The Cessna T-37 was the primary training aircraft in service with the US Air Force for more than fifty years. Nicknamed the 'Tweet', it was a very stable and reliable jet trainer, with two side by side seats. Every US Air Force's pilot flew it during basic training in the Cold War period. The prototype, the XT-37, had performed its first flight on October 12, 1954, entering service in 1957. After several decades, it would be phased out in 2009.
The Cessna T-37 Tweet had been designed in 1952 to meet a USAF requirement for a jet-engine-powered primary trainer. It was a very practical trainer, with a low and wide-tracked landing gear to ease landing and ground handling. The side-by-side seating arrangement made student instruction easier, allowing for close coordination between the instructor and the fledgling during all phases of training. The flight characteristics of this trainer allowed students to solo after as little as six and a half hours of dual instruction. The aircraft's stability enabled it to be safely used for formation flying.
The US Air Force ordered a total of 444 T-37A aircraft, which was the first version that was built until 1959. Then Cessna switched production to the T-37B variant, with 466 aircraft being produced; this version had upgraded Continental J69 turbojet engines and improved navigation and communications equipment. The T-37C was the last Tweet, but it was never used by the USAF as it was produced only for export, with 269 trainers being sold to ten countries. This trainer would be developed into the A-37 Dragonfly, a ground-attack aircraft used in the Vietnam War.
Below, the T-37B version of Tweet in flight in the 1960s.
Technical Description
The Cessna T-37 was a two-seat, twin-engine monoplane, with a straight, cantilever, low-wing configuration. The fuselage was all-metal semi-monocoque. The cockpit had two side-by-side ejection seats, with a canopy that was blown off (jettisoned) during emergency, and oxygen equipment; however it was not pressurized, which limited the service ceiling to 25,000 feet (7,620 m).
The Tweet had wide-track, short landing gear. This feature made landing easier for the new pilots and also eliminated the need for ground stands and ladders as all areas of the engine compartment was readily accessible from ground level. The T-37B version was powered by two Continental J69-T-25 turbojet engines which were buried in wing roots. They were the license-built version of the French Turbomeca Marboré used in the Fouga Magister.
Specifications (T-37B)
Type: trainer
Length: 8.92 m (29 feet, 3 inches)
Wing Span: 10.30 m (33 feet, 9 inches)
Wing Area: 17 m2 (184 square feet)
Height: 2.68 m (8 feet, 10 inches)
Power Plant: two Continental J69-T-25 turbojet engines, each delivering 1,026-lb thrust
Maximum Speed: 685 km/h (425 mph)
Range: 972 km (600 miles)
Rate of Climb: 1,067 m/min.
Service Ceiling: 7,620 m (25,000 feet)
Crew: two
The prototype of the Tweet, the XT-37, on the tarmac of an airbase, around 1955.
Below, three T-37A aircraft. The US Army tested the first variant of the trainer in the summer of 1957 under the High Performance Army Observation Aircraft program (HPAOA). However, the Tweet would not be accepted by the Army as it would choose the Grumman OV-1 Mohawk instead.
The Tweet in flight. It was a T-37A, the second one built, No 42730. It was on its acceptance flight over the Kansas prairie.
Below, the Cessna trainer on final approach for landing. Its wide-track landing gear made landings easy for fledgling pilots.