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Description
| Notes: Primary jet trainer. Bubble clamshell canopy (2 CREW) . | ||
| Manufacturer: | Cessna | |
| Base model: | T-37 | |
| Designation: | T-37 | |
| Version: | B | |
| Nickname: | Tweet | |
| Designation System: | U.S. Air Force | |
| Designation Period: | 1948-Present | |
| Basic role: | Trainer | |
Specifications
| Length: | 29' 3.5" | 8.9 m | |
| Height: | 8' 10.5" | 2.7 m | |
| Wingspan: | 35' 10.5" | 10.9 m | |
| Wingarea: | 183.9 sq ft | 17.0 sq m | |
| Empty Weight: | 6,211 lb | 2,816 kg | |
| Gross Weight: | 6,579 lb | 2,984 kg | |
| Max Weight: | 14,000 lb | 6,349 kg | |
Propulsion
| No. of Engines: | 2 | ||
| Powerplant: | Continental J69-T-25 | ||
| Thrust (each): | 1,025 lb | 464 kg | |
Performance
| Range: | 650 miles | 1,046 km | |
| Cruise Speed: | 350 mph | 563 km/h | 304 kt |
| Max Speed: | 410 mph | 660 km/h | 356 kt |
| Ceiling: | 35,000 ft | 10,667 m | |
Operators (Past and Present)
| USAF | 12th FTW | Randolph AFB | TX |
| USAF | 14th FTW | Columbus AFB | MS |
| USAF | 47th FTW | Laughlin AFB | TX |
| USAF | 71st FTW | Vance AFB | OK |
| USAF | 80th FTW | Sheppard AFB | TX |
Known serial numbers
Examples of this type may be found at
| Museum | City | State |
| Columbus AFB | Columbus AFB | Mississippi |
| Florida Military Aviation Museum | Clearwater | Florida |
| Hill Aerospace Museum | Hill AFB | Utah |
| Kelly Field Heritage Museum | Kelly AFB | Texas |
| Museum of Aviation | Warner Robins AFB | Georgia |
| Pima Air & Space Museum | Tucson | Arizona |
| Randolph AFB | Randolph AFB | Texas |
| Reese AFB | Reese AFB | Texas |
| Travis Air Force Museum | Travis AFB | California |
| United States Air Force Museum | Wright-Patterson | Ohio |
| Vance AFB | Vance AFB | Oklahoma |
T-37B on display
Columbus AFB | Museum of Aviation | Pima Air & Space Museum | Travis Air Force Museum |
Recent comments by our visitors
| Chris N , MS | Just a couple more things I forgot.
I believe by the time we retired the Tweet, the engines had been tested and rated to about 880 lbs thrust. It would have been nice to have that 1025 you read about. Also, 14,000 pounds? The Tweet weighed 6,500 pounds fully loaded. You'd have to put a second Tweet on its back, then strap another 1,000 pounds of stuff on it to get that. 05/02/2015 @ 19:22 [ref: 69062] |
| Chris N , MS | The structural limiting airspeed was 382 knots or 0.7 mach. Good luck reaching that though. I've seen over 300 a couple of times when students made errors flying as number 2 during extended trail exercises. As for it liking to cruise at about 240, maybe if you're talking mph. Not if you're talking knots. Unless you were at very low altitude, you weren't going to get that kind of indicated airspeed out of it in level flight, no matter how much you wished for it. We generally trued out at about 275 knots at altitude. I've seen 350 groundspeed before, but that needed a good amount of tailwind. In fact, I've seen over 400 knots groundspeed in a descent.
We also had an IP fly home to Columbus in one hop, then do four overhead patterns when he got here. Yes. He had a huge Jetstream tailwind, which I believe was remnants of a hurricane. Still, that's about 560 NM. Going to 25,000 feet, you could really only make just over 400 NM and still have required reserves. Maybe if you're figuring the range based on burning every drop, you could get another 100 NM out of it. It's a crying shame all the Tweets are just rotting in the desert. It's the most fun airplane I've ever flown. You'd think somebody would be interested in keeping at least a few of them going to airshows, since it trained every Air Force pilot for almost 50 years. 05/02/2015 @ 19:15 [ref: 69061] |
| D. Howerton Dyersburg, TN | Performance numbers can be deceiving. Those listed for the T-37 must have been factory generated because they aren't even close to actual aircraft numbers. When I flew the Tweet, the max allowable airspeed was 350 indicated, but I never saw anything close to even 300 in the T-37, so somebody is fooling himself if he believes otherwise. The aircraft was limited to 275 indicated while I was stationed at Columbus AFB, MS because of a structural problem. The Tweet seemed to like a cruise speed of 240 indicated on cross country trips. Also, I'd like to hear from anyone who was able to do a 600 plus mile trip in the Tweet and still have the minimum fuel reserve upon landing. It can't be done, Pardner. The T-37 is an unpressurized aircraft; therefore, it is limited in Air Force use to 25,000 feet altitude although the aircraft may, in fact, be capable of reaching a service ceiling of 35,000 feet. What I am saying is that the things people write about an aircraft's performance numbers may not be what the aircraft can actually do under real world circumstances. Even so, I still believe the T-37 is a great plane for primary flight training. And having that second engine takes a lot of worry out of flying. In a single engine aircraft, you're an emergency waiting to happen from wheels up to touch down. 03/09/2012 @ 16:45 [ref: 54192] |
| D. Howerton Dyersburg, TN | The T-37B was an excellent aircraft for pilot training. It was simple to fly, rugged, and very forgiving in the initial phase of flight training. On the down side, it was noisy. Cockpit fumes from leaky porkchop seals or bird ingestion made using 100% oxygen a necessity much of the time. Cockpit pressurization would have been nice. The T-37B was a winning design that might have been improved by replacing the two J69-T-25 turbojets with one J85-GE-4 that pushed out 2950 lbf of thrust with a weight savings of over 400 lbs. A single engine redesign using either the J85 or its 4250 lbf thrust TF37 derivative would have been my choice over the Texan II. It's hard to beat the Tweet. I know. I have 1000 hrs of instructor time in it. 04/10/2010 @ 16:42 [ref: 26004] |
| Rob Petty Wichita, KS | The 1st acft I worked in my 22 AF career! I was a Crew Chief in Cobra Flt, 64OMS, 64FTW Air Training Command (ATC) or "Air Training Circus" as we "Crew Dawgs" liked to call it. I was the Crew Chief of 58-1899 and 58-1910 "Yellow Tails" at Reese AFB, Lubbock, TX. from Mar 1985 to Sep 1988. Must say it was an easy jet to learn and fun to work on, well... except for changing those darn engine rails out! I went from being a crew chief on these to moving up to the KC-135A/R/T/RT. Wow... what a size difference! I am retired now, and did have some good times with the guys working on this jet... and hanging out at "The New West" on 34th and Slide road. Ahhh the good times we had. 04/22/2008 @ 19:46 [ref: 20684] |
| Al Baltimore, MD | I am looking for a source of supply for T-37 Tip Tanks. Any help will be highly appreciated. 01/15/2008 @ 17:37 [ref: 19307] |
| james bowers , SC | The Indiana Aviation Museum in Valparasio Indiana has a flyable A-37A. They offer rides in this aircraft as well as several other classic warbirds in their collection 06/21/2007 @ 19:04 [ref: 16907] |
| Aziz Bz cleawater, FL | THE T-37B General Characteristics
Primary Function: Primary trainer in joint specialized undergraduate pilot training Builder: Cessna Aircraft Co. Power Plant: Two Continental J69-T-25 turbojet engines Thrust: 1,025 pounds (461.25 kilograms), each engine Length: 29 feet, 3 inches (8.9 meters) Height: 9 feet, 2 inches (2.8 meters) Maximum Takeoff Weight: 6,625 pounds (2,981 kilograms) Wingspan: 33 feet, 8 inches (10.2 meters) Speed: 360 mph (Mach 0.4 at sea level) Ceiling: 35,000 feet (10.6 kilometers) Range: 460 miles Armament: None Crew: Two – student pilot and instructor pilot Date Deployed: December 1956 thanks ! Aziz Bz 06/04/2007 @ 09:07 [ref: 16729] |
| keipo BOGOTA, OTH | CON EL FIN DE ACLARAR DUDAS CON RESPECTO A LA INVESTIGACION QUE SE ESTA DESARROLLANDO DEBIDO AL ACCIDENTE DEL AVION T-37C DE LA FUERZA AEREA COLOMBIANA SOLICITAMOS NOS COLABOREN EN LOS SIGUIENTES ASPECTOS
1. POR FAVOR NECESITAMOS INFORMACION ACERCA DE LOS TCTO APLICABLES A LOS AVIONES T-37C. TCTO 575/576/680/582/583/584/585 QUE APLIQUEN AL AVION T-37C SERIE NUMERO 68-8073 2. SUMINISTRAR INFORMACION SOBRE LA T.O.1T-37C-3 Y LA T.O.1T-37C-36 DONDE HABLA ESPECIFICAMENTE SOBRE LAS VIGAS DELANTERAS SUPERIOR E INFERIOR Y TRASERA SUPERIOR E INFERIOR DE LOS PLANOS. 3. EL SIGNIFICADO DE LAS SIGLAS HQ ATC/LGM 091620ZSSEP 71 ENCONTRADAS EN LA T.O. 1T-37B-6 CAPITULO 3 PARRAGRAFO 2. AGRADECEMOS SU COLABORACION PRESTADA A ESTA SOLICITUD Y ESPERAMOS SU PRONTA RESPUESTA. ATT. CIRO QUEIPO BARON MONTAGUTH INSPECTOR EQUIPO T-37 B/C FUERZA AEREA COLOMBIANA 08/23/2006 @ 05:57 [ref: 13958] |
| Mark O\'Brien , OK | Mr. Aldridge,
I believe the picture of the tweet with tip tanks is the {C} model. The T-37C was equipped with tip tanks. 06/28/2006 @ 04:06 [ref: 13614] |
Recent photos uploaded by our visitors
