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The first and only Wamira approaches completion at the GAF facility at Melbourne's Fishermans Bend plant.
PC-9 Set to Enter RAAF Service
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Pilatus/Hdh Pc-9 Ready to Enter Raaf Service
When Defence Minister Kim Beazley made an announcement from Canberra In mid-December of 1985, he knew well it would cause some controversy. The announcement was that the Swiss Pilatus PC-9 had been selected in preference to the Australian A-108 turboprop trainer as the RAAF’s next basic trainer.
The A-10 itself had been, during its ill-fated gestation, as controversial as the decision to scrap it. When the final decision was made, some $70 million dollars had been spent on the project since it began in 1981. The A-10 project had originated as a response to Air Force Staff Requirement AFSR 5044 of 18th December 1980. The Australian Aircraft Consortium was formed to coordinate the design of the new aircraft, with Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation (CAC), Hawker de Havilland (HdH) and Government Aircraft Factories (GAF) being the equal partners. At first known as the BPTA (Basic Pilot Training Aircraft), the aircraft evolved along with a succession of name changes from AIR-82, to A-10, and then Wamira. The name ‘Wamira’, aboriginal for ‘throwing stick’ (and a derivation of ‘Woomera’), was the result of a nationwide competition.
In June 1982, funding was approved for full-scale development of the Wamira and construction of two prototypes. This had the effect of closing the door on overseas competitors, including the Pilatus PC-7, Embraer Tucano, and Beech Turbo-Mentor. To all intents and purposes, the Wamira was to be the RAAF’s new trainer. An unsuccessful attempt to sell a derivative of the Wamira, the A-20, to the Royal Air Force followed. The project began to overrun its budget, and more and more internal problems within the AAC structure arose. The prototype’s first flight date was duly postponed from December 1983 to February 1985.
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