Schweizer RU - 38 Twin Condor The Schweizer RU - 38 Twin Condor is a two or three - seat , fixed gear , low wing , twin boom covert reconnaissance aircraft . RU - 38 is the US military designation for the aircraft , indicating " Utility , Reconnaissance " . The Schweizer company model number is Schweizer SA 2 - 38A Condor and , in its three - seat configuration , Schweizer SA 3 - 38A Condor Based on the Schweizer SGM 2 - 37 motor glider , a total of five RU - 38s were produced between 1995 and 2005 . The aircraft remains in production . Background . The development of the Schweizer SGM 2 - 37 motor glider for training use at the United States Air Force Academy led to two reconnaissance versions of that design , carrying the company model numbers SA 2 - 37A and SA 2 - 37B . In Central Intelligence Agency , US Army and US Coast Guard service these were designated RG - 8A and B . The RG - 8s were employed in border security and surveillance missions . In the mid - 1990s the Coast Guard decided that the aircraft would be more useful if their capabilities were improved to include night operations by the addition of more mission sensor equipment . Discussions with Schweizer Aircraft resulted in a plan to upgrade two RG - 8As and build one new aircraft to provide a total of three . Development . The RU - 38 was intended to fulfill both the low altitude , quiet , over water / hostile terrain reconnaissance role and also the high altitude standoff surveillance role . The design missions for the RU - 23A were : In converting to the new RU - 38A configuration , the conventional RG - 8A airframe was greatly modified by : RU - 38A . The resulting aircraft bears little resemblance to the original TG - 8 . Installation of the twin - boom pods permits the carriage of more sensors . The left - hand pod houses an AN / APN - 215 ( V ) color multi - function X - band sea search radar with mapping capabilities . The right - hand pod houses the AN / AAQ - 15 forward looking infrared ( FLIR ) and Low - Light TV enhanced vision systems . For navigation the RU - 38A originally carried both OMEGA and GPS receivers , although the Omega has since been removed with that system ' s withdrawal from service in 1997 . The aircraft also has HF , VHF and UHF radios for voice and encrypted voice communications , plus direction finding . The crew may also use night vision goggles . The aircraft has no flaps and instead retains the top and bottom surface divebrakes of its sailplane ancestors . Maximum take - off weight of the RU - 38A is 5300 lb ( 2404 kg ) The RU - 38A is designed to transit to its operational area with both engines operating . Once in the surveillance area the rear engine would normally be shut down and the aircraft operated in " quiet surveillance mode " . The second engine would be available for use in an emergency and for transit back to base . The first Coast Guard RG - 8A was returned to Schweizer for conversion to RU - 38A status on 24 January 1994 . The initial plan called for the conversion of two RG - 8As and then build one new RU - 38A . The first flight of the converted aircraft took place on 31 May 1995 . The second USCG RG - 8A aircraft that was earmarked for RU - 38A upgrade crashed near Puerto Rico in 1996 . As a result the program was reduced to provide only two RU - 38As to the USCG . The loss of the RG - 8A delayed the program for many months and it was not completed until May 1997 . The first RU - 38 was tested by the Air Force 445th Flight Test Squadron at Edwards AFB on behalf of the Coast Guard , starting in July 1998 . The RU - 38A was subject to approximately 100 test flights during the four month test program . By September 1999 the two converted RU - 38As had been delivered to the Coast Guard in Miami , Florida for operational employment . The RU - 38As were flown in drug interdiction missions over the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea , but the aircraft were reportedly grounded during 2000 , due to problems with the aircraft meeting mission requirements or serviceability . RU - 38B . The company further improved the aircraft by replacing the two piston engines with two Rolls Royce Allison 250 - B17F turboprop engines which allowed raising the gross weight to 7200 lbs ( 3265 kg ) . The new aircraft carries the military designation of RU - 38B . The RU - 38B has 140 cubic feet ( 4 . 1 cu m ) of payload space with a payload weight of 800 lbs ( 363 kg ) available . The payload bays all have large access doors and are located both in the tailbooms and also behind the pilot and co - pilot seats in the fuselage . The latter space can also accommodate a third crew member , if required . Using pallet - mounted sensor packages the aircraft can be quickly changed from one mission to another . The RU - 38B is able to achieve quiet operation while loitering by using a propeller speed as low as 1000 rpm . This is possible because the sailplane - derived wing is efficient and flight at low airspeed can be sustained with low power . Two RU - 38Bs were delivered to the US Department of Justice , one in 2004 and one in 2005 . The RU - 38B model was still being actively marketed by Schweizer in 2011 . Certification . Neither the RU - 38A or B was certified by the Federal Aviation Administration . Instead all aircraft operate as experimental aircraft in the " Research and Development " category .