Ahead of the type’s planned retirement from Vance AFB, T-1A 93-0654 took to the skies over Oklahoma for one last aerial photography mission with The Aviationist contributor Greg “Cactus” Davis.
In preparation for the retirement of the T-1A Jayhawk in August 2026, the final aerial photos were shot at Vance AFB, Oklahoma, recently.
The photo shoot was carried out on July 23, 2026, during a late-afternoon sortie from Vance AFB, Oklahoma, home of the 71st Flying Training Wing and one of the final bases still operating the T-1A.
The subject aircraft was T-1A Jayhawk 93-0654, photographed from a T-6A Texan II chase aircraft by The Aviationist contributor Greg “Cactus” Davis.
The jet wore the standard markings of the 3rd Flying Training Squadron, including the “VN” tail code and the unit’s stylized American flag tail flash with three white stars.
Aircraft carrying commander or other special markings had already been retired or were being prepared for preservation and static display as the Air Force continued the final phase of the Jayhawk’s withdrawal from service.
Once its activity at Vance is complete, the final operational T-1As are expected to fly to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona, for induction into the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group, the “Boneyard.”
An American flag, folded into the traditional triangular shape, was carried aboard 93-0654 and placed inside the front-left cockpit window. The flag can be seen in several of the photographs from the mission that we are able to show here in exclusive.
Conducting the final aerial photos of the Beech T-1A jet was a noteworthy event for Davis.
On Aug. 24, 1992, he became the first civilian aerial photographer to conduct an air-to-air photo shoot with the then-new T-1A Jayhawk.
On that occasion, Davis photographed T-1A 91-0076, assigned to the 52nd Flying Training Squadron of the 64th Flying Training Wing at Reese AFB, Texas.
More than three decades later, he returned to photograph the aircraft during the closing stage of its career, completing a circle that began shortly after the Jayhawk entered service.
Based on the Beechjet 400A business jet, the T-1A was introduced to support the advanced phase of Specialized Undergraduate Pilot Training. It was used primarily to prepare pilots selected to fly multi-crewed/heavy aircraft such as tanker, airlift and other large multi-engine aircraft.
Its introduction allowed the Air Force to move much of the mobility-oriented training away from the T-38 Talon, using a platform whose handling, cockpit environment and crew coordination requirements were more representative of the aircraft students would later be assigned to.
The T-1A subsequently became an important part of the training pipeline for generations of mobility, special operations, reconnaissance and command-and-control pilots.
The retirement process has been gradual. The 451st Flying Training Squadron at NAS Pensacola retired their final T-1A Jayhawk to Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona on July 28, 2025. Columbus AFB completed its final T-1A student-training activities, ending more than 30 years of T-1A operations with the 14th Flying Training Wing, in November 2025, with its last Jayhawk subsequently delivered to Davis-Monthan in March 2026.
Vance continued operating the aircraft during the final stage of the fleet’s drawdown.
Acknowledgments
The Aviationist and contributor Greg L. Davis would like to thank Air Education and Training Command Headquarters Public Affairs, Vance AFB Public Affairs, the 71st Operations Support Squadron, the 3rd Flying Training Squadron and the 8th Flying Training Squadron for making this exclusive photo mission possible.
Special thanks go to Maj. James A. Davis, 3rd FTS Director of Operations; Maj. Nicholas Fairbrother, pilot; Lt. Col. Kyle Williams, copilot; Maj. Andrew Leach, safety observer; and Capt. Nicholas “Apex” Melville, the 8th FTS T-6A Texan II chase pilot.
