G'day,

I noticed a story today about the retirement of the U.S. Navy's T-2
Buckeye trainers which I've long admired as an aircraft that "just looks
right".

The article...

http://www.aero-news.net/index.cfm?contentBlockId=867de943-9860-428f-b778-bd4881...

...talks about about the aircraft's age:

"Last week, a T-2 Buckeye made its last student training flight from
Naval Air Station Pensacola, before the type was retired from service
after close to 50 years."

...and goes on to say:

"The Buckeye will be replaced with the T-45 Goshawk... which sports far
more advanced avionics, and flying dynamics that more closely mimic the
F/A-18s Navy aviators fly in active duty."

Out of interest I thought I'd read up about on these "new" T-45s and I
found on Boeing's website:

http://www.boeing.com/history/mdc/goshawk.htm

"In 1978, McDonnell Douglas and British Aerospace developed the T-45A
Goshawk, a carrier-suitable version of the British Aerospace Hawk."