An autographed T-1A launches from Vance – ending a training legacy Published Aug. 26, 2026 71 Flying Training Wing Public Affairs VANCE AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. -- Destined for the bone yard at Davis Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona, the last of the T-1A Jayhawk training aircraft left Vance Air Force Base bearing the signatures of those who worked with the aircraft throughout its time producing world-class pilots. The aircraft had spent its final hours at Vance as a backdrop for the Sunset Flyaway ceremony held Aug. 21, in Hangar 199, home of T-1A maintenance at Vance. In addition to ending the T-1A chapter in Air Force pilot training, the ceremony marked the inactivation of the unit that flew it -- the 3rd Flying Training Squadron. The ceremony took on a somber air as the colors of the 3rd FTS were rolled and cased, inactivating the unit that produced Air Force mobility, refueling and special operations pilots. “Today is a historic day as we reflect on more than three decades of unparalleled service and officially celebrate the legacy of an airframe that quite literally built the current mobility Air Force,” said Maj. Gen. Travolis Simmons, commander of 19th Air Force. “I want to focus on the real reason that we’re here, the casing of the colors of the 3rd Flying Training Squadron as well as the final departure of the T-1A Jayhawk from Vance Air Force Base.” For decades, the Air Force pilot training model relied primarily on the T-37 Tweet and the T-38 Talon. In the early 1990s, the service began tailoring the final phase of specialized undergraduate pilot training to match the specific airframes graduates would fly in the operational fleet. Under this dual-track system, student pilots destined for fighters or bombers advanced to the T-38, while those slated for airlifters, tankers, or special operations transitioned to the newly introduced T-1A Jayhawk—a military derivative of the Beechcraft 400A business jet. Vance received its first T-1 in 1995. The airframe served as the Air Force's first dedicated trainer designed to introduce new pilots to advanced aircrew operations, multi-engine systems, and crew resource management. Over its service life in Air Education and Training Command, the T-1 fleet accumulated more than 2.5 million flying hours—averaging roughly 90,000 hours a year. At Vance alone, the Jayhawk logged more than 650,000 flying hours across 250,000 sorties. “That was 250,000 times an instructor and a student climbed into the airplane, strapped in, started two engines and executed the mission of making the student better,” said Simmons. “The T-1 forged more than 25,000 Air Force aviators, many of whom are at this very moment executing our nation's most complex and dangerous missions worldwide.” The official farewell ceremony ended when the autographed T-1A departed the airfield for the desert. But the celebration began the next evening at the Stride Bank Center in Enid, Vance’s community partner. Leadership from the base and Enid attended a dinner that focused on the long partnership of pilot training and the T-1A. The guest list included Enid’s mayor, David Mason; the 71st Flying Training Wing commander, Col. Joshua Lundeby; the last T-1 commander; Lt. Col. Alex Precella, and the 3rd FTS honorary commander, Tim Szewczak. The evening’s guest speaker, Brig. Gen. Corey Simmons, Director of Operations at the United States Transportation Command and a former wing commander at Vance, opened his remarks by saying, “We're gathered to say goodbye to an aircraft—but that's not quite right. We're gathered to say thank you to a machine that changed aviation training forever.” Simmons began his flying career in the T-1A at Columbus Air Force Base, Mississippi, in 2000. He remained at Columbus as a first assignment instructor pilot. “I had the distinct honor of sitting in the right seat while multiple 23-year-old second lieutenants did everything in their considerable power to kill me,” he said with a laugh. To Simmons, the T-1A was a special aircraft. “It's not the fastest. It's not the fanciest. But for nearly 30 years the T-1A Jayhawk has been the aircraft that trained every single mobility pilot the United States Air Force put in the sky. “Every C-17 driver. Every tanker pilot. Every heavy airlift pilot. They all sat in this cockpit first. They all learned what it means to fly something that matters in this machine,” Simmons said. And for 30 years, she delivered, he said. Thousands of sorties. Thousands of students. Thousands of moments where instructors and students sat in this cockpit and something happened -- a breakthrough, a lesson learned, a student who went from scared to confident. “This machine was dependable. This machine was honest. This machine was the Air Force's graduate school for pilots, and it never apologized for what it asked of you,” he said. But an aircraft is only as good as the people who maintain it, Simmons said. “You showed up every morning and you made sure that when an instructor and a student strapped in, they were getting the best-maintained training platform in the Air Force. “You were the backbone of everything we're honoring tonight. You kept this machine flying. You kept it safe. You gave us confidence that when we climbed into that cockpit, the machine would do its job,” said Simmons. In keeping with the importance of maintenance as the life blood of the T-1A program at Vance, the T-1A maintenance branch chief, Carl Simmons, was introduced to the evening’s gathering. He has worked on the Jayhawk since it arrived at Vance in December 1994, said Maj. Andrew Leach, the evening’s master of ceremonies. “Without Carl and all the maintainers who worked so hard to keep our planes the envy of the fleet, we wouldn’t be here tonight to celebrate the Jayhawk’s exceptional legacy,” said Leach. The evening marked the end of the T-1A at Vance. But it won’t be forgotten. One of the fleet remains on display in the base airpark. A reminder of the three-decade long career of a pilot-training legend. T-1A Jayhawk The T-1A Jayhawk began as the modified Beechcraft 400A business jet. Recognizing the need for a multi-engine training aircraft, the Air Force hardened the windshield and leading edges of the wings to handle bird strikes during low level operations. An additional fuel tank extended the aircraft’s range and endurance. The landing gear and brakes were upgraded to handle the high-cycle stress of endless touch-and-go landing during student training. Powered by two Pratt & Whitney turbofan engines, the T-1A; proved to be a capable, forgiving and stable trainer that helped produce world-class pilots for the Air Force and the nation’s allies since the 1990s. 3rd Flying Training Squadron The 3rd Flying Training Squadron traces its roots to the 3rd Aero Squadron in 1916. It flew the Curtiss JN-3 and the N-8. Pilots from the Aero Squadron participated in coastal defense in the Philippines and flew against enemy aircraft during the war in the Pacific. After a long hiatus, the unit became the 3rd Tactical Fighter Squadron and flew combat missions during the Vietnam War. In 1991 it was designated the 3rd Fighter Training Squadron and trained helicopter pilots in Alaska. The unit’s final name change, 3rd Flying Training Squadron, happened as it moved to Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, to become part of the Air Education & Training Command. After training students to fly the T-6A Texan II at Moody Air Force Base, Georgia, the unit came to Vance to train T-38 Talon pilots before switching to instructing in the T-1A.