What was different was that they designed it with twin engines for flight safety. They had a rather novel idea for a very basic jet trainer, called the MS 755.
Cliquet has flown more than 10,000 hours. Jean Cliquet was the test pilot associated with the Fleuret. The MS755 Fleuret prototype which came to Hakimpet for flight trials.
They were considered one of the leading French aviation companies and were involved in both manufacturing aircraft and maintaining the standard of training required in France. Of course, each country’s air force was keen on developing their own trainer– India was trying to figure what we were going to do – and the HT2 was coming out about that time.īy then he had found out that the French aircraft manufacturer, Morane-Saulnier, had designed trainers for use in their own flying schools in France. So he went around UK and France looking for what was coming up by way of jet trainer designs. Pistons had just about reached their top level and the focus had shifted from them. Now when then Gp Capt Pinto was in France he became aware of all the flight training schemes in the various air forces, particularly the Commonwealth air forces, and how they were going to have to plan to handle only jet aircraft. Just before we moved the whole Air Force Academy down to Hakimpet, he was transferred and went on as Air Attaché to UK and France and Ranjan Dutt took over in Begumpet. The story starts from the time when late AVM Erlich Pinto was a Group Captain and was commanding the Air Force Academy in Ambala. Here then in his own words is the story from over half a century ago of what might have become India’s first dedicated jet trainer. I also thought Don would have got a charge out at the fact that 3 aircraft he actually flew reside on 3 continents in different aeronautical museums: a Liberator in Ottawa, S55 in Palam and the Fleuret at Marignane It would be fascinating to get additional information from any of those referred to in the narration. Transcribing the Fleuret episode led me to a number of references to the MS 755 listed in the footnotes and their associated links.
One of them was his experience flying what turned out to be a ‘one-of-a-kind’: the MS 755 Fleuret prototype, that he and then-Flt Lt Pete Wilson had assessed as a potential ab initio jet trainer for the IAF. Transcriber’s note: Shortly after my father, Don Michael, passed away at the end of March 2007, I found a couple of audio cassettes he had recorded earlier with anecdotes from his IAF days. Wg Cdr Don Michael was one of the two instructors who evaluated the aircraft during its short stint in Begumpet. In 1954, a the prototype Morane-Saulner MS-755 Fleuret trainer arrived in India for an evaluation in training Flight Cadets.
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