what is it?
The RFB Fantrainer (or Fan Trainer) is a two-seat flight training aircraft which uses a mid-mounted ducted fan propulsion system. Developed and manufactured by German aircraft company Rhein-Flugzeugbau GmbH (RFB), it has been used by the Royal Thai Air Force. Development of the Fantrainer commenced during the 1970s.
How to recognise it: 1 turboshaft engine · 9.7 m wingspan
base stats
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 48 years ago, in 1978.
- Top speed is 3.2× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
- Wingspan of 9.7 m: about 2 cars parked nose to tail.
- Range of 1,037 km: 6× Amsterdam to Brussels.
turboshaft: A turbine that turns a shaft, usually a helicopter rotor.
spec sheet
- first flight
- 1978-05-31
- introduced
- 1982
- number built
- 50
- role
- basic trainer
- makers
- Rhein-Flugzeugbau
- engines
- 1× Allison 250 C30
- crew
- 2
- length
- 9.2 m
- wingspan
- 9.7 m
- height
- 3.2 m
- max take-off weight
- 2,300 kg
- top speed
- 417 km/h
- cruise speed
- 370 km/h
- range
- 1,037 km
- ceiling
- 7,620 m
Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q911414, Wikipedia: RFB Fantrainer (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.