An official website of the United States government
Here's how you know
A .mil website belongs to an official U.S. Department of Defense organization in the United States.
A lock (lock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .mil website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Home : News : News
JBSA News
NEWS | Oct. 31, 2013

Memory Lane: Pilot training comes to Randolph

By Linda Garza Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph Public Affairs

(Editor's note: Memory Lane is a monthly column featuring the history of Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph.)

Today, Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph is home to one of the largest flying schools in the world, where future Air Force instructor pilots train on the T-6A Texan II, T-38 C Talon and T-1A Jayhawk.

However, JBSA-Randolph's renowned pilot instructor training did not begin at this installation, but at Duncan Field, Texas.

The U.S. Army Air Corps Training Center headquarters moved to Randolph Field Oct. 25, 1931, and first took to the skies Nov. 2, 1931. Throughout the next eight years, the school saw more than 4,798 students walk its halls and progress to become capable pilots.

Primary flying training continued at Randolph Field until 1939, when the Air Corps contracted primary flight training to civilian schools, and Randolph Field's mission shifted to basic pilot training.

During the next few years, the decision was made to change the mission at Randolph to training instructors for all three phases - basic, primary and advanced - of the flying training program. Since that time, pilot instructor training remained a central part of Randolph Field's mission.

In 1943, the Central Instructors School replaced the Air Corps Primary Flying School. During this time, the Central Instructors School trained about 15,396 pilots as instructors. Two years later, it was renamed the Army Air Force Pilot School.

After the Air Force became a separate service in 1947, it officially became known as Randolph Air Force Base instead of Air Field and served as the home of the Air Training Command by 1957.