Tweet Retirement

[Dewey...BoneDriver]

Final Tweets to the Boneyard.

Last ones flew out today, the official 'final' flights were on Friday...

[Red Fox]

I was a T-37 Spin Demo and FCF pilot several years ago. The only time I "allowed" the jet to be over-G'd was during a flight in which I was upgrading another pilot to FCF. Part of the FCF profile was to roll inverted at 240-250 KIAS and push to between 0 to -1 G and hold it to check oil and fuel pressures and to catch any FOD that might float out from under the seat, panel, etc. Its not a comfortable feeling and common errors were to not push enough to hold the neg G's. To compensate for this, the pilot I was upgrading, rolled inverted and slammed the stick forward (much like the spin recovery). So, we over-G'd the jet with negative G's. Maintenance had not seen that before. Much beer was bought for them and I got to explain to my CC why I let it happen. Also, I enjoyed giving spin demo rides (better to give than receive). I think the wrong rudder recovery was my favorite. The slow spin prevent took some finesse to get the spin to achieve max rotation, but was fun also.

To anyone flying the T-6: Does the Texan remain in the spin once the spin is developed or will it fly out by itself? Also, does AETC still emphasize the spin recovery and prevent as much as it did with the Tweet?

I also remember that trying to teach fingertip formation in a high area (above about 14,000 ft) was useless. The plane was a real pig. How does the T-6 perform?

Red

[Right Seat Driver]

I was a T-37 Spin Demo and FCF pilot several years ago. The only time I "allowed" the jet to be over-G'd was during a flight in which I was upgrading another pilot to FCF. Part of the FCF profile was to roll inverted at 240-250 KIAS and push to between 0 to -1 G and hold it to check oil and fuel pressures and to catch any FOD that might float out from under the seat, panel, etc. Its not a comfortable feeling and common errors were to not push enough to hold the neg G's. To compensate for this, the pilot I was upgrading, rolled inverted and slammed the stick forward (much like the spin recovery). So, we over-G'd the jet with negative G's. Maintenance had not seen that before. Much beer was bought for them and I got to explain to my CC why I let it happen. Also, I enjoyed giving spin demo rides (better to give than receive). I think the wrong rudder recovery was my favorite. The slow spin prevent took some finesse to get the spin to achieve max rotation, but was fun also.

To anyone flying the T-6: Does the Texan remain in the spin once the spin is developed or will it fly out by itself? Also, does AETC still emphasize the spin recovery and prevent as much as it did with the Tweet?

I also remember that trying to teach fingertip formation in a high area (above about 14,000 ft) was useless. The plane was a real pig. How does the T-6 perform?

Red

Nice story. The T-6 would self-recover. We still learned spin recovery but the boldface called for you to go to idle and neutralize the stick, but it has been a while. If I remember correctly the Dash-1 said applying the spin recovery may aggravate the spin.

The T-6 was awesome for formation, IMHO. I remember doing a form ride in the high MOAs and having plenty of power left over.

[Flare]

Also, I enjoyed giving spin demo rides (better to give than receive). I think the wrong rudder recovery was my favorite. The slow spin prevent took some finesse to get the spin to achieve max rotation, but was fun also.

My least favorite 2.6 hours of Tweet time were my 2 spin rides. I hated those rides. Until you've been up for a slow spin prevent, you can't imagine just how much it sucks for the guy on the outside of the spin. Ugh...

[HerkDerka]

To anyone flying the T-6: Does the Texan remain in the spin once the spin is developed or will it fly out by itself?

The Texan is designed to fly itself out of the spin. Hands-free spins are a normal maneuver on our AHC profiles. I had one bent airplane that needed a little help to get out, but for the most part the plane flies itself out of the spin pretty quickly.

Also, does AETC still emphasize the spin recovery and prevent as much as it did with the Tweet?

No. We normally apply OCF procedures and go idle/neutral. This is because the T-6 dash one defines steady state spins as still being an OCF condition. We do have a spin recovery procedure that includes adding opposite rudder to get you out of a steady state spin a little faster.

I also remember that trying to teach fingertip formation in a high area (above about 14,000 ft) was useless. The plane was a real pig. How does the T-6 perform?

The engine has a better response time than the Tweet, but like all props, T-6s suck in the high MOA.

HD

[ExBoneOSO]

Nice story. The T-6 would self-recover. We still learned spin recovery but the boldface called for you to go to idle and neutralize the stick, but it has been a while. If I remember correctly the Dash-1 said applying the spin recovery may aggravate the spin.

Gotta love YouTube...

[osulax05]

"2" on the T-6 sucking for formation in the high MOA. The T-6 would neither accelerate or stop when you wanted it to. You had to lead turn a power change by a few potatoes to have a chance.

[HiFlyer]

Heck, the T-38 will do the same thing high. There just aren't enough spare air molecules to burn gas or create drag. I can remember my studs getting nervous on an overtake and chop the power to the 80% mark for a few seconds. Its a lesson they learned quickly...it took five minutes just to get the formation back together.

Of course "high" in that case was about FL300...

Edited August 4, 2009 by HiFlyer

[HercDude]

So,...

which 3- or 4-star will get the last flight in the last Tweet? Has this food fight been settled yet??

And the winner is . . . . . General Don "Don't call me Hassle" Hoffman

Farewell Tweet: The Air Force formally retired the T-37 Tweet trainer aircraft from service during a ceremony on July 31 at Sheppard AFB, Tex. It had served for more than 50 years in undergraduate pilot training roles, providing initial jet training for more than 78,000 Air Force and allied pilots. "Combat skill and success doesn't happen overnight and it certainly doesn't start without disciplined training," said Col. Kevin Schneider, commander of Sheppard's 80th Flying Training Wing, the last unit to operate the T-37. He added, "The T-37 Tweet has been that starting point for pilots for more than 50 years." Gen. Donald Hoffman, commander of Air Force Materiel Command, who once was a T-37 instructor pilot, called the T-37 a "wonderful aircraft," during his speech at the ceremony. Hoffman was one of the pilots who flew four of Sheppard's remaining Tweets to the Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group at Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz., after the ceremony for placement in storage. Sheppard's three other remaining T-37s were taken to the Utah Test and Training Range at Hill AFB, Utah, for their final resting place. The T-6A Texan II trainer aircraft replaces the Tweet.

I'm sure he put in a lot of leg work to make the Tweet retirement such a success . . .