Aircraft
Pilot Report: Hawker Beechcraft T-6C Military Trainer
Hawker Beechcraft T-6C military trainer.
Hawker Beechcraft T-6C military trainer. (Photo by Matt Thurber)
Hawker Beechcraft T-6C military trainer. (Photo by Matt Thurber)

The last time I flew a military trainer was in 1982; actually, it was two trainers, a Beechcraft T-34 and a North American T-28, both piston-powered relics of previous eras, relegating them to the warbird category, but a whole lot of fun to fly. Recently, Hawker Beechcraft invited me to fly the far more modern T-6C Texan II, turbine-powered with an Esterline CMC glass cockpit and SparrowHawk head-up display (HUD), and that was not only exciting but an amazing contrast between the airplanes that the Navy used to train pilots many years ago and what is used to teach new Navy and Air Force pilots today.


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