Model Airplane News Cover for October, 1963
Civilian Orientation Cruise
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Here is what the blurb about the cover has to say:

"...Our cover photo of the USS Lexington on a Naval Aviation Cadet training cruise in the Gulf of Mexico was planned by Bev Smith and taken by Photographer 3rd Class, James Colburn. Security would not allow Bev at the LSO's control position while flights were underway. T-28 is making an arrested landing ..."

About the Event

The Navy invited 37 civilians aboard the famous USS Lexington for a three day cruise to observe the functions, conduct, and problems of the Naval Air Command at Pensacola, Florida. According to Vice Admiral Fitzhugh Lee, Chief of Naval Air Training, the Navy trains over 100,000 people including 2,700 pilots, 100 Flight Surgeons, 40,000 ground crew and 45,000 maintenance specialists. The article also mentions that the Navy is very interested in the Model Airplane hobby, and sponsors the National Championships every year.

You may read the article by clicking to enlarge the pictures below:

     

About the Cruise
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About the Airplane Shown on the Cover

North American T-28 "Trojan" Trainer
Model Airplane News Cover Art for September, 1950
by Jo Kotula
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he North American Aviation T-28 "Trojan" was a piston-engined military trainer aircraft used by the United States Air Force and United States Navy beginning in the 1950s. Besides its use as a trainer, the T-28 was successfully employed as a Counter-insurgency aircraft primarily in Vietnam.

  

North American T-28 "Trojan" Trainer
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On 24 September 1949, the XT-28 was flown for the first time, designed to replace the T-6 Texan. The Air Force phased out the aircraft out of primary pilot training by the early 1960s, the aircraft continued to be used as a primary trainer by the Navy (and by default, the Marine Corps and Coast Guard) well into the early 1980s Many T-28s were subsequently sold to private civil operators, and due to their reasonable operating costs are often found flying as warbirds today. A number were remanufactured by Hamilton Aircraft into two versions called the Nomair.

In 1963, a Laotian Air Force T-28 piloted by a Thai national, defected to North Vietnam. Within six months the T-28 was refurbished and commissioned into the North Vietnamese Air Force as its first fighter aircraft.

Here is a video of the North American T-28 "Trojan" Trainer in action:

In addition to the cover of Model Airplane News, this airplane was also featured in the WINGS "Friend or Foe" trading card series of the early 1950s

Trading card representation of the North American T-28 "Trojan" Trainer
Click Here to see all 200 cards in the series
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Click Here for more information about the North American T-28 "Trojan" Trainer .

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