Vance Air Force Base in Oklahoma will hold T-1A Jayhawk sunset events Aug. 21-22 as the Air Force retires the twin-engine trainer. The 3rd Flying Training Squadron organized the two-day program for former pilots, maintainers and other personnel connected to the aircraft. The Air Force introduced the T-1A 34 years ago to prepare pilots for airlift and tanker assignments.
Training Heavy-Aircraft Crews
The T-1A is a military version of the Beech 400A business jet. Its cockpit seats an instructor and two students, and two Pratt & Whitney JT15D-5B turbofan engines power the aircraft. The Air Force received its first T-1A in 1992, followed by the beginning of student training in 1993. Vance received its first Jayhawk in 1995.
“This aircraft was the classroom where we turned students into future aircraft commanders,” Lt. Col. Eddie Altizer, commander of the 48th Flying Training Squadron at Columbus Air Force Base, said in Air Education and Training Command.
The aircraft allowed students to practice instrument procedures, crew resource management and multi-engine operations before advancing to training in their assigned aircraft.
Simulator-Based Follow-On Training
The Air Force now sends many mobility-bound pilots from T-6A Texan II training to the Air Mobility Fundamentals-Simulator course, or AMF-S. The curriculum covers crew coordination, automation, flight management systems and one-engine-inoperative procedures. It also introduces students to formation flying, low-level operations, aerial refueling procedures and airdrop missions.
Vance graduated its first full AMF-S class in May 2023. The course uses mixed-reality training devices based on the T-1A cockpit and places two students together to practice flight crew duties. Graduates then continue to formal training for their assigned aircraft. Vance reported that its T-1 crews flew eight sorties during the week ending July 31, shortly before the planned sunset events.
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