14th FTW welcomes new trainer aircraft

  • Published
  • By Maj. Ed Watson
  • 14th Flying Training Wing
COLUMBUS AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. (AETCNS) --  The 14th Flying Training Wing commander formally welcomed the T-6 Texan II to the Columbus AFB fleet during an official ceremony here Oct. 12.

Col. Dave Gerber received the first new airframe assigned here since the T-1 Jayhawk was added to the inventory in January 1996 and will eventually replace the T-37 Tweet, which has been used to train more than 10,000 pilots in the Mississippi skies since 1969.

Preceding 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.

"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," Colonel Gerber said.

The improved fuel efficiency will also help the Air Force conserve resources, he said.

"The T-6 can fly twice the range of the T-37 while using half the fuel and the T-6 performs better in crosswinds allowing us to fly on days the T-37 would not (because of windy weather)," Colonel Gerber said.

While Columbus AFB's transition from T-37 to T-6 has proved smooth thus far, it is certainly not over. It will likely take another 18 months to fully incorporate the more than 100 T-6 aircraft.