Mission

The T-37B Tweet is a twin-engine jet used for training joint specialized undergraduate pilot training students in fundamentals of aircraft handling, and instrument, formation and night flying.

Features

The twin engines and flying characteristics of the T-37B give student pilots the feel for handling the larger, faster T-38 Talon or T-1A Jayhawk later in the JSUPT. 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-37B has a hydraulically operated speed brake, 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-37B has improved radio navigational equipment, UHF radio and redesigned instrument panels.

Students from 12 North Atlantic Treaty Organization countries train in T-37B's at Sheppard Air Force Base, Texas.

Background

The T-37A made its first flight in 1955 and went into service with the Air Force in 1956. The T-37B became operational in 1959. All T-37A's were modified to T-37B standards.

A contract was awarded in August 1989 to Sabreliner Corp. for the T-37B Structural Life Extension Program. The contract included the design, testing and production of kits, installed by an U.S. Air Force contract field team, which modified or replaced critical structural components for the entire fleet, extending the capability of the T-37.

More than 1,000 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.

General Characteristics

Primary Function: Primary trainer in joint specialized undergraduate pilot training
Builder: Cessna Aircraft Co.
Power Plant: Two Continental J69-T-25 turbojet engines
Thrust: 1,025 pounds (461.25 kilograms), each engine
Length: 29 feet, 3 inches (8.9 meters)
Height: 9 feet, 2 inches (2.8 meters)
Maximum Takeoff Weight: 6,625 pounds (2,981 kilograms)
Wingspan: 33 feet, 8 inches (10.2 meters)
Speed: 360 mph (Mach 0.4 at sea level)
Ceiling: 35,000 feet (10.6 kilometers)
Range: 460 miles
Armament: None
Unit Cost: $164,854
Crew: Two – student pilot and instructor pilot
Date Deployed: December 1956
Inventory: Active force, 419; ANG, 0; Reserve, 0

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