T-2 Buckeye jet trainer aircraft was produced by the U.S. Navy by North American Aviation [purchased by Rockwell, which was bought by Boeing] at Columbus. T-2C trainers were used by the Naval Training Air Command to conduct basic training for the future of jet flight of the Navy and Marine Corps aviators.
The trainer established an outstanding record of safety and reliability, while training more than 11,000 students pilot 18 different models of aircraft in the Navy. Buckeyes also were purchased by Venezuela (T-2D) and Greece (T-2E). The two posts of high-performance T-2C Buckeye was used for a wide variety of pilot training, from the flight of the first jet flight student to complete.
The plane was used for teaching a wide range of skills, including high altitude and high speed and aerobatic flight training, the basic instruments and radios, night and day navigation and artillery bombardment and carrier operations. The T-2 is based on three occasions in 1997 due to safety concerns. In the coming years the T-45 Goshawk replaces the T-2 Buckeye in the Intermediate Jet Training Program pilot.
