CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas - A 2013 Carmel High School graduate and Carmel, California, native is participating in a rigorous training process that transforms officers into U.S. naval aviators.
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| Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class David Finley |
Ensign William Rudiger is a student pilot with the “Stingrays” of Training Squadron (VT) 35, based in Naval Air Station Corpus, Christi, Texas. The squadron flies the T-44C Pegasus aircraft.
A Navy student pilot is responsible for learning to use multi-engine aircraft.
“I enjoy the challenge mastering the difficult aircraft,” Rudiger said.
Rudiger credits success in the Navy to many of the lessons learned growing up in Carmel.
“My hometown has filled me with a sense of adventure, a feeling of community and a hunger to always keep learning,” Rudiger said.
The T-44C Pegasus is a twin-engine, pressurized, fixed-wing monoplane used for advanced turboprop radar aircraft training using two 550 shaft horsepowered engines, with a cruising airspeed of 287 mph.
VT-35’s primary mission is to train future naval aviators to fly as well as instill leadership and officer values, Navy officials explained. Students must complete four phases of flight training in order to graduate, including aviation pre-flight indoctrination, primary flight training, and advanced flight training. After successfully completing the rigorous program, naval aviators earn their coveted “Wings of Gold.”
After graduation, pilots continue their training to learn how to fly a specific aircraft, such as the Navy’s P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft or Marine Corps’ MV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft. They are later assigned to a ship or land-based squadron.
A key element of the Navy the nation needs is tied to the fact that America is a maritime nation, and that the nation’s prosperity is tied to the ability to operate freely on the world’s oceans. More than 70 percent of the Earth’s surface is covered by water; 80 percent of the world’s population lives close to a coast; and 90 percent of all global trade by volume travels by sea.
Rudiger plays an important role in America’s focus on rebuilding military readiness, strengthening alliances and reforming business practices in support of National Defense Strategy.
“Our priorities center on people, capabilities and processes, and will be achieved by our focus on speed, value, results and partnerships,” said Secretary of the Navy Richard V. Spencer. “Readiness, lethality and modernization are the requirements driving these priorities.”
Though there are many ways for sailors to earn distinction in their command, community and career, Rudiger is most proud of being second to fly the new maritime patrol aircraft P-8.
“It allows me to fly a modified version of the 737, which is the last aircraft my grandfather flew,” Rudiger said.
Serving in the Navy is a continuing tradition of military service for Rudiger, who has military ties with family members who have previously served. Rudiger is honored to carry on the family tradition.
“I have two grandfathers and a great-grandfather who served, and it just means the world to me to continue their service,” Rudiger said.
As a member of one of the U.S. Navy’s most relied-upon assets, Rudiger and other sailors know they are part of a legacy that will last beyond their lifetimes providing the Navy the nation needs.
“It’s an honor to be able to serve and give back to my community and country to whom I am so thankful and owe so much,” Rudiger said.
A Navy student pilot is responsible for learning to use multi-engine aircraft.
“I enjoy the challenge mastering the difficult aircraft,” Rudiger said.
Rudiger credits success in the Navy to many of the lessons learned growing up in Carmel.
“My hometown has filled me with a sense of adventure, a feeling of community and a hunger to always keep learning,” Rudiger said.
The T-44C Pegasus is a twin-engine, pressurized, fixed-wing monoplane used for advanced turboprop radar aircraft training using two 550 shaft horsepowered engines, with a cruising airspeed of 287 mph.
VT-35’s primary mission is to train future naval aviators to fly as well as instill leadership and officer values, Navy officials explained. Students must complete four phases of flight training in order to graduate, including aviation pre-flight indoctrination, primary flight training, and advanced flight training. After successfully completing the rigorous program, naval aviators earn their coveted “Wings of Gold.”
After graduation, pilots continue their training to learn how to fly a specific aircraft, such as the Navy’s P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft or Marine Corps’ MV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft. They are later assigned to a ship or land-based squadron.
A key element of the Navy the nation needs is tied to the fact that America is a maritime nation, and that the nation’s prosperity is tied to the ability to operate freely on the world’s oceans. More than 70 percent of the Earth’s surface is covered by water; 80 percent of the world’s population lives close to a coast; and 90 percent of all global trade by volume travels by sea.
Rudiger plays an important role in America’s focus on rebuilding military readiness, strengthening alliances and reforming business practices in support of National Defense Strategy.
“Our priorities center on people, capabilities and processes, and will be achieved by our focus on speed, value, results and partnerships,” said Secretary of the Navy Richard V. Spencer. “Readiness, lethality and modernization are the requirements driving these priorities.”
Though there are many ways for sailors to earn distinction in their command, community and career, Rudiger is most proud of being second to fly the new maritime patrol aircraft P-8.
“It allows me to fly a modified version of the 737, which is the last aircraft my grandfather flew,” Rudiger said.
Serving in the Navy is a continuing tradition of military service for Rudiger, who has military ties with family members who have previously served. Rudiger is honored to carry on the family tradition.
“I have two grandfathers and a great-grandfather who served, and it just means the world to me to continue their service,” Rudiger said.
As a member of one of the U.S. Navy’s most relied-upon assets, Rudiger and other sailors know they are part of a legacy that will last beyond their lifetimes providing the Navy the nation needs.
“It’s an honor to be able to serve and give back to my community and country to whom I am so thankful and owe so much,” Rudiger said.