On 27 May 1971, the United 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 of Convair T-29 navigation trainers, as part of the Undergraduate Navigator Training System. The Boeing aircraft was selected in preference to a trainer based on the Douglas DC-9.[5] 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 the F-15E andB-1B). In 1976, with the U.S. Navy's retirement of its T-29 aircraft and deactivation of its associated Training Squadron TWENTY-NINE (VT-29) at NAS Corpus Christi, Texas, those Student Naval Flight Officers destined for land-based naval aircraft began training in USAF T-43s at Mather AFB under a program known by USAF as Interservice Undergraduate Navigator Training (IUNT)[6] [7]and by the U.S. Navy as the NAV pipeline for training Student Naval Flight Officers slated for eventual assignment to land-based naval aircraft. Externally, the T-43 differs from the civilian aircraft by having more antennas and fewer windows. The T-43A had 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. This included ground mapping radar; VHF omnidirectional range (VOR) and Tactical air navigation system (TACAN) avionics systems; Long Range Navigation System (LORAN-C); inertial navigation system; radar altimeter; and all required VHF, UHF and HF communications equipment. Five periscopic sextant stations spaced along the length of the training compartment were used for celestial navigation training. However, with the advent of GPS, student navigators were no longer taught
Trustpilot
1 month ago
1 month ago
