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| T-43/CT-43 | |
|---|---|
%2c_USA_-_Air_Force_AN1045810.jpg) T-43 taking off fromOttawa Macdonald-Cartier International Airport | |
| General information | |
| Type | Multi-engine trainer / transport |
| Manufacturer | Boeing |
| Status | Retired |
| Primary user | United States Air Force |
| Number built | 19 |
| History | |
| Introduction date | September 1973[1] |
| First flight | 10 March 1973[2] |
| Retired | September 2010 |
| Developed from | Boeing 737-200 |
TheBoeing T-43 is a retired modifiedBoeing 737-200 that was used by theUnited States Air Force for training navigators, later called USAFcombat systems officers, from 1973 to 2010. Informally referred to as theGator (an abbreviation of "navigator") and "Flying Classroom", nineteen of these aircraft were delivered to theAir Training Command (ATC) atMather Air Force Base, California during 1973 and 1974. Two additional aircraft were delivered to theColorado Air National Guard at Buckley Air National Guard Base (laterBuckley Space Force Base) andPeterson Air Force Base, Colorado, in direct support of cadet air navigation training at the nearbyU.S. Air Force Academy. Two T-43s were later converted to CT-43As in the early 1990s and transferred toAir Mobility Command (AMC) andUnited States Air Forces in Europe (USAFE), respectively, as executive transports. A third aircraft was also transferred toAir Force Materiel Command (AFMC) for use as the "Rat 55" radar test bed aircraft and was redesignated as an NT-43A. The T-43A was retired by theAir Education and Training Command (AETC) in 2010 after 37 years of service.[3]
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On 27 May 1971, theUnited States Air Force (USAF) placed an order for 19 T-43s, modified versions of the Boeing 737-200 as a replacement for the USAF's aging fleet ofConvair T-29 navigation trainers, as part of the Undergraduate Navigator Training System. The Boeing aircraft was selected in preference to a trainer based on theDouglas DC-9.[4]
From its entry into service in 1974 until the mid-1990s, the T-43As were used for all USAF Undergraduate Navigator Training. Starting in the mid-1990s, the T-43As were used for USAF Undergraduate Navigator/Combat Systems Officer training with the exception of those USAF navigators/CSOs slated for theF-15E andB-1B.
In 1976, with theU.S. Navy's retirement of its T-29 aircraft and deactivation of its associated Training Squadron Twenty-Nine (VT-29) atNAS Corpus Christi, Texas, those studentnaval flight officers destined for land-based naval aircraft such as theP-3 Orion, including itsEP-3 variant, and various versions of the C-130 in U.S. naval service, began training in USAF T-43s at Mather AFB under a program known by USAF as "Interservice Undergraduate Navigator Training" (IUNT)[5][6] and by the U.S. Navy as the NAV pipeline for training student naval flight officers slated for eventual assignments to land-based naval aircraft.
Externally, the T-43A differs from the civilian Boeing 737-200 aircraft by having more antennas and fewer windows.
The T-43A has stations on board for twelve navigator students, six navigator instructors, as well as a pilot and co-pilot. The student training compartment was equipped with avionics gear as used in contemporary operational aircraft from the mid-1970s to the early 2000s. This included search and weather radar;VHF omnidirectional range (VOR) andtactical air navigation system (TACAN) avionics systems; a long range navigation system (LORAN-C); aninertial navigation system (INS); radaraltimeter; and all required VHF, UHF and HF communications equipment. Five periscopicsextant stations spaced along the length of the training compartment were used forcelestial navigation training. However, with the advent of the Global Positioning System (GPS), student navigators were no longer taught celestial navigation or LORAN.[citation needed]
The T-43A aircraft had considerably more training capability than the aircraft it replaced, the reciprocating-engine, propeller-drivenT-29 Flying Classroom that was based on theConvair C-131 Samaritan. VT-29 had been training student naval flight officers for various land-based naval aircraft such as theP-3 Orion,EP-3 Aries, and variants of theLockheed C-130 Hercules while the 323 FTW and its predecessor organizations at Mather AFB, the formerEllington AFB (nowEllington Field Joint Reserve Base, the formerJames Connally Air Force Base, and the formerHarlingen Air Force Base had been training undergraduate navigators for all USAF aircraft with a navigator, weapon systems officer, and/or electronic warfare officer, ranging from bomber, cargo and air refueling aircraft such as theB-52 Stratofortress,C-130 Hercules andKC-135 Stratotanker, to fighter and reconnaissance aircraft that included theF-4C, F-4D, F-4E and RF-4C Phantom II, theF-111, and theRC-135 RIVET JOINT aircraft, as well as those recruited with previous experience in other aircraft to theSR-71.
Inside each T-43A training compartment were two minimum proficiency, two maximum proficiency and 12 student navigator stations. Two stations form a console, and instructors could move their seats to the consoles and sit beside students for individual instruction. The large cabin allows easy access to seating and storage, and reduced the distance between student stations and instructor positions.
The aircraft were initially assigned to the323rd Flying Training Wing (323 FTW) of theAir Training Command (ATC) atMather AFB, California, plus two additional aircraft assigned to the140th Wing (140 WG) of theColorado Air National Guard atPeterson AFB, Colorado, to support introductory air navigation training for cadets at theUnited States Air Force Academy. When the 323 FTW was inactivated and Mather AFB closed byBase Realignment and Closure (BRAC) action in 1993, most of the T-43s were transferred to the12th Flying Training Wing (12 FTW) of theAir Education and Training Command (AETC) atRandolph AFB, Texas, with the 12 FTW assuming the specialized undergraduate navigator training (SUNT) role while the U.S. Navy's Training Air Wing SIX (TRAWING SIX), a Naval Air Training Command organization atNAS Pensacola, Florida, assumed a role for training those USAF student navigators slated for eventual assignment to theF-111,EF-111,F-15E Strike Eagle andB-1B Lancer.
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The T-43 was last[7] based at Randolph Air Force Base, Texas and operated originally by the 558th Flying Training Squadron (558 FTS) and from 1996 to 2010 by the562d Flying Training Squadron and by the563d Flying Training Squadron from 1999 to 2010. The two additional aircraft used for introductory air navigation training of USAF Academy cadets were operated by the200th Airlift Squadron (200 AS),140th Wing (140 WG),Colorado Air National Guard at then-Buckley Air Force Base and then-Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado until 1997. The 200 AS was inactivated in 2018.[8]
In addition, as navigator training requirements were reduced when several USAF mission design series aircraft eliminated the navigator position, several T-43A aircraft had their navigator training systems removed and were modified to a transport aircraft configuration designated as CT-43A, such as one previously operated by the then-6th Air Mobility Wing (6 AMW) atMacDill AFB, Florida, in support ofUnited States Southern Command (USSOUTHCOM) for transport of the USSOUTHCOM commander in Central and South America. The 6 AMW's CT-43A aircraft was replaced by aGulfstream C-37A aircraft in early 2001.
Throughout its service in the ATC and the successor AETC, no T-43 was ever lost in a mishap. Among the T-43s removed from navigator training and converted to CT-43A executive transports, one aircraft assigned to the86th Airlift Wing (86 AW) atRamstein Air Base, Germany, to supportUnited States European Command (USEUCOM)crashed in Croatia in 1996 while carrying U.S.Secretary of Commerce,Ron Brown, and 34 other passengers. There were no survivors and subsequent investigation determined that this was a controlled flight into terrain (CFIT) mishap as a result of pilot error.
On 17 September 2010, the last T-43A navigational training flight was flown at Randolph Air Force Base, and the aircraft was subsequently retired from the active Air Force service after 37 years of service. With the redesignation of USAF navigators ascombat systems officers, the 12 FTW discontinued SUNT at Randolph AFB, the training of F-15E and B-1B navigators by the U.S. Navy at TRAWING SIX atNAS Pensacola was terminated, and a new Undergraduate Combat Systems Officer Training (UCSOT) flight training program was established with the479th Flying Training Group (479 FTG), a geographically separated unit (GSU) of the 12 FTW based at NAS Pensacola, utilizing a combination of USAFT-6 Texan II andT-1 Jayhawk aircraft.
As of 2022, a single heavily modified NT-43A remains flying as a testbed aircraft in theAir Force Materiel Command (AFMC).[9]
Data from Encyclopedia of World Military Aircraft[14]
General characteristics
Performance
Related development
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era
Related lists
