T-45 Goshawk

These photos were taken by "Hawk" and Ross Spenard.

Excellent photo descriptions were kindly provided by Don Manning.

Mission:  The T-45 aircraft, the Navy version of the British Aerospace Hawk aircraft, is used for intermediate and advanced portions of the Navy/Marine Corps pilot training program for jet carrier aviation and tactical strike missions.
 
The T-45 has replaced the TA-4 Skyhawk and will replace the T-2 Buckeye with an integrated training system that includes the T-45 Goshawk aircraft, operations and instrument fighter simulators, academics, and training integration system.  There are two versions of the T-45 aircraft currently in operational use at this time.  The T-45A, which became operational in 1991, contains an analog design cockpit while the T-45C (delivery began in 1997) is built around a new digital "glass cockpit" design.
 
Stages of training include instrument, familiarization, formation, tactical formation, air-to-ground weapons, operational navigation (low levels), air-to-air gunnery, air combat maneuvering and carrier qualification.
 
General Characteristics
Function:  Training platform for Navy / Marine Corps pilots
Contractor:  Boeing Company
Unit Cost:  $17.2 Million
Propulsion:  Rolls Royce Turbofan engine
Thrust:  5,527 pounds
Wingspan:  30 feet, 10 inches
Length:  39 feet, 4 inches
Height:  13 feet, 6 inches 
Weight:  Takeoff max gross - 13,500 lbs; Empty - 9,394 lbs
Speed:  645 mph (1.04 Mach)
Ceiling:  41,000 feet MSL
Range:  700 nautical miles (805 statute miles)
Armament:  None (carries BDU-33 practice bombs)
Crew:  Two (instructor pilot, student pilot)
 
 

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The 16 photos directly below were taken by Ross Spenard.
Headon Cockpit, detail Nose gear, close up Nose gear, overview

 

Cockpit, overview /4 view, port side looking forward Engine outlet & tail fin Tail fin

 
Speed brake & tail plane Overview, profile Main gear, overview, side Main gear, close up

 

Main gear, overview, front Front cockpit, instrument panel (sorry for the glare) Between the seats Rear cockpit

 

These 12 photos were taken by "Hawk" at the Smyrna TN Airshow

Rear Quarter view, showing tailhook mounting, speedbrakes and flaps all unique to the T-45 version of the Hawk.  Note that the flap's hydrauilic supply bleeds down, but the slats do not. Tail view showing rear TACAN antenna on the right of the flat portion, tail light outboard of that, on left below flat area and above tailpipe is a fuel vent (not a dump tube).  Also note rubber bumpers for tailhook, double slotted flaps, and increased (over the Hawk) main landing gear track.  View also shows stabilator anhedral, compared to the SMURF strakes. Top to Bottom: Stabilator, SMURF, Speedbrake, Bleed Air Vent (siver tube), Tailhook and ventral strake.  Trivia: Hash marks below the BuNo (not visible here) indicate the number of CQ dets the aircraft has been on. Starboard Wing, L to R: position light, amber formation light and ILS antenna.  Vortex generators, not slats are up while flaps are down (these are controlled by the same handle in flight), stall strip.  Main Gear doors retract after gear extends.  On fuselage, black dot above the "VT-7" logo is a sight guage (dial), 2 windows for filter pop up buttons to the right of the "TW-1" logo, another bleed port on the side.  Red twirly (sp?) with a white stobe, and a VHF/UHF antenna on top.

 

Starboard MLG.  Self explanatory. Intake.  2 strakes between intake and fuselage.  Canopy has windscreen seperating cockpits.  Mag compass on top of fwd. canopy bow, Mild Det Cord is on inside of canopy, ejection sequencer is visible on bottom, inside of canopy.  ACM grab handles at 2:30 and 9:30, though about 1/2 of T-45 A's only have the 9:30 one.  AOA probe on fuselage under red cover. Cockpit.  Preflight instructions on seat.  Seat has canopy breakers on top of headbox.  Chute is in the headbox. Shows MDC on canopy, location of rear bombsight (no HUD in back), AOA indexer.  Note folded steps and foot-door on fuselage.

 
Similar to #4.  Note bulge on fuselage below kick-in step.  This contains a step that drops down.  Front cockpit: top to bottom and eft to right.  AOA indexer, HUD (in the T-45A, it looks like a HUD but it is really just a spiffy looking gun/bomb reticle).  AOA guage to left of HUD.  Turn Needle/Ball, Altimeter and standby gyro to left of MFDs (only on the C)  Master ARM and data recorder (records engine/flight parameters for 15 seconds after pushed - used is you have, say a compressor stall, lets maintenance see what happened).  VSI behind that.  Emergency gear handle (yellow), Emergency Jettison, gear lights, then red gear handle.  Hydraulic pressure guages below that.  On center, VHF/UHF contol, comm select and cabin altimeter. NACES seat detail...red "remove before flight" tag goes to thin in in the MDC firing handle (yellow pull handle on canopy framing).  This is linked to the seat pin in the lower handle.  Brown seat cushion, and grey SEWARS on koch fittings.  Ejection/MDC sequencer on canopy frame behind seat.
Nose..pitot/static probe, blade antennas above and below (TACAN/IFF), blade antenna behind nose gear.  Nose gear doors also close after gear extension.  Nose gear very similar to F/A-18.