This T-28 is unusual in having a one-piece wing, which was joined with the fuselage at Ardmore on 17 November.
Christchurch-based Brian Hall, owner of ex-Saudi Strikemaster ZK-VPR, has imported another exotic type — a North American T28B Trojan modified to a ‘G’ model.
The aeroplane arrived at Ardmore in late October and will be reassembled by Pioneer Aero Ltd with the aim of having it flying for Easter’s Classic Fighters Airshow at Omaka.
This particular Trojan was built in 1953 as c/n 200-289 and was accepted into the United States Navy (USN) on 21 April 1955 as N1283G. There it served until 15 June 1984 when it was placed into storage with the US Air Force Museum Account at Davis Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, Arizona.
Following two years in storage it was purchased by a Florida owner who made it airworthy again, before it was purchased in 1989 by an ex-navy aviator in the New York area who spared no expense bringing the Trojan back to better-than-new condition.
The work was undertaken under the supervision of a retired North American T-28 project engineer who designated it a ‘G’ model and included an engine conversion from the usual Curtiss Wright R1820 to a Pratt & Whitney Twin Wasp R2000. This is likely the only Trojan in the world to have undergone this change, an FAA certified modification that also gives a more streamlined nose cowling than a standard T-28.
This aeroplane is also unusual in having a one-piece wing, which in a major milestone was reattached to the fuselage on 17 November 2014. Once completed, the Trojan will be painted in an original USN scheme of overall white with orange dayglow stripes, as operated from Pensacola, Florida.
North American Pride Aircraft is based at Rockford, Illinois, where in the corner of its hangar Pioneer Aero director Paul McSweeny found the Trojan by chance while inspecting another aircraft for an Auckland-based owner. Knowing that Brian was looking for a Trojan, Paul and Kevin Langford (Brian’s engineer) returned the next day at the invitation of North American Pride to inspect the aeroplane.
Brian, who had been looking for a suitable Trojan for two years, says he cannot speak highly enough of Kevin and the team at North American Pride who were extremely helpful in dismantling the aeroplane and getting it into two 40ft containers for its journey to New Zealand.
NZ Aviation News congratulates Brian on his acquisition, and we look forward to seeing this aeroplane on the airshow circuit in the not too distant future — hopefully in the company of New Zealand’s other resident Trojan.
- Report by Nicholas McIndoe, photograph supplied by Pioneer Aero