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.

FMI: www.af.mil