tLILrfil, 22 uecemoer iy-iy

North American T-28—the first tricycle trainer for the U.S.A.F. This view shows the large size of the bubble canopy and the small
size of the pilot in relation to the engine and fuselage. North American Aviation, Inc., have 268 on order for the U.S.A.F.

U.S.A.F. TRAINER AIRCRAFT

A Design Review of the Post-war Tutorial Stable
By STANLEY H. EVANS, F.R.Ae.S., A.F.I.Ae.S.

L OOKING back over the past year or so, a broad land-

scape view of U.S. Air Force trainer trends is now
possible and a design comparison can be presented
within the two-seater piston^engined group comprising the
continuous trainer design and production since its incor-
poration in 1934 and has produced over 20,000 trainers
for U.S. and other customers.) The most noticeable ex-
ternal difference is the nosewheel landing gear, steerable
North American T-28, Douglas XT-30 and Fairchild T-31. from both cockpits through an electro-hydraulic boost
Two private-venture designs, the Beech T-34 and Temco control. This is, in fact, the first time that a tricycle gear
T-35, are also worthy of note. has "been written into a U.S.A.F. trainer specification, and
The new " T " designation now embraces the whole range in view of the end result being sought—the pilotage of jet
of Air Force trainer aircraft, in place of the earlier sub- fighters and bombers—such a design requirement is man-
divisions of PT, BT and AT for primary, basic and datory for an advanced'trainer. (The case for this type
advanced types. It also includes trainer aircraft in the of landing gear is not, perhaps, quite so clear-cut for
twin-engined category such as the Convair T-29, intended primary trainers.)
for twin-engined pilot and navigator training, so it will be But looking beneath the skin of the T-28 there can be
fitting to finish up in the classroom with a brief look at this little doubt that the major design-feature that influenced
aircraft. its selection by the Air Force was the ease of access for
maintenance on the flight line, bearing hi mind the ham-
NORTH AMERICAN T-28 fisted hammering that befalls the military trainer, day in
Winner of an industry-wide U.S.A.F. competition for an and day out. This built-in design philosophy—it is really
all-purpose tandem two-seater trainer, the first of a pro- the underlying theme rather than any single feature—
duction batch of 268 T-28S recently completed its initial reduces both l i e mechanic personnel and the" time required
flight-tests. The T-28 was planned as a combination in keeping the aircraft serviceable. For instance, a
primary-basic-advanced • trainer to qualify pilots from the mechanic can work on the rear of the engine without open-
tyro to the advanced stage in readiness for the transition
step to jet fighters. The final step between piston and jet Airframe mock-up and operational engine test-bed of the proposed
will be met by the new Lockheed TF-80C, the two-seater Douglas XT-30 all-purpose trainer powered with an 800 h.p. Wright
version of the F-80 Shooting Star. (The TF-80C—-described Cyclone mounted behind the cockpit. A tractor airscrew is driven
in Flight of May 6th, 1948—has now been re-tagged the by shafting under the floor of the cockpit, d la Bell Airacobra. This
design was the runner-up in competition with the T-28, but no
T-33-) prototype order was placed.
That, at any rate, was the original idea behind the T-28,
but since the specification was laid down there seems to
have been a change of heart or training philosophy, pos-
sibly influenced by the Navy's voice in the unification
programme. Not unexpectedly, perhaps, the 800-horse
stable of the T-28 has been questioned as a bit of a handful
for the neophyte pilot to hold under rein, and so recently
the Air Force placed an order for 100 Fairchild T-31
primary trainers while engaged in further co-ordination of
the joint Air Force-Navy training programme. The T-31
was originally designed as the XNQ-i for the Navy and
will be discussed in turn.
With one important exception, the T-28 follows the con-
ventional design pattern of N.A.A.'s previous series of
trainers from the original NA-16 right on up the family line
to' the ubiquitous AT-6 Texan used by so many Air Forces
during and since the war. (This company has been in