Last T-6C Trainers Head for New Zealand

02 April 2015

RNZAF T-6C trainer aircraft (photo : AirTeamImages)

New Zealand’s final pair of Beechcraft T-6C trainers are on their way to the nation, where they will complete an 11-strong fleet of the type.

Registered as NZ1410 and NZ1411, the aircraft departed the US manufacturer’s Wichita assembly site in Kansas on 27 March at the start of their long-distance delivery. Its first two examples made the journey last August.

The aircraft (final example pictured on arrival in Birmingham, UK, on 31 March) were ordered for the Royal New Zealand Air Force in January 2014 under a deal worth NZ$154 million ($114 million), which also included ground-based training equipment. Deliveries have been completed ahead of a schedule outlined at the time of the award, which called for all 11 T-6Cs to be delivered by mid-2015.

Operations with the new type are performed by the air force’s Ohakea-based 14 Sqn.

(FlightGlobal)