71st FTW welcomes new trainer airframe

Published Nov. 28, 2006
By Frank McIntyre
Public Affairs

Vance Air Force Base, Okla. -- The Texan has landed.
At an arrival ceremony March 18, Col. Bryan Benson, 71st Flying Training Wing commander, formally welcomed the T-6A Texan II to the Vance Air Force Base fleet.
The T-6A becomes the first new airframe assigned here since the T-1 was added to the inventory in December 1994. The Texan will eventually replace the T-37 that has been training innumerable pilots in the Oklahoma skies since 1961.
The T-6 Texan II is a single-engine, two-seat primary trainer and it is the most advanced primary trainer ever flown by the United States Air Force.
"The state-of-the-art, glass cockpit and superb avionics will dramatically upgrade the quality of primary flight training and will better prepare our students for the advanced phases of pilot training in the T-1A Jayhawk and the upgraded T-38C Talon," Colonel Benson said. "The improved fuel efficiency will help us conserve resources; the T-6 can fly twice the range of the T-37 while using half the gas and the T-6 performs better in crosswinds allowing us to fly on days the T-37 would not because of our traditional, windy Oklahoma weather."
The performance capability of the T-6II could be one of the reasons it was accorded what Colonel Benson said was "probably the biggest welcome any "Texan" has ever received in the state of Oklahoma."
That welcome was offered by a crowd that, in addition to many Team Vance members, included members of the state legislature, Enid Mayor Ernie Currier and other local dignitaries.
Preceding Colonel Benson's official welcome, the crowd was treated to a demonstration of the aircraft's capabilities by the Air Education and Training Command's demonstration team from Randolph AFB, Texas. With demonstration pilot Maj. Sean Hook at the controls, the T-6 II performed a variety of maneuvers, including barrel rolls and the Texas Sidewinder, that showed off its jet-like handling characteristics.
Following the demonstration, Colonel Benson said that, although the T-37 Tweet would be missed "it is time for a change and ... we have come together to celebrate this advancement in technology and training. Our transition from T-37 to T-6 has been very smooth but it is certainly not over. In its heyday, Vance AFB had a total of 97 T-37's. It will take us another 18 months to
completely transition to the 91 T-6's we'll eventually have.
"For more than two years, Vance AFB has been actively preparing for the arrival of the T-6 Texan II," the colonel said. "It started with the appointment of a T-6 transition team.
Under the fine leadership of Major Doug Antcliff and Captain Mitch Johnson, this team has diligently worked all the details to make this change a reality for Team Vance."
Second Lt. John Cummings will get a close view of that reality. As a member of Class 06-08, he will be one of the first students being trained with the T-6 II. Until more of the aircraft arrive on station, only part of each class will be trained with the Texan.
"I was really impressed by the demonstration," the Appleton, Wisc. native said. "It really pumped me up and made me even more eager to get started with training. For me, it' a real honor and I'm proud to be here at Vance and have the opportunity to fly a new aircraft."
The transition from the T-37 in the training program is expected to be complete by the end of the year with the last Tweet departing the base in December.