Boeing T-43

Infobox Aircraft
name= T-43 Bobcat


caption= A Boeing T-43A of the USAF 562nd Flying Training Squadron
type= Military training and transport aircraft
manufacturer= Boeing
designer=
first flight=
introduced= September 1973
retired=
status= Active service
primary user= United States Air Force
more users=
produced=
number built= 19
unit cost= $5,390,000 [http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ac/t-43.htm "Federation of American Scientists" Military Analysis Network T-43 page] retrieved 2008-01-17.]
developed from = Boeing 737
variants with their own articles =

The Boeing T-43 is a modified Boeing 737-200 used by the U.S. Air Force. Delivered during 1973 and 1974, the primary mission of the T-43 is as a flying classroom for the USAF, although several were converted to CT-43As as transports.

Design and development

The T-43As are used for USAF Undergraduate Navigator/Combat Systems Officer training (with the exception of those USAF Navs/CSOs slated for the F-15E and B-1B) and advanced interservice NAV pipeline training for Student Naval Flight Officers slated for eventual assignment to land-based naval aircraft. Externally, the T-43 differs from the civilian aircraft by having more antennas and fewer windows.

The T-43A has stations onboard for twelve navigator students, six navigator instructors, as well as a pilot and co-pilot. The student training compartment is equipped with advanced avionics gear identical to that of Air Force operational aircraft. This includes mapping radar; VOR (VHF omnirange) and TACAN (tactical air navigation) radio systems; inertial navigation system; radar altimeter; and all required communications equipment. Five periscopic sextant stations spaced along the length of the training compartment are used for celestial navigation training. However, with the advent of GPS, student navigators are no longer taught celestial navigation.

The aircraft has considerably more training capability than the plane it replaced, the T-29C. Inside each T-43A training compartment are two minimum proficiency, two maximum proficiency and 12 student stations. Two stations form a console, and instructors can move their seats to the consoles and sit beside students for individual instruction. The large cabin allows easy access to seating and storage, yet reduces the distance between student stations and instructor positions. The aircraft were initially assigned to the 323rd Flying Training Wing (ATC) at Mather AFB, CA, plus two additional aircraft assigned to the Colorado Air National Guard to support introductory air navigation training for cadets at the United States Air Force Academy. When the 323 FTW was inactivated and Mather AFB closed by BRAC action in the early 1990s, most of the T-43s were transferred to the 12th Flying Training Wing at Randolph AFB, TX, with the 12 FTW assuming the navigator training role.

Operational history

Twelve aircraft of the nineteen originally ordered are still in service for the Air Force in their original role, based at Randolph Air Force Base, Texas and operated originally by the 558th Flying Training Squadron (558 FTS) and since 1996 by the 562nd Flying Training Squadron (562 FTS). Two other aircraft are used for similar purposes by the Colorado Air National Guard at Buckley AFB, Colorado in support of cadet flight training at the United States Air Force Academy.

In addition, several T-43A were later modified to a transport aircraft configuration classified CT-43A, such as one previously operated by the 6th Air Mobility Wing (6 AMW) at MacDill AFB, Florida in support of United States Southern Command (USSOUTHCOM) for transport of the USSOUTHCOM Commander in Central and South America. The 6 AMW's CT-43A aircraft was replaced by a Gulfstream C-37A aircraft in early 2001.

Variants

T-43ACT-43A

Operators

;USA
* United States Air Force

Incident

On 3 April, 1996, an USAF CT-43A carrying United States Secretary of Commerce Ron Brown and 34 other people crashed in Croatia.

pecifications (T-43A)

aircraft specifications
plane or copter?=plane
jet or prop?=jet
ref=
crew=2
capacity=23
payload main=
payload alt=
length main= 100 ft
length alt=30.3 m
span main=93 ft
span alt=28.2 m
height main=37 ft
height alt=11.2 m
area main= 980 ft²
area alt= 91.0 m²
airfoil=
empty weight main= 64,090 lb
empty weight alt= 29,071 kg
loaded weight main= 115,000 lb
loaded weight alt= 53,300 kg
useful load main=
useful load alt=
max takeoff weight main=
max takeoff weight alt=
more general=
engine (jet)=Pratt & Whitney JT8D-9A
type of jet=turbofan
number of jets=2
thrust main= 14,500 lbf
thrust alt= 64 kN
thrust original=
afterburning thrust main=
afterburning thrust alt=
engine (prop)=
type of prop=
number of props=
power main=
power alt=
power original=
max speed main= 562 mph
max speed alt= 904 km/h
cruise speed main=
cruise speed alt=
stall speed main=
stall speed alt=
never exceed speed main=
never exceed speed alt=
range main= 3,000 miles
range alt= 4,830 km
ceiling main= 37,000 ft
ceiling alt= 11,200 m
climb rate main=
climb rate alt=
loading main=
loading alt=
thrust/weight=
power/mass main=
power/mass alt=
more performance=

armament=
avionics=

ee also

aircontent
related=
* Boeing 737
* Boeing 737 AEW&C
* C-40 Clipper
* P-8 Poseidon

similar aircraft=
* McDonnell Douglas C-9

lists=
* List of active United States military aircraft
* List of military aircraft of the United States