Official VT-28 Rangers T-6B Shoulder Patch

Official VT-28 Rangers T-6B Shoulder Patch — Training Squadron 28 Embroidered Patch

Where naval aviators earn their wings in the Texan II—VT-28, the Rangers, training the next generation of Navy and Marine Corps pilots at NAS Corpus Christi.

Training Squadron 28 (VT-28), the "Rangers," is a primary flight training squadron assigned to Training Air Wing Four (TW-4) at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi, Texas. VT-28 operates the Beechcraft T-6B Texan II—a tandem-seat, single-engine turboprop trainer that serves as the primary training aircraft for all student naval aviators and student naval flight officers in the United States Navy and Marine Corps. Every pilot who earns their Wings of Gold in naval aviation has flown the T-6B during the primary phase of flight training.

The T-6B Texan II replaced the venerable T-34C Turbo Mentor in the primary training role, introducing a modern glass cockpit with digital displays, a Hands-On Throttle and Stick (HOTAS) system, and an on-board oxygen generating system that better prepares students for the advanced tactical aircraft they will fly in the fleet. Powered by a Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-68 turboprop engine producing 1,100 shaft horsepower, the Texan II is fully aerobatic and capable of sustained operations between +7 and -3.5 G, giving student aviators their first exposure to the high-performance maneuvering environment of tactical aviation.

VT-28 is part of the Chief of Naval Air Training (CNATRA) command, which oversees the entire naval aviation training pipeline from initial flight screening through advanced training in strike fighters, maritime patrol, helicopters, and tiltrotor aircraft. The Rangers conduct approximately 200 to 250 training flights per week during peak operations, taking students through the contact, instrument, formation, and navigation phases of primary flight training. NAS Corpus Christi has served as a naval aviation training hub since 1941, when the base was commissioned as part of the massive wartime expansion of the naval aviation training program.

Perfect For: VT-28 Rangers members and instructors, T-6B Texan II student naval aviators, CNATRA training command personnel, NAS Corpus Christi-based aviators, Training Air Wing Four members, and naval aviation training enthusiasts.

The Rangers of VT-28—where every naval aviator's journey begins, building the foundation of skill and discipline that carries pilots from the Texan II to the fleet.