WASHINGTON - Four Republican members of Congress from Mississippi - Sens. Cindy Hyde-Smith and Roger Wicker and Reps. Michael Guest and Trent Kelly - urged the Secretary of the Air Force to delay divesting itself of the T-1A aircraft until a new service-wide training curriculum and new training aircraft (T-7A) are ready for delivery. The T-1A is used at Columbus (Miss.) AFB, three bases in Texas and Oklahoma and Naval Air Station Pensacola, Fla. The aircraft is used in the advanced phase of specialized undergraduate pilot training for students selected to fly airlift or tanker aircraft. The lawmakers made their case in a Feb. 13 letter to Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall contending the premature loss of the T-1A could diminish pilot training by simulator-flying and less time flying prior to graduation. "If these (T-7A) technologies do not mature on schedule, the Air Force will lose any ability to effectively train pilots in a ‘like-aircraft’ to which they will be assigned post-graduation,” the lawmakers wrote. There have been media reports noting potential delays in the T-7A program. (T)he T-1A may be the best defense against unforeseen shortfalls that may adversely affect the pilot training pipeline." (Sen. Hyde-Smith 02/13/23) MISS. LAWMAKERS URGE AIR FORCE TO KEEP T-1A AIRCRAFT IN SERVICE | Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (senate.gov)
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