Saab 105
The Saab 105 is a compact, twin-engine jet trainer that served as the standard basic and advanced jet trainer for the Swedish Air Force for decades, alongside a lightly armed ground-attack export version used by Austria. Its twin small turbofans, mounted low on the fuselage sides, gave it a useful margin of engine-out safety over the single-engine trainers common with many other air forces. Sweden used it both to train pilots destined for its advanced Viggen and Gripen fighters and, in armed form, for light attack and reconnaissance duty. It remained in Swedish service for an unusually long career before finally being retired in the 2020s.
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Did you know?
Unlike most jet trainers' tandem cockpits, the Saab 105 seats its two crew side by side, like a light aircraft rather than a fighter.
Specifications
| Length | 10.8 m (35 ft) |
|---|---|
| Wingspan | 9.5 m (31 ft) |
| Height | 2.7 m (9 ft) |
| Persons on board | 2 |
| Crew | 2 |
| Maximum take-off weight | 4.5 t |
| Range | 750 NM (1,389 km) |
| Maximum speed | 420 kt (778 km/h) |
| Service ceiling | 39,400 ft (12,009 m) |
| Optimum ceiling | 20,000 ft (6,096 m) |
| Rate of climb | 5,900 ft/min (30 m/s) |
| Take-off distance | 940 m (3,084 ft) |
| Landing distance | 880 m (2,887 ft) |
| Engines | 2x Turbomeca Aubisque |
| Units built | 190 |
Curated by CatchFlights from manufacturer documents, ICAO Doc 8643 and reference works; values are left out where no source could confirm them. Sources are listed on our credits page.
In CatchFlights
In CatchFlights the Saab 105 starts as a Very rare catch. The tier is an editorial judgement of how special a sighting of this type is. The more often you catch it, the closer it moves to Common for you.
A catch counts for the manufacturer Saab, the 105 family and the model in your collection, and the daily Type Rating quiz asks about the types of each family.
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