Sunday, July 06, 2014
T-28
Here's a T-28C at the Pima Air Museum. The C model was a big-engine B with a tailhook for carrier operations.
The B and C models have a 1,425 hp Wright R-1820-9 radial engine, three-blade propeller and a belly-mounted speed brake. The older A model was the Air Force version. These have a two-blade propeller and a 800 hp Wright R-1300-7 radial engine.
Plenty of these still fly today. The Air Force A Model is more common as more were made (1,194 vs. 755 B&C Models) but the B and C are desired for their improved performance. Many of them are flown by aerobatic groups like The Trojan Horsemen.
Sadly, these demonstrations aren't without risk. One of these T-28s crashed at the Martinsburg, WV airshow in 2011, killing the pilot, John Mangan. I happened to be there that day and saw it happen. And every time I see one of these T-28s, I remember that day. I probably always will.
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The author Martian Carding used an air-show T-28 flown by a terminally ill pilot saving the day so to speak in either “Operation Nuke” or “Almost Midnight”. It was an outstanding story and heroic end of a T-28, worth the time to find and read.
ReplyDeleteI flew the T-28 with VT-6 1976-1977. It was a really fun aircraft to fly, and being based at NAS Whiting, near Pensacola, it was a great duty station. There's a T-28B hanging from the ceiling of the NAS Pensacola Aviation museum that I had a lot of time in. At least she's safe there. After I left, they started bringing in the T34C as a replacement for the Trojans. The Navy burned a lot of the Trojans as fire training hulks.
ReplyDeleteThere were a few of these assigned to MCAS Yuma when I was stationed there. They were flown pretty regularly. This was 65-67
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