Seapower Magazine has reported the news that the Navy has retired its fleet of TC-12B Huron training aircraft. The Navy will now rely on the T-44C for multi-engine turboprop training.
May 16th was the last day the TC-12B was flown by pilots of Training Squadron 35 (Navy’s only TC-12B squadron) based at Naval Air Station in Corpus Christi, Texas.
“They did a final, ceremonial flight over Corpus Christi Bay last Friday,” Lt j.g. Liz Feaster, spokeswoman for the chief of Naval Air Training, told Seapower.
Training Squadron 35 (VT-35) and its sister squadron, VT-31 will now use the T-44C for turboprop training which has an ungraded cockpit better suited for operating newer aircraft.
A pressurized version of the Beechcraft Super King Air 200, the TC-12B saw less usage as the the Navy finished modernizing its T-44A fleet to the T-45C configuration, ending in it being phased out.