 June 1987, and the type was certified in September 1991.
Variants
Variants were the D-450 Egrett I prototype, the two pre-production D-500 Egrett II, the single-seat G 520 and the twin-seat G 520T. A modernised G 520NG has been proposed.
Where you'll see it
A German Air Force order for nine was cancelled in 1993 with five single-seat aircraft completed. The type has been used for research by the German Aerospace Center and Airborne Research Australia, and a G 520 made the highest known glider tow when it took the Perlan II aloft in 2018.
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