Uneventful 50min Verification Flight Over Baltic
A Brazilian Air Force (FAB) test pilot conducted the first test flight by a Brazilian pilot in the GRIPEN E on 20 August, according to an FAB statement.
Maj Cristiano de Oliveira Peres, assigned to the Instituto de Pesquisas e Ensaios em Voo (IPEV – Flight Research and Test Institute), took off from Saab’s Linköping airfield on a routine test flight to verify flight and pilot handling. The flight over the Baltic Sea lasted approx. 50 mins before recovery at Linköping.
Maj Cristiano has been in Linköping since January, undergoing intense preparation for piloting the GRIPEN, including studying the aircraft’s extensive technical documentation and spending many hours in the GRIPEN E simulator. The programme, which ultimately sees the FAB receiving 36 GRIPEN E/F plus appropriate embedded systems, support and equipment, involves significant technology transfer to enable the FAB to support the aircraft once inducted.
The IPEV, which is a unit of the Department of Aerospace Science and Technology (DCTA), exists to provide specialised technology services and data telemetry to support R&D and aerospace product certification – and to train test pilots.
