I know that the Navy and Marines are both using the T-45 for flight training. But do they use the T-2 at all anymore or are they gone as well. When I went down to see some family in Pennsecola and I saw alot of T-2s there so I was just curious as to how they are being used right now.
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T-2s
- Thread starter Tombstone
- Start date
Flew the LAST T-2 sortie in Meridian a few years ago! They are definately GONE... Too bad it was a heck of a ride and tough as a VW Bug!!
Not spinning a jet is a loss to Naval Aviation!
Not spinning a jet is a loss to Naval Aviation!
....Not spinning a jet is a loss to Naval Aviation!
Agree ... except I hate to spin jets --- it's kinda like practicing bleeding ... but the T2 with that big, straight wing was "O.K." -- assuming you wanted to spin ... and the Buckeye WAS GREAT in the gun pattern @ VT-4 Mainside ... an outstanding introduction into John Wayne flying while still a Navy STUD.
Wish I could find some pix of the gun patterns --- tractor towing the banner and a flight of four max performing the T-2 (or later the TA-4 and TF-9) .... I saw a painting (online) a few years ago ... but today, can't find it .... buttkiss. Anyone ??? Anyone ???
BELOW: A VERY nervous yours truly
... suckin' it up, first jet solo, VT-7 Meridian, taken by the chase plane backseat guy. 
Single Engine T-2?
This is probably a dumb question but are there both NFO and Pilot instructors. I mean do the NFO's sit in the back seat while a pilot instructor flies the airplane or do the NFO's actually get stick time in the front seat, and if there are normal pilot instructors in the T-2 how do you get to do that job, being a flight instructor in a T-2.
There are all kinds of threads you can read up on this kind of thing, but in short, the instructors in T-2 flight phase are obviously all pilots. NFO instructors do the T-39 flight phase along with contract pilots. TRACOM instructor billets are available during shore tours.
Brett
The majority if not all of the pilots flying T-2C's with VT-86 are tactical aviators. My boss, a former Tomcat pilot and Strike O for the Kitty Hawk, flies with them. Used to be, once in a while, might be an E-2C type but I don't believe that to be the norm.
I flew the T-2C with VT-4 back in 95/96 when they were the sole squadron tasked with training E2/C2 pipeline students. Probably one of the best times I had in the Navy. The T-2C was such an easy plane to fly and we had about 12 IP's (including CO/XO) and around 15 studs at any one time.
MasterBates
Well-Known Member
So back in the day, we had our own squadron rather than be the bastard children at a K-Rock?
Exactly. Half of the IP's were tactical types while the other half were E-2 pilots. I don't recall any COD guys but I'm sure they made their way through at times. From my understanding, it was a very much sought after billet. Believe me, if it still existed when my first shore tour came about, I would have done a lot more kicking and screaming after Meridian was pulled from me at the last moment. I remember our old XO was a former A-6 driver and used to snort tequila through his nose
Exactly. Half of the IP's were tactical types while the other half were E-2 pilots. I don't recall any COD guys but I'm sure they made their way through at times. From my understanding, it was a very much sought after billet. Believe me, if it still existed when my first shore tour came about, I would have done a lot more kicking and screaming after Meridian was pulled from me at the last moment. I remember our old XO was a former A-6 driver and used to snort tequila through his nose
I had the good fortune of going through VT-4 as a retread in the early '80's when it was T-2's and A-4's. That made it a maintenance nightmare compared to dedicated T-2 or A-4 squadrons in Texas and Mississippi, which meant we didn't have great aircraft availability, but it was still a great billet to get as a stud or instructor. The IP's in Texas and Meridian got a lot more flight time, but then again they had to live in Meridian, Beeville or Kingsville. We had quite a few IP's qual'ed in both aircraft. Since almost 75% of the studs were fleet experienced NFO's out of strike aircraft, it was like having a fleet ready room ashore.
VT-4 flew T-2C's, while VT-10 had T-2B's. When I flew midshipmen in jet orientation flights in the summer of '84, we did it via VT-10, so it was a little bit of a transition to the T-2B, mostly because of the power difference (a little less responsive on the ball). But since we had no other assigned duties, no duty officer requirements, a three day work week, our own dedicated jets, dedicated airspace, dedicated fuel truck, priority on takeoff to everyone but the Blue Angels, and flew four hops before 1300 (in time to get some water skiing or beach time in every day) Monday through Wednesday, we really didn't care about the power difference. The five of us knew a good deal when we had it, so we never bitched a bit.
They had only one E-2C guy when I went through, I think his name was Shugg or Sugg. I believe he was a detailee from the wing though. Believe or not, Born to Fly boy got orders there but the CO got them pulled. Other than that, it was all TACAIR guys, made sense since almost all of the flights were low-levels or ACM work.