The GAF #Pika, Australia's first designed and built jet aircraft, first flew 70 years ago today! There's a lot of hype around the @BoeingAustralia #LoyalWingman... but here's where it started: developing our first jet powered UAS, the GAF #Jindivik.
A thread...
@TheCentralBlue

2/ Development of the Jindivik began in 1948, with the first flight of the manned derivative in 1950 (called the Pika) and the first flight of the unmanned version (Jindivik) in August two years later.
@APDC_AirPower @ACSC_Airpower @airpowerassn @AirPowerHistory

3/ The Pika first flew in October 1950 from Woomera airfield. Known initially as Project ‘C’, two Pikas were built and logged over one hundred flying hours in testing. To date the only Australian designed and built manned jet aircraft!
@DefenceScience

4/ Only one survived (A93-2 in the @AusAirForce Museum in Point Cook), which ended its flying career in June 1954.
The Pika was powered by a single Armstrong Siddeley Adder turbojet, and had a maximum speed of over 755 km/h.

5/ Fun fact: the Pika aircraft could be both flown by the pilot or a ground station, and provided excellent training for operators of the subsequent Jindivik with the added safety net of a pilot in the cockpit.

6/ And then came Australia's first UAS, the Jindivik. That'll be another thread another time.

More info? Here:
https://www.faaaa.asn.au/our-heritage-unmanned-target-aircraft/
And Wikipedia of course...