T-6C trainer completes demo tour

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WICHITA, Kan., May 16 (UPI) -- A Hawker Beechcraft military training aircraft has finished up a two-month tour of the Asia-Pacific region to demonstrate its capabilities.

During the flying tour, the T-6C Texan II was put through its paces in India, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia, Japan, Australia and New Zealand.

Stops en route from and to company headquarters in Wichita, Kan., included Canada, Greenland, Iceland, England, Italy, Greece, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Russia.

"This tour allowed a wide cross-section of individuals and organizations to experience the T-6C's capabilities," said Russ Bartlett, Hawker Beechcraft Defense Co.'s vice president of business development. "Without exception, all commented on the ease of flying the T-6C -- evidence of the aircraft's excellent attributes for pilot training, as well as its inherent complexity in systems and maneuverability that can extend the training environment to teach and test pilots in the advanced phase of pilot training."

Deliveries of the T-6 began in 2000. More than half a dozen countries use the aircraft to train their military pilots.

The aircraft has a maximum speed of 364 miles per hour, a service ceiling of 31,000 feet and a range of more than 1,000 miles.