Before military
pilots fly operational aircraft, they have to learn how to
fly. Because they will be flown by people learning, trainers
have to be built tough to last through the rigors of rough
flying and landings. Here are some of the trainer aircraft at
the museum. These are aircraft that were originally designed
as trainers.
Fairchild PT-19A Cornell of the 301st Elementary Flying Training Detachment at Corsicana Field, Texas. This was a one of three primary trainers in WWII introduced to replace the biplane trainers.
Cessna T-37B Tweet of the 71st Flying Training Wing at Vance AFB, Oklahoma. There were a lot of these at Keesler AFB in Mississippi when I was stationed there. First flown in 1954, the USAF stil uses the Tweet.
North American T-2C Buckeye of CTW-6 at Pensacola NAS. Originally delivered in 1960, Buckeyes flew for many years in US Navy training squadrons. Most have been retired, but a few are still being flown with the Navy Test Pilto School.
North American T-28C Trojan of VT-6 at Whiting Field NAS in Florida. The T-28 Trojan was originally designed for the USAF, who first saw deliveries of the T-28 in 1950. The Navy would begin receiving a different version three years later with a bigger engine and three bladed prop. Some would later be fitted with hard points under the wings to serve as attack aircraft in Vietnam.
Northrop T-38A Talon of the 3560th Pilot Training Wing at Webb AFB, Texas. The Talon first flew in 1959, and they continue to fly with the USAF as trainers, the US Navy as adversary aircraft and with NASA.
North American BT-14A Yale. At first glance, it appears to be a T-6 Texan. A closer look revealed the fixed landing gear. They were originally built for France, but were diverted to Canada after France fell to the Germans.
Grumman TF-9J Cougar of VT-10 at Pensacola NAS. The TF-9J Cougar was built as a trainer from the F9F to provide better training to pilots learning to fly jets into combat. In a strange irony, the TF-9J was the only variant of the cougar to see combat, acting as forward air control aircraft by the US Marine Corps during the war in Vietnam.