Cessna T-37 Tweet

Whistling “Tweety Bird”

Affectionately known as the “Tweety Bird” due to the high-pitched sound of its engines, the T-37 entered service in 1957 as a primary pilot trainer for the US Air Force and retired from service in 2009. Twin engines powered the T-37B that was also equipped with a redesigned instrument panel, improved radio communications, and upgraded navigational equipment when compared to the earlier “A” model. T-37 aircraft were the first US Air Force jets designed from conception as a trainer and were used to assist pilot students transition to the larger, faster T-38 Talon.

“Tweety Birds” & Training

Hill Air Force Base has a history with the T-37. In 1979, the Aeronautical Systems Division transferred the T-37 Undergraduate Pilot Training Instrument Flight Simulator to Hill Air Force Base, and used it in student training for T-37 and T-38 aircraft. However, not all Hill Air Force Base training with the T-37 dealt with flying the airframe. When T-37s began retiring from service, some went to the Utah Test and Training Range in Utah’s west desert for use as targets during practice operations.

Life of Training

Cessna originally manufactured the T-37B on display in 1958 as a T-37A. The US Air Force assigned this aircraft to the 3525th Pilot Training Wing at Williams Air Force Base, Arizona, and later upgraded it to a T-37B configuration. It served as a training aircraft until the Hill Aerospace Museum acquired it for display in 1991.