Air Force, that step is completed in the T–38 Talon the Navy uses the T–45 Goshawk. Textron says that the T–6C can cover a range of objectives, running from first flight through basic, instrument, formation, dynamic formation, and tactical flight training-which includes air-to-air and air-to-ground weapons training. For example, Schellhorn’s father joined the Navy in 1970 and trained in a T–34B Mentor, T–2A and T–2B Buckeyes, and the TA–4 Skyhawk before entering fighter pilot ranks. Prior to JPATS, pilots would have to progress through several trainer types. That made it the common training platform for U. The original T–6 was developed in the 1990s, then won the Joint Primary Aircraft Training System (JPATS) contract. Both airplanes have roots in the Pilatus PC–9 design and have 80 percent parts commonality. To the untrained eye the T–6C looks identical to the Wolverine. Like others in the division, Schellhorn (call sign “Smails”) has a military flying background, having served for 11 years as a naval aviator, and flown F/A–18 Super Hornets. Soon enough, I was suited up and doing a T–6C walkaround with my instructor for the day, Chip Schellhorn, Textron Defense’s director of aftermarket sales. I wondered: What would it be like for an ab initio student to learn to fly in a T–6C? This year, I got my chance. I wrote about the AT–6 in the April 2020 Turbine Edition of AOPA Pilot (“On the Prowl”). The Wolverine shares many features with the T–6C, but it is heavier (it’s armored), has more power, and is designed for combat in light attack and armed overwatch missions. The T–6C is the current top-of-the-line model and comes under Textron Aviation’s Defense and Special Missions Division, along with the AT–6 Wolverine. In all, more than 1,000 T–6s now serve in the militaries of 12 nations, plus two NATO schools. With the T–6B, head-up displays (HUDs) were added. The Beechcraft T–6 line (not to be confused with the North American T–6, a World War II-era trainer) began in 2000, with the T–6A, a pure trainer with steam gauges. As you can guess, it’s built for the military market, and it’s been a big hit, with 250 T–6C sales since 2009, when that version began production. It comes with a Martin Baker ejection seat, six underwing hardpoints, and cockpit displays identical to those in the F–16 Fighting Falcon and F/A–18 Super Hornet. It’s a fire-breathing, fully aerobatic, plus-7/minus-3.5-G, 275-knot multi-role trainer powered by a 1,100-shaft-horsepower Pratt & Whitney PT6A-68 engine. It could eat a Skipper for breakfast and get rid of it by noon. On a good day, a Skipper could turn in 100 knots. The two-seat Skipper was one of Beech’s less-prominent designs of the late 1970s boom times, and it served in the Beech Aero Club network. Accommodation: Two pilots on Martin Baker MK16LA zero/zero ejection seats.Or maybe, just maybe, the Beech Skipper will come to mind. Performance: Speed 320 mph, range 1,035 miles. Power Plant: One Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-68 turboprop, 1,100 shp. Dimensions: Span 33.5 ft, length 33.4 ft, height 10.7 ft. Joint service primary training aircraft, based on the Pilatus PC-9. Laughlin AFB, JBSARandolph, and Sheppard AFB, Texas Vance AFB, Okla. Aircraft Location: USAF: Columbus AFB, Miss. Improved maintenance and inspections will mitigate hypoxia risks until fleetwide retrofit is complete.Ĭontractor: Beechcraft/Textron Aviation Defense (formerly Raytheon). Ongoing mods include airspace compliant avionics, improved canopy fracture system, and updated training aids.ĭevelopment includes controlled flight into terrain avoidance, a crash-survivable flight data recorder, and Next-Generation Onboard Oxygen Generation System (OBOGS) to combat the hypoxia-like incidents expected starting in FY22. USAF production was completed in 2010, with an expected service life of 21 years. The T-6 is fully aerobatic and features an anti-G system. The tandem student and instructor positions are interchangeable, including single-pilot operation from either seat. Mods include a strengthened fuselage, zero/zero ejection seats, upgraded engine, increased fuel capacity, pressurized cockpit, bird-resistant canopy, and digital avionics with sunlight-readable LCDs. The aircraft is based on the Swiss Pilatus PC-9 and the Navy version is designated T-6B. The T-6 is a joint Air Force/Navy undergraduate pilot trainer developed under the Joint Primary Aircraft Training System program.
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