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First T-6A Arrives at NAVAIR Patuxent River River for Testing

Navy Newsstand

Story Number: NNS040315-16

Release Date: 3/16/2004 10:00:00 AM

By Renee Hatcher, NAVAIR Public Affairs, PEO(A)

PATUXENT RIVER, Md. (NNS) -- The first T-6A Texan II was officially welcomed at Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) Patuxent River during an aircraft acceptance ceremony March 11.

"The Texan is setting the standard for the next couple of decades on how we go about efficiently producing skilled pilots," said Vice Adm. Wally Massenburg, NAVAIR commander. "This aircraft is a win-win product for industry, and the Navy and its warfighters, and is an example of NAVAIR aligning our priorities with fleet-driven metrics."

During the ceremony, Air Test and Evaluation Squadron (VX) 20, based at NAVAIR Patuxent River, was officially assigned as the responsible test organization. VX-20 has been tasked with supporting the joint service test requirements as assigned by NAVAIR's Naval Undergraduate Flight Training Systems Program Office (PMA-273) and the U.S. Air Force System Program Office. The squadron will be supporting and testing critical safety-of-flight issues, reliability and maintainability modifications, and performance mission for both the Navy and Air Force.

"We welcome the opportunity to be the responsible test organization and look forward to working with (Jet Flight Training System program office) to make the T-6 the most efficient training asset for the fleet," said Cmdr. Shane Gahagan, VX-20 commanding officer.

The Texan is a part of the Joint Primary Aircraft Training System (JPATS) that is augmented with a sophisticated ground based training system. JPATS is a joint program between the Air Force and the Navy, with the Air Force serving as the lead service. The Texan will replace the Navy's T-34C Turbo Mentor and will be used for primary flight training.

One of the greatest advantages of the Texan is that it has a digital cockpit. Before the Texan, student aviators conducted their initial flight training in aircraft equipped with an analog cockpit and then had to make the transition to a digital cockpit in the fleet aircraft. The T-6A allows students to begin their training with the technology they will actually fly in fleet.

The Navy accepted the first Texan into its inventory in November 2002 and plans to buy 328 aircraft. So far, the Navy has procured 49 Texans. Of those, 31 have been delivered to Training Air Wing (TW) 6 at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Fla., for Naval Flight Officer training. The remaining 278 aircraft will be delivered by fiscal year 2013 and used for pilot training at NAS Whiting Field in Florida and NAS Corpus Christi in Texas.

"The T-6 Texan is setting the foundation for the digital revolution in naval aviation training," said Capt. David Wooten, NAVAIR's Naval Undergraduate Flight Training Systems program manager. "The Jet Flight Training Systems program office, with testing support from VX-20, is improving the Navy's training agility to meet fleet requirements."