NAVAL AIR STATION CORPUS CHRISTI

en (VT-27), Twenty-Eight (VT-28), irty-One (VT-31), and irty-Five (VT-35). Training Air Wing Four also has a Reserve Component composed of squadron augment units (SAU) assigned to each squadron.

Student aviators receive basic flight training in VT-27 and VT-28 flying T-34C “Turbo Mentor” aircraft or T-6B Texans. VT-31 and VT-35 provide intermediate and advanced flight training using multi-engine aircraft, the T-44A/C “Pegasus” and the TC-12 “Huron,” respectively.

Training Squadron

Twenty-Seven e “Boomers” average more than 11,000 training missions a year, and more than 70 sorties per training day. Since taking delivery of the T-34C, its safety record sets the standard for excellence in Navy Air Training Command.

Training Squadron Twenty-Seven was initially established on July 11, 1951, as Advanced Training Unit-B at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi. e command moved to Naval Air Station Kingsville in 1952 and again to Naval Air Station, New Iberia, Louisiana in 1960. It was there the squadron was redesignated as VT-27. In July 1964, the “Boomers” returned to Naval Air Station Corpus Christi where they continue to be an important member of the community.

In 1973, the squadron began a transition to the role of primary training squadron with the arrival, on Aug. 1, of the first “T-28” Trojan. By Oct. 1, 1973, the last TS-2A had departed, signifying the end of the advanced training role and the completion of the first “T-34C” Mentor aircraft. Since March 1984, when the last T-28 ever used for naval flight training departed, the T-34C has been the mainstay of the Navy and Marine Corps primary flight training.

Expected to achieve high levels of production while maintaining the highest standards of safety demanded, VT-27 consistently accomplishes its important mission—by producing Navy and Marine Corps pilots of the highest quality for our nation’s defense.

Training Squadron

Twenty-Eight

Training Squadron Twenty-Eight was commissioned on May 1, 1960 under the leadership of Commanding Officer, Commander O.T. Knight. Prior to that, it operated as Advanced Training Unit 611. e primary mission of VT-28 was advanced multi-engine flight training for Student Naval Aviators (SNA's). More than 6,000 Naval Aviators have been trained by VT-28 before assignment to fixed wing, multi-engine squadrons. is curriculum has evolved over the years in response to the changing need to the Navy and advances in aviation technology.

VT-28 quickly established a standard of excellence which has continued unabated for 35 years. With 44 instructors, 48 TS-2F "Tracker" aircraft, 400 enlisted personnel and an average on board student count of 125, VT-28 set new training, safety, and cost efficiency records in its first 10 months of opera- tion. During the 1960's, as the demand for fixed wing maritime pilots increased, so did the scope and responsibility of the squadron, e squadron continued to train Advanced Maritime Student Naval Aviators in the T-44A aircraft until 1990, when CNATRA directed the squadron to change its mission and become the first Instructor Training Squadron. VT-28 then assumed the responsibility for instructor training within Training

By the mid-'60s, the flight syllabus, augmented by simultaneous ground training, had expanded to include Familiarization, Basic and Radio Instrument Navigation, Cross County, Night Familiarization and Carrier Qualification. e TS-2F "Tracker" proved itself a most reliable and stable training platform during periods of changes in the syllabus and increased requirements. In 1969 alone, nearly 300 Naval Aviators were designated and 40,000 aircraft hours flown by VT-28. e squadron carrier qualified or "CQ'd" thousands of Student Naval Aviators in the "Tracker" until its retirement in 1979 when it was replaced by the T-44A on March 1st of that year.