Cessna T-37 & A-37 Tweety by Edlor
air.ini
T-37B air.T_37B 1 usa01 SUMMER
A-37A air.A_37 1 usa01 SUMMER
A-37B air.A_37B 1 usa01 SUMMER
plane
T-37B Cessna T-37B Tweet, 1967
A-37A Cessna A-37A Super Tweet, 1967
A-37B Cessna A-37B Super Tweet, 1968
T-37
The Cessna Aircraft Company of Wichita, Kansas, provided the United States Army during World War II and the Korean War with utility, light transport, and observation aircraft, particularly the "O-1 Bird Dog" series.
In the spring of 1952, the USAF issued a request for proposals for a "Trainer Experimental (TX)" program, specifying a lightweight, two-seat basic trainer for introducing USAF cadets to jet aircraft.
Cessna responded to the TX request with a twin-jet design with side-by-side seating. The USAF liked the Cessna design, which was given the company designation "Model 318", and the side-by-side seating since it let the student and instructor interact more closely than with tandem seating. In the spring of 1954, the USAF awarded Cessna a contract for three prototypes of the Model 318, and a contract for a single static test aircraft. The Air Force designated the type as XT-37.
The XT-37 had a low, straight wing, with the engines buried in the wing roots, a clamshell-type canopy hinged to open vertically to the rear, a control layout similar to that of contemporary operational USAF aircraft, ejection seats, and tricycle landing gear with a wide track of 14 ft (4.3 m). It first flew on 12 October 1954.
The wide track and a steerable nosewheel made the aircraft easy to handle on the ground, and the short landing gear avoided the need for access ladders and service stands. The aircraft was designed to be simple to maintain, with more than 100 access panels and doors. An experienced ground crew could change an engine in about half an hour.
The XT-37 was aerodynamically clean, so much so that a speedbrake was fitted behind the nosewheel doors to help increase drag for landing and for use in other phases of flight. Since the short landing gear placed the engine air intakes close to the ground, screens pivoted over the intakes from underneath when the landing gear was extended, to prevent foreign object damage.
The XT-37 was fitted with two Continental-Teledyne J69-T-9 turbojet engines, French Turbomeca Marboré engines built under license, with 920 lbf (4.1 kN) thrust each. The engines had thrust attenuators to allow them to remain spooled-up (i.e. rotating at speeds above idle) during landing approach, permitting shorter landings while still allowing the aircraft to easily make another go-around in case something went wrong. Empty weight of the XT-37 was 5,000 lb (2,300 kg).
Tests showed the XT-37 had a maximum speed of 390 mph (630 km/h) at altitude, with a range of 935 mi (1,505 km). The aircraft had a service ceiling of 35,000 feet (10,700 m)[4] but was unpressurized so was limited to an operational ceiling of 25,000 feet (7,600 m) by USAF regulations.
The initial prototype crashed during spin tests. Later prototypes had new features to improve handling, including long strakes along the nose, and an extensively redesigned and enlarged tail. After these modifications, the USAF found the aircraft acceptable to their needs, and ordered it into production as the T-37A. Production aircraft remained tricky in recovering from a spin; the recovery procedure was complex compared with most aircraft.
(https://s15.postimg.cc/u6wr5lp3v/T-37_B.jpg) (https://postimages.org/)
The T-37A was delivered to the U.S. Air Force beginning in June 1956. The USAF began cadet training in the T-37A during 1957. The first T-37B was delivered in 1959. Instructors and students considered the T-37A a pleasant aircraft to fly. It handled well and was agile and responsive, though it was definitely not overpowered. It was capable of all traditional aerobatic maneuvers. Students intentionally placed the aircraft into a spin as part of their pilot training.
The Air Force made several attempts to replace the T-37 (including the Fairchild T-46), but it remained in service with the USAF until it was phased out in favor of the Beechcraft T-6 Texan II between 2001 and 2009. The T-6 is a turboprop aircraft with more power, better fuel efficiency, and more modern avionics than the Tweet.
The final USAF student training sortie by a T-37B aircraft in the Air Education and Training Command took place on 17 June 2009. The last USAF operator of the T-37B, the 80th Flying Training Wing, flew the sortie from its home station at Sheppard AFB, Texas. The last T-37B was officially retired from active USAF service on 31 July 2009.
A-37
The growing American military involvement in Vietnam in the early 1960s led to strong interest in counter-insurgency (COIN) aircraft. In late 1962, the U.S. Air Force's Special Air Warfare Center at Eglin Air Force Base's Hurlburt Field in Florida evaluated two T-37Cs for the role.
The Air Force found the T-37 promising, but wanted an improved version of the aircraft that could carry a much larger payload, and had much greater endurance and better short-field performance. This meant a heavier aircraft with more powerful engines. In 1963, the Air Force awarded a contract to Cessna for two prototype YAT-37D aircraft: T-37s with modifications that included:
-Stronger wings.
-Three stores pylons on each wing.
-Larger wingtip fuel tanks of 360 litre (95 US gallons) capacity.
-A General Electric GAU-2B/A 7.62 mm "Minigun" Gatling-style machine gun, with a rate of fire of 3,000 rounds/minute and 1,500 rounds of ammunition. The weapon was fitted in the right side of the aircraft's nose behind a large, convenient access panel. A gunsight and gun camera were also fitted.
-Better avionics for battlefield communications, navigation, and targeting.
-Tougher landing gear for rough-field operation.
These changes meant a drastic increase in aircraft weight and the aircraft now had to carry a significant payload as well. Cessna, therefore, doubled the engine power by replacing the two Continental J-69 engines with General Electric J85-J2/5 turbojet engines with 2,400 lbf (10.7 kN) thrust each.
The first YAT-37D flew in October 1964, followed a year later by the second prototype. The second prototype had four stores pylons under each wing, rather than three, and the first prototype was upgraded to this configuration as well.
Test results were good, but USAF interest in counter-insurgency (COIN) aircraft had faded for the moment. The program went into limbo for a time, with the second prototype "put out to pasture" at the National Museum of the United States Air Force at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio.
The war in Southeast Asia, however, continued to escalate. Losses of Douglas A-1 Skyraider close-support aircraft in USAF, United States Navy, and Republic of Vietnam Air Force service proved greater than anticipated and USAF interest in COIN aircraft was revived. The YAT-37D seemed like a promising candidate for the job, but the Air Force felt that the only way to be sure was to evaluate the aircraft in combat.
As a result, the USAF issued a contract to Cessna for a pre-production batch of 39 YAT-37Ds, with a few minor changes relative to the prototypes, to be rebuilt from existing T-37Bs. These aircraft were initially designated AT-37D, but the designation was quickly changed to A-37A. The second prototype YAT-37D was pulled out of the Air Force Museum and upgraded to A-37A standards as part of the test program.
The A-37A had a gross takeoff weight of 12,000 lb (5,440 kg), of which 2,700 lb (1230 kg) was ordnance. The A-37A retained the dual controls of its T-37B ancestor, allowing it to be used as an operational trainer.
In combat "forward air control (FAC)" operations, the second seat was occupied by an observer. Only one crewman normally flew in the aircraft for close support missions, permitting a slight increase in ordnance.
In August 1967, 25 A-37As were sent to Vietnam under the "Combat Dragon" evaluation program, and flew from Bien Hoa Air Base on USAF "air commando" missions, including close air support, helicopter escort, FAC, and night interdiction. Combat loads included high-explosive bombs, cluster munition dispensers, unguided rocket packs, napalm tanks, and the SUU-11/A Minigun pod. For most missions, the aircraft also carried two additional external fuel tanks on the inner stores pylons.
(https://s15.postimg.cc/635zhbtsb/A-37_A.jpg) (https://postimages.org/)
During this period, the A-37As flew thousands of sorties. None were lost to enemy fire, although two were wrecked in landing accidents. The A-37A was formally named the "Dragonfly", but most pilots called it the "Super Tweet". The Combat Dragon program was successful, but unsurprisingly the combat evaluation revealed some of the deficiencies of the A-37A. The most noticeable problem was that the aircraft lacked range and endurance. Other concerns were heavy control response during attack runs (the flight controls were not power-boosted) and the vulnerability of the aircraft's non-redundant flight control system.
The USAF signed a contract with Cessna in early 1967 for an improved Super Tweet, designated the "A-37B". The initial order was for 57 aircraft, but this was quickly increased to 127. The A-37Bs were primarily intended to be supplied to the Republic of Vietnam Air Force (VNAF) as replacements for their Skyraiders. The A-37B prototype was rolled out in September 1967, with deliveries to the South Vietnamese beginning in 1968.
The A-37Bs were all newly built airframes. These were stronger than those of the A-37A, capable of pulling 6 g instead of 5, and were built to have a longer fatigue life of 4,000 hours. Field experience would demonstrate that 7,000 hours between overhauls could be tolerated.
The A-37B weighed almost twice as much as the T-37C. A remarkable fraction of the loaded weight, 5,800 lb (2,600 kg), could be external stores. In practice, the A-37B usually operated with at least two and sometimes four underwing fuel tanks to improve combat endurance.
To get this increased weight off the ground, the A-37B was fitted with General Electric J85-GE-17A engines, providing 2,850 lbf (12.7 kN) thrust each. These engines were canted slightly outward and downward to improve single-engine handling. Air commando pilots in Vietnam operating the A-37A had found single-engine cruise an effective means of improving their flight endurance.
Modifications were made to control surfaces to improve handling. To improve aircraft and crew survivability, the A-37B was fitted with redundant elevator control runs that were placed as far apart as possible. The ejection seats were armored, the cockpit was lined with nylon flak curtains, and foam-filled self-sealing fuel tanks were installed.
The A-37 excelled at close air support. It could engage targets 100 miles per hour slower than swept-wing fighters. The slower speed improved bombing accuracy, enabling pilots to achieve an average accuracy of 45 feet (13.7 m).
The A-37B added a refueling probe to the nose, leading to pipes wrapped around the lower lip of the canopy, for probe-and-drogue aerial refueling. This was an unusual fit for USAF aircraft, which traditionally are configured for boom refueling. Other improvements included updated avionics, a redesigned instrument panel to make the aircraft easier to fly from either seat, an automatic engine inlet de-icing system, and revised landing gear. Like its predecessors, the A-37B was not pressurized.
(https://s15.postimg.cc/kz4iovfgr/A-37_B.jpg) (https://postimages.org/)
The A-37 required a relatively low amount of maintenance compared to contemporary fighters—only two hours of maintenance for each hour of flight time. This was partially due to multiple access panels in strategic locations.
The 20 mm GPU-2/A and AMD 30 mm cannon pods were tested with favorable results on the A-37B, but reports indicate that such pods were either seldom or never used in operation.
A total of 577 A-37Bs were built, with 254 delivered to the Republic of Vietnam Air Force. At war's end, the A-37 had flown over 160,000 combat sorties with only 22 USAF losses. Approximately 187 A-37Bs were in South Vietnamese service when the country fell. Ninety-two were recovered by the US, while the other 95 were later used by the Communist Vietnamese in missions over Cambodia and during the China conflict in 1979. These "renegade" aircraft were phased out of service in the late 1970s or early 1980s, in all probability due to lack of spares. Some of the aircraft were shipped to Vietnam's then-Communist allies such as Czechoslovakia, Poland, the Soviet Union and East Germany. Others were sold to private foreign owners. Six examples of the A-37B became property of American warbird fans, while four A-37Bs are now privately owned in Australia and New Zealand.
After the war, the USAF passed their A-37Bs from the USAF Tactical Air Command (TAC) to TAC-gained units in the Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve. In the early 1980s these aircraft were assigned to the FAC (Forward Air Control) role and given the designation OA-37B. The OA-37Bs were eventually phased out in the 1980s and 1990s and replaced in the FAC mission by the much more formidable Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II in Air Force, Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve service.
OA-37s from the 24th Composite Wing's (later 24th Wing's) 24th Tactical Air Support Squadron (24 TASS) also saw service during Operation Just Cause.
A-37Bs were used extensively by the Salvadoran Air Force during the Salvadoran Civil War, supplied by the United States in 1983 as a replacement for the Salvadoran Air Force's Dassault Ouragans, several of which had been destroyed on the ground by the FMLN. A-37Bs were used to bomb rebel bases, columns, towns, provided close air support, and flew interdiction missions. A total of 21 A-37Bs and 9 OA-37Bs were supplied during the war, one of which was lost on November 18, 1989 when sniper fire killed the co-pilot, causing the pilot to eject, and another that was shot down by an SA-7 missile on November 23, 1990.
Nine A-37s remained in operational condition by the end of the war.
The A-37B was also exported to Latin America, mostly during the 1970s. It was well suited to their needs because of its simplicity, low cost, and effectiveness for insurgent warfare. Most of the A-37Bs exported south had the refueling probe shortened to act as a single-point ground refueling probe, or deleted completely.
The Guatemalan Air Force flew the A-37 in extensive counter-insurgency operations throughout the 1970s-1990s, losing one aircraft in action in 1985. It has also been widely used for counter-narcotics operations.
CREDITS
Edlor: 3d import
Ranwers: 3d finish
mm: T-37 skins
Western: weapons
Dreamk: weapons
Vega: FM & Java
Skylla: Java
Download link
https://www.mediafire.com/file/xp8onehezp89a44/A-37_V1.0_20180720.rar/file
Cessna T-37 & A-37 Tweety by Edlor
Download link
https://www.mediafire.com/file/xp8onehezp89a44/A-37_V1.0_20180720.rar/file
I have downloaded a-37 but the weapon choice only droptank. do you know how to fix it?