T-37 Tweet
The Cessna T-37 Tweet is a small, twin-engine jet primarily used by the USAF for training undergraduate pilots, undergraduate navigator and tactical navigator students in fundamentals of aircraft handling, and instrument, formation and night flying. The T-37 Tweet military trainer aircraft first flew in October 1954.
The twin engines and flying characteristics of the T-37 give student pilots the feel for handling the larger, faster T-38 Talon or T-1A Jayhawk later in the undergraduate pilot training course. The instructor and student sit side by side for more effective training. The cockpit has dual controls, ejection seats and a clamshell-type canopy that can be jettisoned. The T-37 has a hydraulically operated speed brakes, tricycle landing gear and a steerable nose wheel. Six rubber-cell, interconnected fuel tanks in each wing feed the main tank in the fuselage.
The T-37 Tweet is still in active service with the U.S military. A total of 1,269 T-37s were built, and 419 remain in the U.S. Air Force inventory. All were repainted in a distinctive dark blue and white to help formation training and to ease maintenance.
Specifications (T-37 Tweet)
Type: Trainer aircraft
Manufacturer: Cessna Aircraft Co.
Crew: Two, student pilot and instructor pilot
Engine: Two Continental J69-T-25 turbojet engines with 1,025 pounds (461.25 kilograms) of thrust
Length: 29 feet, 3 inches (8.9 meters)
Width: 33.79 feet (10.30 m)
Height: 9 feet, 2 inches (2.8 meters)
Empty Weight: 3.869 lbs (1.755 kilograms)
Maximum Takeoff Weight: 6,625 pounds (2,981 kilograms)
Wingspan: 33 feet, 8 inches (10.2 meters)
Speed: 315 mph (Mach 0.4 at sea level)
Ceiling: 35,000 feet (10.6 kilometers)
Range: 460 miles (400 nautical miles)
Armament: T-37B, none; T-37C has provisions for external armament
Filed Under History
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