On April 23, 2nd Lt. Evan Negr
on, a student pilot in the Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training Program at Sheppard AFB, Tex., became the last airman to train in the T-37 Tweet flight simulator before the base’s 80th Flying Training Wing retires the remainder of its Tweet aircraft this summer. “I really feel blessed and fortunate to be in the last T-37 class,” said Negron, a 25-year-old native of Salem, N.J. He added, “I think it’s neat to be part of a legacy.” The Air Force is retiring the Tweet after 50 years of service. The 80th FTW is the last unit in the Air Force to be using it for undergraduate pilot training. Other Air Education and Training Command training wings last year switched to the T-6 Texan II, the same platform that the 80th FTW has also begun incorporating. Negron’s instructor in the Tweet simulator is Wolfgang Ruhl, who has trained every ENNJPT class since the program was formed in 1981. Negron’s class is scheduled to advance to the T-38 Talon for specialized undergraduate pilot training in late June or early July. (Sheppard report by John Ingle)
Boeing received a $2.47 billion Air Force contract Nov. 25 for 15 more KC-46s, bringing to 183 the number of Pegasus tankers on contract to all customers, foreign and domestic. The new contract—for Lot 12 of the initially planned KC-46 buy—is to be completed by 2029.
