Official T-44C Pegasus US Flag Patch — Beechcraft T-44C Pegasus King Air 90 US Navy Multi-Engine Trainer Embroidered Patch Forty-eight years of Pegasus pilots — T-44C, Wings of Gold for every multi-engine and tilt-rotor aviator. The Beechcraft T-44C Pegasus is the United States Navy's twin-engine, pressurized turboprop multi-engine trainer used to qualify naval aviators in the multi-engine and tilt-rotor pipelines. Originally introduced as the T-44A in 1977 as a derivative of the Beechcraft King Air 90, the T-44 has trained Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard student aviators selected for the maritime patrol, carrier turboprop, electronic communications relay, and tilt-rotor communities for nearly five decades from Naval Air Station Corpus Christi, Texas. The aircraft is powered by two 550 shaft horsepower Pratt & Whitney PT6A-34B turboprop engines, equipped with the Rockwell Collins Pro Line 21 digital glass-cockpit avionics suite, accommodates three crew (one instructor and two student pilots), reaches a maximum speed of 245 knots, and operates to a service ceiling of 31,300 feet. The fleet was upgraded from T-44A to T-44C beginning in January 2007 — adding the Pro Line 21 cockpit and modernized navigation and instrument suite. Operated by VT-31 "Wise Owls" and VT-35 "Stingrays" under Training Air Wing FOUR (CTW-4), the T-44C has put generations of P-3 / P-8 maritime patrol, E-2 Hawkeye, E-6 Mercury, C-130 Hercules, MV-22B Osprey, and CMV-22B Osprey aviators through advanced multi-engine and asymmetric flight training. The type is now being progressively replaced by the new T-54A Marlin II — but the Pegasus tail still wears Wings of Gold across the Coastal Bend. Perfect For: T-44C Pegasus instructor pilots, student naval aviators, and maintainers, VT-31 Wise Owls and VT-35 Stingrays personnel, NAS Corpus Christi residents and Texas Coastal Bend naval aviation community, Training Air Wing FOUR (CTW-4) personnel, CNATRA staff, P-3/P-8, E-2, E-6, C-130, and V-22 multi-engine pipeline alumni, and Beechcraft King Air 90 heritage enthusiasts. T-44C Pegasus — Wings of Gold since 1977.
