The T-43A

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Introduction

The T-43A is the Air Force version of the Boeing 737-200. The exterior differences between the military and commercial aircraft were that they had just 9 windows each side of the fuselage and door 1R and 2L were not fitted. There were also many small blade-type antennas, 5 overhead sextant ports and a wire antenna for HF radio. They were fitted with an 800 USGal auxilliary aft centre tank as standard.

T-43A (Boeing)

All of the information, photographs & schematics from this website and much more is now available in a 370 page, 8.5" x 11" book available here.

Updated 31 Jul 10

The aircraft has considerably more training capability than the plane it replaced (the T-29C, similar to a CV340). Inside each T-43A training compartment are two minimum proficiency, two maximum proficiency and 12 student stations. Two stations form a console, and instructors can move their seats to the consoles and sit beside students for individual instruction. The cabin floor was strengthened to take the weight of these consoles. The large cabin allows easy access to seating and storage, yet reduces the distance between student stations and instructor positions.

The student training compartment is equipped with advanced avionics gear identical to that of Air Force operational aircraft. This includes doppler and mapping radar; LORAN, VOR, TACAN, INS, radar altimeter; UHF & VHF comms. Five periscopic sextants are spaced along the length of the training compartment for celestial navigation training.

Student T43 Mock-up

The majority of the T-43A trainers are used for navigator training at Randolph Air Force Base, Texas, where the Air Force also trains Air National Guard, Air Force Reserve, U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine and international students. The remaining planes are assigned to the Air National Guard at Buckley Air National Guard Base, Colo., where they are used for the U.S. Air Force Academy's airmanship program and to provide travel service for academy sports teams. In addition, U.S. Southern Command has a CT-43 used for commander transport.

The first T-43A was delivered to the Air Force at Mather Air Force Base, Calif., in September 1973. The last deliveries were made in July 1974. Air Education and Training Command's T-43 fleet relocated to Randolph Air Force Base, Texas, in May 1993 when Mather AFB closed.

T43 with instrumentation on display

NT-43A - Radar Test Bed

Photo: Brian Lockett Goleta Air & Space Museum

Gradually most of the T-43's went into storage with AMARC at Davis Monthan AFB near Tucson, Arizona. However one (tail number 73-1155) was recovered in March 2000 and flown to an aircraft maintenance and modification facility at Goodyear, Arizona for conversion to a radar test bed. This required the installation of two oversized radomes on the nose and tail. Its first flight in this new configuration was on 21 March 2001.

The radomes were built by the Lockheed Martin Advanced Prototype Center, part of the Advanced Development Programs' (ADP) organization for Denmar which is a company specializing in stealth technology. The "Den" stands for President Denys Overholser, the former Skunk Works engineer credited with devising the shape of the first stealth aircraft. The design, fabrication and machining of the structure's components were all performed at Palmdale. The radome structure is about 6.2 feet in diameter and 16.5 feet in length and made of a 90-percent carbon epoxy/honeycomb sandwich material, with machined aluminum parts, and houses an airborne radar assembly.

The NT-43A can be seen flying in formation with various stealth aircraft, here the Northrop B2, usually in the radar free environment of Death Valley. It makes radar images of these aircraft to evaluate their stealth characteristics. This images can used to reveal the rate of degradation of the radar deflecting and absorbing components as the aircraft age, and to determine the effectiveness of maintenance and repair methods.

Photo: Brian Lockett Goleta Air & Space Museum

T-43A Production

Note: EG&G = EG & G Special Projects (USAF)