Flight Training

Lt. Cmdr. Chris Pamfil, an instructor pilot, and 2nd Lt. Alex Hebert, a student naval aviator, walk across the flight line at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi in preparation for a training flight after receiving an aircraft from aircraft issue. Student naval aviators spend an average of six months in primary flight training in the T-6B Texan II aircraft.

The T-6B replaced the T-34C Turbo Mentor as the primary training aircraft in April 2015. Its digital avionics provides fighter-type maneuverability with a modern glass cockpit including a head-up display, up-front control panel, multi-function displays, hands-on throttle and stick, and a global positioning system with wide-area augmentation system and required navigation performance. The T-6B cockpit and avionics suite is designed to better facilitate the transition to increasingly sophisticated follow-on training and fleet aircraft, as well as keep pace with emerging air traffic control regulations.

(U.S. Marine Corps photo by 1st Lt. Pawel Puczko)