The Venga TG-10 Brushfire was a military trainer aircraft developed in Canada in the late 1980s.[1] [2] The sole prototype was destroyed in a fire without having flown. The TG-10 was a low-wing, single-engine jet with seating in tandem for the pilot and instructor.[2] In general layout, it resembled the Northrop F-5 but had twin, outwardly-canted tail fins.[2] Construction was of composite materials throughout.[2] [3] Announced to the public at the 1987 Paris Air Show,[4] the key selling point of the design was its low cost,[3] offering the performance of competing jet trainers at the cost of a turboprop trainer. Venga Aerospace claimed letters of interest from five countries, involving up to 160 aircraft.[5] A single-seat ground-attack version[2] [3] and a UAV version[6] were also considered.
Venga hoped to be able to enter the design in the USAF's JPATS competition,[7] but this did not transpire. Finance proved an ongoing problem for the project,[3] despite a partnership with Chinese firm Baosteel announced in 1994,[8] as the first prototype was nearing completion. At the time, Venga still claimed "soft orders" for 86 aircraft from five customers.[5] The aircraft was destroyed in a fire in May 1998,[9] and no further work was undertaken.[10] However, as recently as 2004, Venga hoped to relaunch the project.[6]