Artisans of the trainer production line at Fleet Readiness Center Southeast begin to reattach a T-6 Texan’s wings after the plane was disassembled during an Aircraft Condition Inspection Jan. 12. Photo courtesy of the U.S. Navy
The T-6 Texan II, notable for being the first aircraft most U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps pilots learn to fly, will have a new primary repair location in the Florida-based Fleet Readiness Center Southeast, per a recent Chief of Naval Air Training decision.
The Southeast center will perform the majority of aircraft condition inspections and repairs for the training vehicles, eventually, but the workload will ramp up to that point over the next couple years, starting with six inspections in 2018 and culminating in 57 per year beginning in 2021.
To accommodate the increased load, the facility’s trainer team workforce is expected to double, and additional hangar space will be freed up with the P-3C Orion’s phasing out. Previously, the team has worked on the T-44 trainer aircraft.