The Mighty Trojan Traditional Cache
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Difficulty:
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Size: 
(regular)
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Nice park-and-grab cache. Watch for desert vegetation. Muggles are usually around on weekdays.
This cache is the second in a series commemorating the various aircraft I flew as a pilot in my 20-year Air Force career. Some of these aircraft are viewable in storage at the Air Force Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group (AMARG), more commonly known as "The Boneyard." Others are on display at the Pima Air and Space Museum. There is one T-28 Trojan at the Pima Air and Space Museum, but none at the Boneyard. You might find some in the various scrap-yards surrounding the Air Base.
The T-28 Trojan was the aircraft I was assigned to upon returning from my Southeast Asia Tour, where I flew the OV-10 Bronco as a Forward Air Controller (but that is another story for another cache)
The T-28 Trojan was flown by both the U.S. Air Force and the U.S. Navy, primarily as a trainer aircraft, although it was also flown in combat in Southeast Asia by Laotian, South Vietnamese and U.S. Air Force Pilots.
My mission in the Trojan was to train South Vietnamese pilots so that they could return to their country and take over the fighting of the war there. This was all part of the process called the "Vietnamization" of the war in Southeast Asia and was critical to the withdrawal of American forces from that conflict.
We trained these students at Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi at the 3389th Pilot Training Squadron. In addition to training Vietnamese pilots, over the years we also trained over 1,100 students from 34 nations, including Laos, Thailand, Jordan, Nigeria, Guatemala, Honduras, Norway and Iran.
The Vietnamese students received a short, 6-week English language course prior to beginning their flight training, so communicating with them was extremely difficult and required a LOT of patience. They were highly motivated, intelligent and sociable, and we developed some very close friendships with many of them.
Now for the aircraft itself: The T-28 Trojan was built by North American Aviation from 1949-1957.There were four basic models: T-28A, B, C, and D. The "A" model was primarily designed as a basic trainer and had a smaller, less powerful engine than the B, C and D models. The B and C models were used for advanced training and had much more powerful engines. The "D" model also had the larger engine and was called the "Nomad" rather than the "Trojan"
Specifications: Length - 33 ft
Height - 13 ft
Wingspan - 40 ft
Weight - "A' - 7812 lbs
"B" - 8500 lbs
Then performance of the T-28B was quite impressive and in some flight areas comparable to the famous P-51 Mustang. There are still a lot of T-28s flying in airshows and the Reno Air Races and I hope you someday get an opportunity to see one in flight.
If you would like more information on this beautiful aircraft, check out these web sites:
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FTF gets a guest pass to the Pima Air and Space Museum where I volunteer as a tram tour docent every Tuesday. Come out to the Museum and say "Hi."
Additional Hints
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