Article - Sheppard AFB visit – October 2012

AETC Sheppard AFB Texas – October 2012

Paul Newbold for Aviation Reporting visit's this busy base which has ground and flying instruction units. Part of USAF Air Education and Training Command (AETC), this was an extremely interesting and complete tour of a diverse range of aircraft and activities at this huge base, located close to Wichita Falls, Texas.

The Units

82nd Training Wing (TRW)

The various hangars here contain many examples of aircraft still in current USAF service – albeit time expired or part of reduction cuts and for an enthusiast there are some superb gems to photograph. A rare "European One" Lizard camouflage A-10A Thunderbolt II in pristine condition and some former Thunderbirds F-16C Fighting Falcons are among these and the most interesting parked outside is a white and blue B-52H Stratofortress which was used by NASA for a short time. Along with another standard grey example they have their tails removed as part of the START weapons reduction treaty with Russia to prove to prying satellites that they cannot be quickly put back in to service.

Of course many of these aircraft have obsolete avionics which are not representative of current in service aircraft but they do give trainees a good idea of what they will be working on if and when they graduate. More modern aircraft are now being retired from service like F-15C Eagles and F-16C Fighting Falcons and these will give students a much better working knowledge.

Other ground training aircraft that can be seen here are C-130 Hercules and KC-135 Stratotankers. Most types when arriving here have a G added to their designation to show they are now grounded for training.

Not only potential USAF students train here. During our visit we spoke to and photographed Saudi Arabian Air Force ground crew students training on the F-15C Eagle. In 2011 the Saudi Air Force agreed to buy F-15SA Eagles and this agreement also involved ground training with the 82nd TRW and upgrades to Eagles already in service.

80th Flying Training Wing (FTW)

Part of our tour involved an interview with a pilot from the Wing and then a tour of the active ramps busy flying T-6A Texan IIs and the old stalwart the T-38C Talon. A visit was also granted to the control tower to view operations from on high where a superb view of the base could be afforded. Some images from here can be seen in the article.

ENJJPT

As part of the Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training (ENJJPT) programme many students from around the world pass through here, either because the weather and more open skies are better or because they don’t have enough or any of their own training aircraft to fulfil the task.

Thirteen countries are part of the ENJJPT programme and at present nations who have aircrew in training here are The USA, Turkey, Spain, Norway, Italy, Germany, Belgium, Netherlands and Denmark.

The Aircraft

T-38C Talon

The Talon Flying Training Squadron's (FTS) based are:

469th FTS "Bulls"

88th FTS "Lucky Devils"

90th FTS "Boxing Bears"

The ENJJPT programme may have been a victim of it’s own success and the Talon is rapidly running out of airframe hours due to the high utility of it’s services. The 50 year old jet has good points, it is fast and manouverable which is good for pilots progressing on to fast jets like the F-15 or F-16 as this makes it easier to adjust to the high speeds. The small wings which give it such high speed can be a hinderance when lack of lift can be a problem in hot weather when a huge take off run can be required. In extreme circumstances this can mean operations are suspended.The pilots do have affection for the old girl but worry about safety issues due to technical problems in such an old jet. Being an old aircraft it is at least fairly simple to maintain as long as spare parts are available.

A long overdue programme to replace the T-38C called T-X is now in progress with aircraft like the KAI T-50 Golden Eagle, Alenia M-346 and Bae Systems Hawk in the running. A United State's designed option would most likely be favoured by Americans but this would take too much time and the winner would very likely be built in the USA under license, securing American jobs. High speed in the current age is not such a high concern and supersonic performance is not part of the criteria for T-X.

T-6A Texan II

Based squadrons are:

89th FTS "Banshees"

469th FTS "Dragons"

The Texan II has already been in service for 17 years and is still being built under license by Beechcraft for the USAF and US Navy. The aircraft was originally a very successful design by Pilatus of Switzerland as the Pc-9. The turboprop engine is becoming more popular than the jet engine these days for trainer aircraft. It is powerful enough and more economical.

This article would not have been possible without the wonderful hospitality extended by everyone at Sheppard AFB, in particular Second Lieutenant Meredith Dilley from 82TRW public affairs and Captain Frank Arnold of the 80FTW for talking to us and for the tour of the active ramps and control tower.

Author Paul Newbold

Photography by Paul Newbold and Mark Forest