Squadron History

Established: May 1, 1960

Training Squadron TWO was established on 1 May 1960 at Naval Air Station Whiting Field, near Milton, Florida. VT-2's mission is to provide primary flight training to selected student aviators of the United States Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard and several allied nations.

The syllabus completed by VT-2 "Doerbirds" consists of approximately 75 hours of instructional flight time in the T-6B Texan II aircraft and 50 hours in the 2F208B flight simulator. During this time each student becomes thoroughly trained in the contact, basic instruments, precision aerobatics, radio instruments, formation, and day and night navigation stages of flight training.

The "Contact" syllabus consists of flights in which the student learns to conduct a proper pre-flight inspection of the aircraft, take-off and land, recover from stalls and spins, deal with emergencies, and generally maneuver the aircraft skillfully and confidently. Upon completion of the student's first solo flight, the student aviator progresses to precision aerobatics. The aircraft is flown through maneuvers outside the normal range of flight, including Loops, Wingovers, Barrel Rolls, Cuban Eights, Immelmanns, Split-S's, Aileron Rolls, and Clover Leafs. During formation training the student works on improving their skills while flying in a two-plane formation. Navigation training includes both day and night visual navigation instruction. The student also undergoes training in the basic radio instruments. Here the student learns to maneuver the aircraft under actual or simulated instrument conditions, having to rely solely on cockpit instrumentation. The T- 6B flight simulators are integral to each phase of flight training, especially the instrument flight training syllabus to assist the student in developing the required knowledge and skills.

The student aviator, upon completion of all these stages of training, is selected to undergo further training in the helicopter, multi-engine, or tail hook pipeline. The helicopter students report to South Whiting Field for training in the TH-57. The multi-engine selectees report to NAS Corpus Christi, Texas for training in the T-44C or TC-12. Students who select the tail hook pipeline receive training at either NAS Meridian in Mississippi or NAS Kingsville in Texas flying the T-45.

This complex training evolution requires the coordinated efforts of approximately 80 Naval Officer Instructor Pilots and 11 civilian personnel to produce approximately 250 "completers" each year. Logging nearly 1,745 flight hours each month, Training Squadron TWO has flown in excess of 2,513,165 flight hours and trained more than 24,382 students since commissioning 57 years ago.