VT-28
The VT-28 "Rangers" is a U.S. Navy primary flight training squadron based at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi, Texas.
| Training Squadron Twenty Eight | |
|---|---|
 VT-28 Logo | |
| Active | 1 May 1960 - present |
| Country | United States of America |
| Branch |  |
| Type | Training |
| Part of | Training Wing Four |
| Garrison/HQ | NAS Corpus Christi |
| Nickname(s) | Rangers |
| Motto(s) | "The Foundation Builders" |
| Commanders | |
| Current commander | Commander Ahren Thornton |
| Aircraft flown | |
| Trainer | T-6B Texan II |
History
VT-28 was initially established as Advanced Training Unit 611 (ATU-611).[1] The Rangers began as an advanced multi-engine training squadron flying the S2F-1T, a training variant of the Grumman S-2 Tracker. On May 1, 1960 ATU-611 was redesignated VT-28 and in September 1962 its aircraft was redesignated the TS-2A in accordance with the 1962 United States Tri-Service aircraft designation system.
After decades of use and the designation of thousands of Naval Aviators, the TS-2A was replaced with the T-44A Pegasus twin-engine turboprop trainer in 1979.[2] VT-28 continued training advanced multi-engine aviators until 1990 when the Chief of Naval Air Training (CNATRA) reassigned the squadron to be responsible for training instructors and updating training syllabi for the T-44A and T-34C Turbo Mentor. Three years later, CNATRA again reassigned VT-28, this time to be the Navy's fifth primary training squadron flying the T-34C Turbo Mentor.[3] In 2013 the squadron began its transition from the T-34C to the Navy's newest primary flight trainer, the Beechcraft T-6B Texan II
Aircraft
- S2F-1T / TS-2A Tracker - Advanced multi-engine (1960-1979)
- T-44A King Air - Advanced multi-engine (1979-1993)
- T-34C Turbo Mentor - Primary flight training (1990-2013)
- T-6B Texan II - Primary flight training (2013 to present)[4]