Socata TB 30 Epsilon

The TB 30 Epsilon is a light military trainer produced by SOCATA, which was then part of Aérospatiale. It is a low-winged, all-metal monoplane with the pilot and instructor seated in tandem under a sliding canopy, and it is powered by a Lycoming six-cylinder piston engine driving a two-bladed propeller. The French Air Force asked in 1978 for a basic trainer to take over the early part of the syllabus from the Fouga Magister, and the SOCATA design, derived from the TB 10 Tobago, was chosen in February 1979. The first prototype flew on 22 December 1979 and was redesigned after poor handling. The air force ordered 150 and the type was also sold to Togo and Portugal. A turboprop version, the TB 31 Oméga, was built once.