Boeing T - 43 The Boeing T - 43 was a modified Boeing 737 - 200 used by the United States Air Force for training navigators . Informally referred to as the Gator ( an abbreviation of " navigator " ) and " Flying Classroom " , nineteen of these aircraft were delivered during 1973 and 1974 . Several were later converted to CT - 43As as executive transports . The T - 43 was retired in 2010 after 37 years of service . Design and development . The T - 43As were used for USAF Undergraduate Navigator / Combat Systems Officer training ( with the exception of those USAF Navigators / CSOs slated for the F - 15E and B - 1B ) and advanced interservice NAV pipeline training for Student Naval Flight Officer s slated for eventual assignment to land - based naval aircraft . Externally , the T - 43 differs from the civilian aircraft by having more antennas and fewer windows . The T - 43A has stations on board for twelve navigator students , six navigator instructors , as well as a pilot and co - pilot . The student training compartment is equipped with avionics gear as used in contemporary operational aircraft . This includes ground mapping radar ; VHF omnidirectional range ( VOR ) and Tactical air navigation system ( TACAN ) avionics systems ; Long Range Navigation System ( LORAN - C ) ; inertial navigation system ; radar altimeter ; and all required VHF , UHF and HF communications equipment . Five periscopic sextant stations spaced along the length of the training compartment were used for celestial navigation training . However , with the advent of GPS , student navigators are no longer taught celestial navigation or LORAN . The aircraft had considerably more training capability than the aircraft it replaced , the T - 29 . Introduction of the T - 43 into Air Force Undergraduate Navigator Training ( UNT ) in 1974 also enabled the U . S . Navy to disestablish Training Squadron TWENTY - NINE ( VT - 29 ) and its T - 29 aircraft at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi , Texas that had been training student Naval Flight Officer s for various land - based naval aircraft such as the P - 3 Orion , EP - 3 Aries , and variants of the C - 130 Hercules . The Navy then merged its NFO " NAV " pipeline with Air Force UNT in 1976 , forming Interservice Undergraduate Navigator Training ( IUNT ) with both Navy students and instructors . Inside each T - 43A training compartment are two minimum proficiency , two maximum proficiency and 12 student navigator stations . Two stations form a console , and instructors can move their seats to the consoles and sit beside students for individual instruction . The large cabin allows easy access to seating and storage , yet reduces the distance between student stations and instructor positions . The aircraft were initially assigned to the 323rd Flying Training Wing ( 323 FTW ) of the Air Training Command ( ATC ) at Mather AFB , CA , plus two additional aircraft assigned to the Colorado Air National Guard to support introductory air navigation training for cadets at the United States Air Force Academy . When the 323 FTW was inactivated and Mather AFB closed by Base Realignment and Closure ( BRAC ) action in 1993 , most of the T - 43s were transferred to the 12th Flying Training Wing ( 12 FTW ) of the Air Education and Training Command ( AETC ) at Randolph AFB , TX , with the 12 FTW assuming the undergraduate navigator training role . Operational history . The T - 43 was last based at Randolph Air Force Base , Texas and operated originally by the 558th Flying Training Squadron ( 558 FTS ) and since 1996 by the 562d Flying Training Squadron and by the 563d Flying Training Squadron since 1999 . The two additional aircraft used for introductory air navigation training of USAF Academy cadets continue to be operated by the Colorado Air National Guard at Buckley AFB and Peterson AFB , Colorado . In addition , several T - 43A were later modified to a transport aircraft configuration designated CT - 43A , such as one previously operated by the 6th Air Mobility Wing ( 6 AMW ) at MacDill AFB , Florida in support of United States Southern Command ( USSOUTHCOM ) for transport of the USSOUTHCOM Commander in Central and South America . The 6 AMW ' s CT - 43A aircraft was replaced by a Gulfstream C - 37A aircraft in early 2001 . Throughout its service in the Air Training Command and the successor Air Education and Training Command , no T - 43 was ever lost in a mishap . Among the T - 43s removed from navigator training and converted to CT - 43A executive transports , one aircraft ( AF Ser . No . 73 - 1149 ) assigned to the 86th Airlift Wing ( 86 AW ) at Ramstein Air Base , Germany to support United States European Command ( USEUCOM ) crashed in Croatia in 1996 while carrying then - U . S . Secretary of Commerce Ron Brown and 34 other passengers . There were no survivors and subsequent investigation determined that this was a controlled flight into terrain ( CFIT ) mishap as a result of pilot error . On September 17 , 2010 the last T - 43 flight was flown at Randolph Air Force Base , and it was subsequently retired from the active Air Force service after 37 years of service .