Sun, Oct 15, 2006
T-6 Will Replace Aging T-37 Trainers
The 14th Flying Training Wing commander formally welcomed the
T-6 Texan II to the Columbus AFB fleet during an official ceremony
October 12th.
Colonel Dave Gerber greeted the first new airframe assigned to
Columbus since the T-1 Jayhawk arrived in 1996.
The Texan will eventually replace the T-37 Tweet, which has been
used to train more than 10,000 pilots in the Mississippi skies
since 1969.
Before Colonel Gerber's official welcome, the crowd enjoyed a
T-6 heritage flight and composite formation. Following the fly by,
Colonel Gerber said that, although the T-37 Tweet would be missed
"it is time for a change and ... we have come together to celebrate
this advancement in technology and training."
The T-6 Texan II is a single-engine, two-seat primary
trainer.
Colonel Gerber said, "The state-of-the-art, glass cockpit and
superb avionics will dramatically upgrade the quality of primary
flight training and will better prepare our students for the
advanced phases of pilot training in the T-1 Jayhawk and the
upgraded T-38 Talon."
The improved fuel efficiency will also help the Air Force
conserve resources, he said.
The Air Force says the T-6 can fly twice the range of the T-37
while using half the fuel. Further, it claims the T-6 performs
better in crosswinds allowing more training days per year.
Columbus AFB's transition from T-37 to T-6 has gone smoothly to
date, but it's not over. Officials say it will take at least 18
months to fully bed-down 100+ Texans there.
ANN Salutes Major Ed Watson of the 14th Flying Training
Wing.
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