Pictures of C-141B 64-0649 being towed out of AMARC
More ...
Cessna T-37B Tweet 58-1941 from the 33rd Flying Training Squadron, Vance AFB, OK. on the AMARC Arrival ramp shortly after it's arrival. From here it will go through
the various Process-In procedures to prepare it for it's long term storage at the facility.
The Cessna T-37B Tweet has performed the role of primary jet trainer for the United States Air Force for over four decades.
Over the years most of the Air Force pilots have spent many hours flying the type before progressing to the faster T-38 Talon, larger
T-1A Jayhawk or T-44 turboprop trainers later on in the undergraduate pilot training course.
However, the introduction of the new turboprop engined Raytheon Beech T-6 Texan II has signalled the end of the T-37 era
and examples of the type are now regularly arriving at AMARC as they are replaced by T-6s fresh from the production line.
At first glance the choice of a single, turboprop-engined aircraft to replace the twin, jet-engined T-37 seems a bit strange but it was thought that the T-6
lower maintenance costs, larger fuel load and advanced avionics would provide a far better training platform for the 21st century. The biggest difference
between the T-6 and the T-37 is that the instructor sits next to the student in the T-37 and behind the student in the T-6. To componsate for this
the T-6 students will undergo more simulator time. The T-6 is also being introduced into the US Navy to replace their ageing T-34 Mentor aircraft and this will
provide the obvious benefits of a uniform training fleet across the two services.
The T-37 made its first flight in 1955 and entered into service with the Air Force in 1956. Production of the type continued
until 1975, by which time a total of 1,269 had been produced (444 T-37A, 552 T-37B). A combat version of the T-37 was
also produced, designated the A-37 the first example left the production line in 1967. The A-37 was designed specifically to carry
out the COIN (counter-insurgency) role in the Vietnam war and production eventaully stood at over 600 aircraft.
You may be interested in a planned AMARC Experience web page all about the A-37. This will hopefully be on the web site by the
end of the year.
Many other countries have used the T-37 to train their pilots, including...
Brazil
Burma
Cambodia
Chile
Columbia
Greece
Jordan
Pakistan
Peru
Portugal
South Korea
South Vietnam
Thailand
Turkey
West Germany
Over the more recent years there have been several
plans to replace the T-37 with a more modern design. In 1982 the Fairchild T-46 Eaglet was put forward to take over the primary training role but this was cancelled
by the Air Force in 1986 due to budget constraints. Two of the three T-46 prototypes produced were sent to AMARC for storage, one of these is still displayed on Celebrity
Row.
Due to the popularity of this aircraft type there is a real chance that many of the T-37s arriving at AMARC will find a future
home with a foreign Air Force. Let's hope that
a sizeable number of these T-37s survive their time at AMARC and return to the air.
AMARC Database:
T-37B Specifications:
Engines
Manufacturer - Continental , Model - Two J69-T-25s,
Thrust - 1,025 pounds, each engine
