TRAINING AIRCRAFT INFORMATION

General Characteristics

Primary Function: Entry level trainer in the joint primary flight training
Contractor: Raytheon Aircraft Co.
Propulsion: Pratt and Whitney Canada PT6A-68 turbo-prop engine
Wingspan: 33.5 feet (10.19 meters)
Length: 33.4 feet (10.16 meters)
Height: 10.7 feet (3.23 meters)
Speed: 320 miles an hour
Ceiling: 31,000 feet (9448.8 meters)
Range: 900 nautical miles
Armament: None
Crew: Two
Date deployed: May 2000

Description: The T-6A Texan II is a single-engine, two-seat primary training aircraft designed to train Joint Primary Pilot Training students in basic flying skills common to all military pilots. It eventually will replace the Navy T-34C and Air Force T-37B as the primary training aircraft.

Mission: Train entry-level student aviators in the fundamentals of flying for U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force.

Features: Produced by Raytheon Aircraft, the T6A Texan II is a military trainer version of Raytheon's Beech/Pilatus PC-9 Mk II.

Stepped-tandem seating in the single cockpit places one crewmember in front of the other, with the student and instructor positions being interchangeable. A pilot may also fly the aircraft alone from the front seat. Pilots enter the T-6A cockpit through a side-opening, one-piece canopy that has demonstrated resistance to birdstrikes. The T-6A has a Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-68 turbo-prop engine that delivers 1,100 horsepower. Because of its excellent thrust-to-weight ratio, the aircraft can perform an initial climb of 3,100 feet per minute and can reach 18,000 feet in less than six minutes.

The aircraft is fully aerobatic and features a pressurized cockpit with an anti-G system, ejection seat and an advanced avionics package.

General Characteristics

Primary Function: Entry level trainer in the joint primary flight training
Contractor: Raytheon Aircraft Co.
Propulsion: Pratt and Whitney Canada PT6A-68 turbo-prop engine
Wingspan: 33 ft 5 in (10.2 m)
Length: 33 ft 4 in (10.2 m)
Height: 10 ft 8 in (3.3 m)
Speed: 320 miles an hour
Ceiling: 31,000 feet (9448.8 meters)
Range: 900 nautical miles
Armament: None
Crew: 2, tandem seating

Description: The T-6B Texan II is a single-engine, two-seat primary training aircraft designed to train Joint Primary Pilot Training students in basic flying skills common to all military pilots.

Mission: Train entry-level student aviators in the fundamentals of flying for U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force.

General Characteristics

Primary Function: Passenger and cargo airlift
Contractor: Raytheon Aircraft Company
Unit Cost: $2 million
Propulsion: Two Pratt & Whitney PT-6A-42 turboprop engines; 850 shaft horsepower each
Length: 43 feet 10 (13.3 meters)
Height : 15 feet (4.57 meters)
Weight: Max. gross, take-off: 15,000 lbs (6,750 kg)
Cruising Speed: Max: 294 knots (334 miles, 544 km. per hour)
Ceiling: 35,000 feet (10,668 meters)
Range: 1,974 nautical miles (3,658 km)
Crew: Two
Armament: None
Date deployed: 1994

Description: Twin-engine logistics aircraft carrying passengers and cargo between military installations.

Features: The C-12F Huron provides logistics support between Navy air stations. Powered by two PT-6A-42 turboprop engines, the C-12F can deliver a total payload of up to 4,215 pounds. The cabin can readily accommodate cargo, passengers or both. It is also equipped to accept litter patients in medical evacuation missions.

General Characteristics

Length: 35'6"
Height: 14'3"
Wingspan: 50'3"
Empty Weight: 6,321 lbs
Max Take Off Weight: 9,650 lbs
Max Level Speed: 287 mph
Max Range: 1625 s.miles
Max Rate of Climb: 1870 ft/min
Service Ceiling: 27,620 ft

Description: The T-44A "Pegasus" aircraft is a twin-engine, pressurized, fixed-wing monoplane manufactured by Beech Aircraft Corporation, Wichita, Kansas. The aircraft is used for advanced turboprop aircraft training and for intermediate E2/C2 (carrier based turboprop radar aircraft) training at the Naval Air Station, Corpus Christi, Texas.The T-44 is equipped with deicing and anti-icing systems augmented by instrumentation and navigation equipment which allows flight under instrument and icing conditions.The interior includes a seating arrangement for an instructor pilot (right seat), a student pilot (left seat), and a second student. Two additional passenger seats are included. A distinguishing feature of the aircraft is the avionics fault insertion capabilities afforded the instructor pilot from the right-seat armrest and the second student/observer audio control panel that allows the second student to monitor all radio communications. The T-44A is powered by two 550 shaft horsepower PT6A-34B turboprop engines manufactured by Pratt & Whitney of Canada.

General Characteristics

Primary Function: Training platform for Navy/Marine Corps pilots.
Contractor: Boeing Company
Unit Cost: $17.2 million
Propulsion: Rolls Royce F405-RR-401 turbofan engine with 5,527 pounds thrust
Wingspan: 30 feet 10 inches (9.39 meters)
Length: 39 feet 4 inches (11.98 meters)
Height: 13 feet 6 inches (4.11 meters)
Weight: Take-off maximum gross, 13,500 lbs (6,075 kg); empty 9,394 lbs (4,261 kg)
Speed: 645 miles per hour (1038 km per hour)
Ceiling: 42,500 feet
Range: 700 nautical miles (805 statute miles, 1288 km)
Armament: None.
Crew: Two (instructor pilot, student pilot)
Date Deployed:First flight, April 1988; Operational, 1991

Description: The T-45A Goshawk is a tandem-seat, carrier capable, jet trainer.

Mission: Train Navy and Marine Corps pilots.

Features: The T-45A aircraft, the Navy version of the British Aerospace Hawk aircraft, is used for intermediate and advanced portions of the Navy/Marine Corps pilot training program for jet carrier aviation and tactical strike missions. The T-45A has replaced the T-2 Buckeye trainer and the TA-4 trainer with an integrated training system that includes the T-45A Goshawk aircraft, operations and instrument fighter simulators, academics, and training integration system. There are two versions of T-45 aircraft currently in operational use at this time, the T-45A and T-45C derivatives. The T-45A, which became operational in 1991, contains an analog design cockpit while the new T-45C (began delivery in December 1997) is built around a new digital "glass cockpit" design.

General Characteristics

Contractor: Bell Helicopter Textron
Propulsion: One Allison 250-C20BJ turbofan engine
Lengths: Fuselage - 31 feet (9.44 meters); Rotors turning - 39 feet (11.9 meters)
Height: 10 feet (3.04 meters)
Weight: 1595 pounds (725kg) empty, 3200 pounds (1455 kg) maximum take off
Main Rotor Diameter: 35 feet 4 inches (10.78 meters)
Range: 368 nautical miles (420 statute miles, 676 km)
Ceiling: 18,900 feet (5,761 meters)
Speed: 138 miles (222 km) per hour maximum; 117 miles (188 km) per hour cruising
Crew: One pilot, four students
Armament: None
Date deployed: First flight: 1961; Operational: 1968

Description: The TH-57 is a derivative of the commercial Bell Jet Ranger 206. Although primarily used for training, these aircraft are also used for photo, chase and utility missions.

Background: The JetRanger was initially designed to compete in a U.S. Army light observation helicopter competition. Bell lost that competition but the 206 was commercially successful. The TH-57 Sea Ranger provides advanced (IFR) training to several hundred aviation students a year at Naval Air Station Whiting Field in Milton, Florida.

General Characteristics (Super Hornet, E and F models)

Primary Function: Multi-role attack and fighter aircraft
Contractor: McDonnell Douglas
Unit Cost: $ 57 million
Propulsion: Two F414-GE-400 turbofan engines
Thrust: 22,000 pounds (9,977 kg) static thrust per engine
Length: 60.3 feet (18.5 meters)
Height: 16 feet (4.87 meters)
Maximum Take Off Gross Weight: 66,000 pounds (29,932 kg)
Wingspan: 44.9 feet (13.68 meters)
Range:Combat: 1,275 nautical miles (2,346 kilometers), clean plus two AIM-9s;Ferry: 1,660 nautical miles (3,054 kilometers), two AIM-9s, three 480 gallon tanks retained
Ceiling: 50,000+ feet
Speed: Mach 1.8+
Crew: A, C and E models - One. B, D and F models - Two.
Armament: One M61A1/A2 Vulcan 20mm cannon;
External payload: AIM 9 Sidewinder, AIM-9X (projected), AIM 7 Sparrow, AIM-120 AMRAAM, Harpoon, Harm, SLAM, SLAM-ER (projected), Maverick missiles; Joint Stand-Off Weapon (JSOW); Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM); Data Link Pod; Paveway Laser Guided Bomb; various general purpose bombs, mines and rockets. See the F/A-18 weapons load-out page.
Date Deployed: First flight in November 1995. Initial Operational Capability (IOC) in September 2001 with VFA-115, NAS Lemoore, Calif. First cruise for VFA-115 is onboard the USS Abraham Lincoln.

General Characteristics (C and D models)

Primary Function: Multi-role attack and fighter aircraft
Contractor: Prime: McDonnell Douglas; Major Subcontractor: Northrop
Unit Cost: $29 million
Propulsion: Two F404-GE-402 enhanced performance turbofan engines
Thrust: 17,700 pounds static thrust per engine
Length: 56 feet (16.8 meters)
Height: 15 feet 4 inches (4.6 meters)
Maximum Take Off Gross Weight: 51,900 pounds (23,537 kg)
Wingspan: 40 feet 5 inches (13.5 meters)
Range: Combat: 1,089 nautical miles (1252.4 miles/2,003 km), clean plus two AIM-9s; Ferry: 1,546 nautical miles (1777.9 miles/2,844 km), two AIM-9s plus three 330 gallon tanks
Ceiling: 50,000+ feet
Speed: Mach 1.7+
Crew: A, C and E models - One. B, D and F models - Two.
Armament: One M61A1/A2 Vulcan 20mm cannon;
External payload: AIM 9 Sidewinder, AIM 7 Sparrow, AIM-120 AMRAAM, Harpoon, Harm, SLAM, SLAM-ER, Maverick missiles; Joint Stand-Off Weapon (JSOW); Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM); various general purpose bombs, mines and rockets. See the F/A-18 weapons load-out page.
Date Deployed: First flight - November 1978. Operational - October 1983 (A/B models); September 1987 (C/D models).

General Characteristics

Primary Function: Global airlift
Contractor: Lockheed Aeronautical Systems Company, Marietta, Ga.
Power Plant: Four Allison T56-A-15 turboprops, each 4,300 horsepower
Thrust: Horsepower each engine: AC-130A, 3,750 hp; AC-130H, 4,910 hp
Length: 97 feet 9 inches (29.3 meters)
Height: 38 feet 3 inches (11.4 meters)
Wingspan: 132 feet 7 inches (39.7 meters)
Speed: 374 mph (Mach 0.57, 604.4 kmh) at 20,000 feet
Ceiling: 33,000 feet with 100,000 pounds (45,000 kg) payload
Maximum Takeoff Weight: 155,000 pounds (69,750 kg)
Range: 2,350 miles (2,050 nautical miles, 3,770 km) with maximum payload; 2,500 miles (2,174 nautical miles, 4,000 km) with 25,000 pounds (11,250 kg) cargo; 5,200 miles (4,522 nautical miles, 8,320 km) with no cargo
Unit Cost: Average $44.1 million
Crew: Five: two pilots, navigator, flight engineer, loadmaster
Capacity: Up to 92 troops or 64 paratroops or 74 litter patients or five standard freight pallets

Service: Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, Coast Guard

Description: The C-130 Hercules, a four-engine turboprop aircraft, is the workhorse of the military services. Capable of landing and taking off from short, rough dirt runways, it is a people and cargo hauler and is used in a wide variety of other roles, such as gunships, weather watchers, tankers, firefighters and aerial ambulances. There are more than 40 versions of the Hercules, and it is widely used by more than 50 nations.

Background: Deliveries of the C-130A to the U.S. military began in December 1956 and the first B models came on board in April 1959. The newest is the H model.