| Training Squadron Twenty Eight | |
|---|---|
 VT-28 Logo | |
| Active | 1 May 1960 - present |
| Country | United States of America |
| Branch |  United States Navy |
| 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 |
The VT-28 "Rangers" is a U.S. Navy primary flight training squadron based at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi, Texas.
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
The Grumman S-2 Tracker was the first purpose-built, single airframe anti-submarine warfare (ASW) aircraft to enter service with the United States Navy. Designed and initially built by Grumman, the Tracker was of conventional design — propeller-driven with twin radial engines, a high wing that could be folded for storage on aircraft carriers, and tricycle undercarriage. The type was exported to a number of navies around the world. Introduced in 1952, the Tracker and its E-1 Tracer derivative saw service in the U.S. Navy until the mid-1970s, and its C-1 Trader derivative until the mid-1980s, with a few aircraft remaining in service with other air arms into the 21st century. Argentina and Brazil are the last countries to still use the Tracker.
The Beechcraft T-34 Mentor is an American propeller-driven, single-engined, military trainer aircraft derived from the Beechcraft Model 35 Bonanza. The earlier versions of the T-34, dating from around the late 1940s to the 1950s, were piston-engined. These were eventually succeeded by the upgraded T-34C Turbo-Mentor, powered by a turboprop engine. The T-34 remains in service more than seven decades after it was first designed.
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Naval Air Station Corpus Christi is a United States Navy naval air base located six miles (10 km) southeast of the central business district (CBD) of Corpus Christi, in Nueces County, Texas.
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