How big is a T-28?

[anthony31]

Pretty big. Park one alongside a Mustang and it looks like the T-28 could sit on the little fighter and squash the poor thing.

Doing some research on the various models I came across the T28-R-2 Nomair. This was a modified A model for civilian use and could seat up to 5 people!! (not bad for an ex military trainer).

There is still one flying today.

Check out the pics at airliners.net:
http://www.airliners.net/search/photo.search?codesearch=50449/TL-449&distinct_entry=true

Notice the porthole in the fuselage behind the trailing edge of the wing. There appears to be an access door (with porthole) on the right side. Presumably the extra passengers climb into this little cabin.

Also notice that this aircraft doesn't have the engine exhaust ports. I wonder were they've gone?

 

[Bomber_12th]

Very interesting! The exhaust is routed out the bottom of the cowling at two different points.

It reminds me of the Wildcat that the Collings Foundation recently purchased. It has a passenger compartment in the fuselage with executive-style seats, that can seat three people. This was done for its previous, long-time owner (once Grumman test pilot), and Collings is planning on beginning to restore the aircraft to stock condition after this year I believe.

http://www.courtesyaircraft.com/Current Inventory/N11FE Grumman Eastern Aircraft FM-2 Wildcat.htm

A view of the passenger area: http://www.courtesyaircraft.com/100_3138.JPG

 

[anthony31]

You're right about the exhaust stacks John, they've moved them lower down to either side of the nose gear.

That grumman must be a TARDIS. The plane is 4ft shorter than a T28 and it just looks smaller overall (the pilot in a T28 looks tiny, the cockpit in those Trojans are massive) yet the cabin looks rather roomy (probably still get more leg room than you do in a modern commercial jetliner)

 

[clmooring]

Trojan foot longer, 3' wider than mustang and weighs about 1000 lb less than mustang. I have seen trojans up close at Oceana airshows and they do seem rather large.

 

[clmooring]

PS... I hear there is a nice Trojan soon to be released for FSX by a great add on develper. And I intend to fly it alot!

 

[ryanbatc]

P.S. I get a "This video is private" when I attempt to watch your preview video on your site.

 

[Bomber_12th]

Okay, Anthony, I had thought I had seen and read about this aircraft before. There is a full article about this very specific aircraft in the November/December 2006 issue of "Warbird Digest".<o></o>
<o></o>
Here is the main chunk of the article, by Tim Savage, with the aircraft's owner Sam Lauff. As you read, it gets into the main details of this specific aircraft (some of which may not be noticeable until after you read about it):<o></o>
<o></o>

"Hamilton Aircraft, best known for its work with Beech 18 conversions, also wanted into the T-28 conversion business. They developed the T-28R, another T-28A conversion using the Wright R-1820. The first of their conversions was the T-28R-1 "Nomair", at least six of which were built and supplied to the Brazilian Navy. A further eleven aircraft were apparently built as five place T-28R-2s for the civilian market."<o></o>
<o></o>
"Lauff believes his aircraft was built for the Brazilian Navy, but he does not believe it was part of the original batch of six T-28R-1s and never made it out of the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1lace w:st="on">United States</st1lace></st1:country-region>. He picks up the story of the history of his bird. "I have dug around trying to get information, and I think I did pretty much get the scoop on what the <st1:city w:st="on"><st1lace w:st="on">Hamilton</st1lace></st1:city> conversion was about. From what I can understand, <st1:city w:st="on"><st1lace w:st="on">Hamilton</st1lace></st1:city> built eight airplanes for the Brazilian Navy, six of which were R-1s which were designed for Naval use and they had tail hooks on them. These started life as A-models and they didn't have a lot of modifications done to them as far as the conversion. Basically they had a tail hook installed (along with the engine conversion). It was not in the same position as the tail hook on the Charlie (T-28C) models at the very end of the tail, but further forward. <st1:city w:st="on"><st1lace w:st="on">Hamilton</st1lace></st1:city> just put big blocks inside the fuselage to form the structure for the tail hook to bolt on to. I think three of them are still actively floating around the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1lace w:st="on">United States</st1lace></st1:country-region>. The airplanes didn't get much use in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1lace w:st="on">Brazil</st1lace></st1:country-region> because as I learned later, their Navy wasn't supposed to be operating fixed wing aircraft, they were supposed to be flying choppers. So their air force made a big deal out of it and they really didn't execute flying the airplane."
<o></o>
"Lauff's Trojan carries the designation T-28R-2, even though it clearly is different from the civilian produced R-2s. He believes that there were only two converted as extensively as his own. "My particular airplane was modified for high altitude use mainly for photography. I believe mine was the only one that has the aft door in it to access the seat in the fuselage. There is also a porthole on both sides of the fuselage. The whole aft was insulated. It had a 110 volt 400 cycle electrical system in the back for a heat suit. It also had receptacles for oxygen and radio communications. The door was designed with a quick release so if the passenger had to get out he could pull the handle backwards, break the safety wire, and the door peeled off."<o></o>
<o></o>
"They relocated the exhaust system from above the wing, where most T-28's have it, to underneath the wing to keep it away from the door in the back. With a stock T-28 there is a problem with carbon monoxide entering the cockpit. If you ever look at a stock T-28 you see a black strip that kind of swirls up over the wing and it becomes obvious why the canopies are supposed to be closed."<o></o>
<o></o>
"Upfront Lauff's T-28 is a bit different as well. The <st1:city w:st="on"><st1lace w:st="on">Hamilton</st1lace></st1:city> conversions were re-engined with type certificated engines. In other words, the 'dash' number of the Wright 1820 placed on the aircraft was certified for commercial use. The R-1820-82 or R-1820-86 engines on a normal 'big engine' T-28 are not approved for commercial use. <st1:city w:st="on"><st1lace w:st="on">Hamilton</st1lace></st1:city> used surplus B-17 engines in order to obtain a Standard airworthiness certificate for their production. In order to facilitate the installation of this 'dash' number engine, in Lauff's case a -97, significant cowl reconstruction was necessary. "The -97 engine had a shorter crankshaft in it. If you've ever looked at a T-28, you'll notice there's a pretty big gap between the case of the engine and the back of the propeller. On the T-28R they totally modified the entire cowl and made it about six inches closer to the fuselage and flush back to the nose bowl." Another modification has provided an added element of safety to the operation of the T-28. "In a stock T-28 cowl there is only one handle to pull out to open the cowl up. If that handle isn't closed, the cowl will come up and the airplane will go down. Several of them have been lost this way. <st1:city w:st="on"><st1lace w:st="on">Hamilton</st1lace></st1:city> modified the airplane so it has dzus fasteners all around the perimeter of the cowl. Now there is no way for the cowl to open up. They also made modifications to the latch itself by placing another latch on top to create a double latch."<o></o>
<o></o>
"Since this T-28R-2 was designed for high altitude reconnaissance or photography, <st1lace w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Hamilton</st1:city></st1lace> lengthened the wing and installed additional fuel tanks. "They lengthened the wings by three feet on either end. And in the three feet are integral one hundred gallon fuel tanks. They basically put another 200 gallons of fuel on the airplane. The Bravos (T-28B) and Charlies (T-28Cs) have 56 gallon inboard tanks and then they have another bladder tank a little further out in the wing with about 30 gallons. Since the wing of my airplane uses A-model wings, it doesn't have the 30 gallon bladders, leaving me with 312 gallons of fuel which is pretty decent. Another thing that is kind of unique is the way the fuel feeding from the wingtip tanks does not in any shape or form feed into the main fuel tanks. In the Bravo or Charlie models, your fuel system is either on or off. In the <st1:city w:st="on"><st1lace w:st="on">Hamilton</st1lace></st1:city> I have two fuel selectors, one for the original main tanks and one for the wingtip tanks. In order to access fuel from the tip tanks you have to turn off the fuel on the main tank selector and select right or left on the tip selector. It was a bit dis-settling the first time I did it. There is also no boost pump to bring the fuel from the tips to the main fuel valve; it gets picked up by the engine driven pump, but outside of that it is strictly gravity feed. I only recommend using the wingtip tanks in straight and level flight. No sharp turns or take-offs or landings."<o></o>
<o></o>
"Despite all the extensive wing modifications to an essentially one-off aircraft, Lauff's T-28R is certified in the Standard Category. Most "big-engined" T-28s are licensed in the FAA's Experimental Exhibition category which requires the local FAA office to provide operating limitations for the aircraft. According to Lauff, the T-28R-2 has its own Flight Manual, written by Hamilton, apparently one of the requirements of receiving a Standard Category license. In addition to the advantage of operating a Standard Category T-28, Lauff's T-28R can boast a relatively low airframe time of 3800 hours. Most T-28Bs and T-28Cs have 15,000 hours or more."<o></o>
<o></o>
"Lauff certainly enjoys flying the T-28 and participates in a number of airshows during the year with other T-28 owners. "The airplane has unbelievable flight characteristics compared to stock T-28s. If you are doing a formation take-off, it just climbs so rapidly that I have to hold it down and actually bring the power back. If I don't, I will just blast off and leave them. Climbing up to around 12,000 feet I have to carry an inch or more of power to stay with them (manifold pressure), but as we get up to the higher altitudes I just start walking away from them. The extra lift of the long wing really starts to pay off at that point."

 

[anthony31]

What a great read John. Thanks for posting.

re the missing video. Damn I hate google. They signed me up for Google plus (without my permission) and when I ask them to delete that it looks like they deleted my youtube videos as well (only two of them anyway). Damn I hate google.

 

[stansdds]

What a great read John. Thanks for posting.

re the missing video. Damn I hate google. They signed me up for Google plus (without my permission) and when I ask them to delete that it looks like they deleted my youtube videos as well (only two of them anyway). Damn I hate google.

Resistance is futile. You have been assimilated.

Back on subject. Yes, the T-28 is a pretty big bird. Sitting in the cockpit is said to be akin to sitting on top of the world.

 

[fliger747]

I know a forest service guy that flew one wit cameras for finding hot spots. Another gent in North Pole has one, by at $6/gal for gas not sure how much it is flown. Another friend flew one in Navy flight training as his first plane! Quite a first plane!

T

 

[Scratch]

I was at a small airshow in New Iberia several years ago looking at some classic GA aircraft when I head this godawful loud noise. I turned around and saw a T-28 pulling up about 50 feet from me. I had never seen one before. It was a beast of a plane. I don't know which one it was, but it had a camoflage paint job and the nose art was 'Swamp' something or other.

 

[Daveroo]

there are several of them at auburn..allways have a long line of them at the airfair ,and atleast once a week and several times on the weekends a blue on flys around the area.

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i thought id add the Taylor Aerocar just for fun...it was based in Auburn for several years,its moved to Fl now i believe,the yellow T-28 belongs to Julie Clark from Cameron Park Ca..http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julie_Clark

 

[heywooood]

How BIG is a T-28?....

How SOON is a T-28?

 

[stansdds]

The T-28 does produce a distinctive sound. There is one operating out of my local airport (KFCI). He flies over my house quite a bit. Another type that overflies me often and has a really distinctive sound is the Piaggio P-180.

 

[Daveroo]

well..hows this for sounds......we get the seafuries out of the sanders brothers ( im assuming) now and again..and there is a nice one in the bay area in australian colors with the centarian engine that sounds awesome...see/hear him now and again..plus Dwelle is having the sanders rebuild "Critical Mass" back to stock so it should be back in the air before long..

i still love to hear the OV-10s and S2Ts from CalFire though......and i know this is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay off topic...but sue me....lol

 

[stansdds]

Here in central Virginia, all of those sounds are rare to non-existent. I used to hear S2F's, but that was at the beach and then the USN retired them.

 

[clmooring]

Is the t-28 the only single radial engine war bird with tri-cycle landing gear? All the other tri-cycle piston war birds I can think of are inline or multi-engine? Am i forgetting some?

---

 

[Bomber_12th]

The only one I can think of right now is the Ryan Fireball (but it also had a jet engine).

 

[Sundog]

There was also the Skypirate and the Destroyer

 

[Ian Warren]

There was also the Skypirate and the Destroyer

Yeah , the Destroyer looked the part with a name to suit .... Radial ... the most radical tricycle radial jobbie would be Northrop's XP-56 .... that one would suit Tim 'Piglet' Conrad design studio to a 'T' .


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