T-6B Texan II Turboprop Trainer

 

Description

The T-6B Texan II is a tandem-seat, turboprop trainer whose primary mission is to train Navy and Marine Corps pilots.

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Features

The T-6B Texan II is an upgraded avionics variant of the T-6A Texan II and one component of the Joint Primary Aircraft Training System (JPATS) along with simulators, computer-aided academics, and a Training Integration Management System (TIMS), replacing the T-34C aircraft. The program uses commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) subsystems to the maximum extent possible. The T-6 aircraft-built by Hawker Beechcraft Aircraft Company is a derivative of the Swiss Pilatus PC-9 aircraft with a Pratt & Whitney PT-6A-68 engine, Martin-Baker ejection seats, cockpit pressurization, and an onboard oxygen-generating system. The T-6B upgraded avionics provide an all-glass cockpit using three 5x7 multifunction displays, head-up display, hands-on throttle and stick, dual redundant Integrated Avionics Computers and an open-architecture design to allow for future growth.

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There are currently 245 Navy T-6Bs serving the Chief of Naval Air Training at NAS Whiting Field and NAS Corpus Christi, Texas. Six additional T-6B aircraft are stationed at the U.S. Navy Test Pilot School in NAS Patuxent River, Maryland. 

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The T-6 entered development flight test in July 1998. In August 2009 the Navy pursued an avionics upgrade program to outfit the T-6A with significant avionics upgrades. The Navy awarded a limited production contract in August 2009 for nine T-6 “Avionics Upgrade Package” (AUP) aircraft that were ultimately designated as T-6Bs. The full production contract for the T-6B was awarded October 29, 2009, and in 2010 the T-6B reached IOC at NAS Whiting Field, Florida. 

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General Characteristics

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Primary Function: All-purpose jet trainer

Contractor: Hawker Beechcraft Aircraft Company

Date Deployed: First flight, July 2009; Operational, 2010

Propulsion: One Pratt & Whitney Canada PT-6A-68 turboprop engine; 1,100 horsepower

Length: 33.3 feet (10.12 meters)

Height: 10.8 feet (3.29 meters)

Wingspan: 33.4 feet (10.18 meters)

Weight: Empty, 5,850 pounds (2,653.52 kg.); maximum takeoff weight, 6,900 pounds (3,129.79 kg)

Airspeed: 270 knots at 1,000 feet level flight

Ceiling: 31,000 feet (9,448.8 meters)

Range: Maximum, 900 nautical miles (1,666.8 km)

Crew: Two (instructor pilot, student pilot)

Armament: None