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December 2005

Training Fleet Sees Slow but Steady Progress

By Stew Magnuson

The U.S. Air Force is about four years away from completing a two decade-long process of revamping its fleet of training aircraft, according to service officials.

In 1989, the Pentagon released its Trainer Aircraft Master Plan for improving both the Air Force’s and the Navy’s pilot training programs. Sixteen years later, two new trainers adapted from commercial aircraft and one older military jet are filling the requirements needed to train the next generation of pilots.

The responsibility for developing, deploying and sustaining the joint Navy-Air Force flight training systems falls upon the Air Force’s Training Aircraft Systems Group, part of Aeronautical Systems Center at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio.

The first aircraft that a student pilot encounters is the T-6A Texan II, a single-propeller, two-seater designed to teach trainees basic flying skills.

Col. Michael Carlson, commander of the Training Aircraft Systems Group, said the T-6A has several advantages over its predecessors, the aging T-37, used by the Air Force, and the Navy’s T-34C, both of which are being phased out. It includes two safety features designed for the unique needs of trainees, including a bird-resistant windscreen system, which is necessary because students fly at lower altitudes. The aircraft also has a zero-zero ejection seat system, meaning it’s possible, though still not recommended, for pilots to escape the T-6A at zero altitude and at zero speed, basically when it is sitting on the runway, Carlson said.

Dan Shaver, deputy squadron director for the T-6A Joint Primary Aircraft Training System squadron, said another important modification is the ruggedized landing gear. “Student pilots are going to abuse the aircraft a little bit more than a regular pilot would,” Shaver said.

While the T-6A uses a single-propeller engine rather than a twin jet engine, featured in the T-37, advances in aviation technology have given it jet-like handling. It is fully acrobatic and has a pressurized cabin, unlike the T-37, Carlson added.

The T-6A is derived from Raytheon Corp.’s Beech/Pilatus PC-9 Mk II and is powered by a Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-68 turbo prop engine capable of delivering 1,100 horsepower and flying at 320 miles per hour. It can perform an initial climb of 3,100 feet per minute and reach 18,000 feet in six minutes, according to an Air Force fact sheet.

“Instead of the U.S. government having to go out and prove a new engine, they were able to piggyback onto something that had already been commercially developed,” Carlson said. The newer aircraft’s single engine is more fuel efficient and easier to maintain than the aging T-37, he added.

Another important characteristic is a larger anthropomorphic seating system to allow for a greater range of body types. While this means larger trainees can fit into the cockpit, these changes mostly benefit smaller pilots, especially women. It’s the difference between sitting in a sports car as opposed to sitting in a luxury sedan, Carlson said. “There’s a little more room,” he added. Instructors and trainees also have the option of sitting in the front or back positions.

While the single-engine system in a trainer could be a concern, none has been lost as a result of engine failure, Carlson said. It is a light aircraft, at 2,995 kilograms, and has good glide capabilities, he added. Two T-6As have been lost, though, but neither due to engine problems. Both aircraft were lost due to pilot errors. A 2000 crash resulted in both pilots ejecting safely. However, a 2004 accident ended with both pilots losing their lives.

As of the end of September, Raytheon had delivered 269 aircraft, 220 for the Air Force and 49 for the Navy. The contract calls for a total of 782 T-6As, including 454 for the Air Force and 328 for the Navy. Raytheon’s plant, in Wichita, Kan., has been delivering 60 aircraft per year with production slated to end in 2010, Carlson said. Each aircraft costs $4.3 million.

The Raytheon contract also includes the ground-based training system, simulators, electronic classrooms, computer-aided instruction labs, and a training integrated management system.

When candidates successfully complete the T-6A coursework, they graduate to other training aircraft. Pilots are put on one of five tracks depending on how they performed. The tracks include: the Air Force bomber-fighter or the Navy strike; the Air Force airlift-tanker or Navy maritime; Air Force or Navy turbo-prop; Air Force-Navy helicopter track, or flight instruction.

If the students move on to a fighter track, they will fly the T-38 Talon, a twin-engine, high-altitude, supersonic jet trainer first deployed in the early 1960s and built by Northrop Corp. It reaches Mach 1.08 at sea level and can fly at 55,000 feet.

The Air Force is in the process of making several upgrades to the aircraft, according to Jeffrey Braun, T-38 systems squadron director. The Air Force wanted to upgrade the avionics to help student get familiarized with real-world cockpits.

The new system features heads-up, multifunctional and electronic engine displays, similar to those found in warplanes, such as the F-15 Strike Eagle, F-16C Eagle, B-1B Lancer or A-10 Warthog.

“It better prepares the pilots to make that big step into these modern fighters,” Shaver said.

Efforts are underway to upgrade the escape system with seats adapted from the T-6A’s new zero-zero system and an inter-seat sequencing system, which allows for the two pilots to choose who ejects first.

As is the case with the T6-A, there is more flexibility in the size of the cockpit to accommodate smaller pilots. This has allowed for 20 percent more of the pilot population to graduate to fighter aircraft, Shaver said.

There are currently 509 T-38s in the inventory, with 453 designated for pilot training. The Air Force Material Command also uses T-38s for testing new systems. All training aircraft will receive the advanced avionics system and 199 will receive the escape upgrade. If funding allows in the future, the center hopes to outfit the remainder with the advanced ejection seats, Shaver said. Current plans call for the T-38 to remain the Air Force and Navy’s advanced jet fighter trainer until 2020.

For those moving on to airlift- or tanker-pilot schools, the T-1A Jayhawk serves as a medium range, twin-engine jet trainer. Like the T-6A, it is a civilian aircraft — the Beech 400A — adapted for military use. Its modifications include reinforced windshield protection to protect against bird strikes and added fuel capacity to increase its range to 2,222 nautical miles. It reaches speeds of 538 miles per hour and flies at 41,000 feet.

Raytheon delivered the last of the 180 T-1As in 1997 at accost of $4.1 million per aircraft, said Carlson. While the much smaller T-1A does not resemble such lumbering aircraft as the C-130, the cockpit has a similar side-by-side configuration for a pilot and co-pilot, as well as a third seat for an instructor. T-1As also are used for naval navigation training at Pensacola, Fla.

Carlson said the three aircraft have suited the Pentagon’s master plan well. “Our customers, the Navy and the Air Force, are pretty well satisfied with what we’ve provided them … The responses we’ve been getting back are quite positive.”

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