Dassault /Dornier Alpha Jet

what is it?

The Dassault/Dornier Alpha Jet is a light attack jet and advanced jet trainer co-manufactured by Dassault Aviation of France and Dornier Flugzeugwerke of Germany. It was developed specifically to perform trainer and light attack missions, as well as to perform these duties better than the first generation of jet trainers that preceded it. Following a competition, a design submitted by a team comprising Breguet Aviation, Dassault Aviation, and Dornier Flugzeugwerke, initially designated as the TA501, was selected and subsequently produced as the Alpha Jet.

🔎How to recognise it: 2 jet engines · 9.1 m wingspan

base stats

• speed 1,000 km/htop speed
• range 1,996 kmwithout refuelling
• seats 2passengers
• size 7,500 kgmax take-off weight
• built 480made in total

Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).

fun facts

• 🎂First flew 53 years ago, in 1973.
• 🏎️Top speed is 7.7× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
• 🚗Wingspan of 9.1 m: about 2 cars parked nose to tail.
• 🌍Range of 1,996 km: 11× Amsterdam to Brussels.
• 🏔️Can fly 1.7× higher than Mount Everest (8,849 m).

jet: Gas turbine pushing air out the back (turbofan or turbojet): fast and high-flying.

spec sheet

first flight

1973-10-26

introduced

1977

status

still flying

number built

480

role

light attack and advanced trainer aircraft

origin

🇫🇷 France

makers

Dornier, Dassault Aviation

engines

2× SNECMA Turbomeca Larzac 04-C5 / Larzac 04

crew

2

passengers

2

length

13.2 m

wingspan

9.1 m

height

4.2 m

max take-off weight

7,500 kg

top speed

1,000 km/h

range

1,996 km

ceiling

14,630 m

Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.