AAC Wamira The AAC Wamira was a turboprop military trainer aircraft , designed for the Royal Australian Air Force ( RAAF ) by the Australian Aircraft Consortium ( AAC ) . The project was cancelled shortly after the first prototype was completed . Design and development . The story of the aircraft and its creators are interwoven , as AAC was set up expressly to design and build the aircraft . The consortium came into being in 1981 , with its members being the three main aircraft manufacturers in Australia at that time — the Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation ( CAC ) , the Government Aircraft Factories ( GAF ) , and Hawker de Havilland ( HdH ) . The RAAF , which expressed an intention to buy 69 aircraft , specified a turboprop trainer of broadly conventional tricycle undercarriage low - wing monoplane layout , to be powered by a Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6 A - 25C engine . Unusually however its two seats were to be in a side - by - side configuration . The RAAF also specified that the type be fully aerobatic ; be capable of cross - country navigation and weapons training ; and have a 200 kt cruising speed at Sea Level , and a minimum service life of 20 years and 8 , 000 flying hours . AAC signed a Design and Development contract in June 1982 and began work to produce an aircraft to meet the design criteria under the designation A10 . When it became clear that the aircraft as specified by the RAAF had limited appeal to other potential users , a version with the more usual tandem seating was designed , this being designated the A20 ; both models were named Wamira . A Memorandum of Understanding was signed with Westland Aircraft to establish a joint venture to market ( and hopefully sell ) the A20 in Europe . The A20 was subsequently entered in the competition to replace the Royal Air Force ( RAF ) fleet of BAC Jet Provost s , a competition eventually won by the Short Tucano . An Engineering Mock Up ( EMU ) was produced in Australia consisting of a fuselage from the fin fillet forward with stub wings . Made from wood & alloy it utilised real aircraft components such as ejection seats , control columns , rudder pedals etc . . . and was shipped to the UK appearing on the Westlands stand at Farnboro ' 84 . However the Wamira was never a serious contender due to it being at the design stage whilst the other three contenders were flying aircraft . By the time the RAF competition was lost , the whole Wamira project was in doubt . This was partly due to delays in completing the prototype , but mainly due to huge cost overruns . At the time the RAAF was replacing its front line fighter fleet and wanted an Airborne Early Warning platform and in - flight refuelling aircraft to enhance the new type ' s capabilities , and an Auditor - General report found that the Wamira project cost was likely to be more than double that originally estimated . In July 1985 it was announced that the RAAF trainer requirement was now a competition , and that the Short Tucano and Pilatus PC - 7 and PC - 9 ( all of which had tandem seating ) would be considered as well as the Wamira . The same month CAC was absorbed by HdH , meaning that HdH now had a two - thirds share in AAC , and quickly became sole owner of the Wamira project when it bought GAF ' s share . On 16 December 1985 the Pilatus PC - 9 was announced as the winner of the competition and the Wamira project was cancelled . Ironically the consortium partners were later jointly responsible for licence - production of the PC - 9 . Endeavour Aerospace acquired the Wamira design and associated rights from the Australian government in 2000 . The aircraft design was subsequently renamed Phoenix . Endeavour Aerospace believes that the design has potential in the General Aviation market as a pilot trainer and recreation / sports / utility aircraft . The original drawings and design records have been kept in safe storage since being acquired . As for the A - 20 EMU it resided at the Westland Helicopters Weston factory until ' Heseltine - gate ' in 1986 closed the site . The mock - up returned to Australia in 2012 via a group of enthusiasts who raised the funds for transport and fumigation . The A - 20 EMU is now in storage at an aircraft restoration facility in the western suburbs of Melbourne awaiting a full overhaul .