Cessna T-37 Tweet - Price, Specs, Photo Gallery, History - Aero Corner (2024)

In late 1952, the United States Air Force issued a request for proposal for a Trainer Experimental program, which was for a two-seat trainer that would introduce USAF students to jet aircraft. The design requirements composed of a lightweight aircraft with an empty weight of 1,814 kg in order to control the cost and intricacy of the trainer.

It also included the aircraft’s capability to handle twenty take-offs and landings in a span of two hours, flight handling features that could match those of the latest and innovative fighters, a service ceiling of 35,000 feet with enough high-altitude maneuverability to entirely familiarize students, and a 113-knots maximum traffic pattern speed to guarantee better handling characteristics during low speeds. There is also a side-by-side seating configuration for the instructor and student.

On October 12, 1954, the first prototype designated as the XT-37 conducted its maiden flight. It has a low and straight wing and powered by two Continental YJ69-T-9s engines which were mounted in the wing roots. It is also equipped with ejection seats and a tricycle undercarriage with a wide track of 4.3 meters. The wide track and a steerable nose wheel made the XT-37 uncomplicated to operate on the ground.

The production T-37A was almost the same as the XT-37 with minor modifications to address the issues found in the flight-test program. In September 1955, the first T-37A was completed and took its first flight later that year. The aircraft was very noisy because of the air intake into its small turbojets that exhaled a high-pitched shriek or like a piercing whistle. For that reason, the T-aircraft was labeled as “Tweety Bird” or just “Tweet”. The USAF acquired 444 T-37As, with the last aircraft produced in 1959.

The T-37B is an improved version outfitted with two J69-T-25 turbojet engines and enhanced navigation and communications equipment. The T-37C is a light-attack version with weapons pylons under each wing.