Category: Modern Era (1945-Present)

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T-28C Trojan “Top Banana” Offered For Sale

Please Note: This is an archived post. The information presented here may not be current and the associated listing may no longer be active.

Julie Clark’s “Top Banana” T-28C Trojan N128JC (S/N 140549) has hit the market.

The aircraft reportedly received a ground up restoration in 1992 and has had the same owner for 19 years. The airframe is said to have amassed a total time of 9,847 hours, while the Wright Cyclone R-1820-86B has 589 hrs SMOH by by Air Power.

The machine reportedly includes an avionics package as well as a lengthy list of additional equipment, including custom aluminum storage bins in aft fuselage, Oregon Aero custom seat cushions and a Hooker harness in both cockpits.

The aircraft is currently located in Cameron Park, CA and is currently being offered for $249,000. Click here to check out the complete listing.

(Photo: Bill Larkins via Wikimedia Commons)

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Mississippi F-86L Sabre Arrives at New Home, Restoration to Follow [Video]

On Tuesday, Chennault Aviation & Military Museum in Monroe, Louisiana welcomed a new arrival in the form of an F-86L Sabre.

The aircraft (S/N 53-01061) is said to have been acquired from a base in Crystal Springs, Mississippi by a local doctor many years back. He transported it to a VFW post along I-55 near Hazlehurst, Mississippi, where it has been on outdoor display since 1968. The post closed about a decade ago and the aircraft has since suffered from vandalism and continued exposure to the elements.

The museum reportedly went through a lengthy approval process in order to receive the Sabre and also launched coordination and fundraising efforts to relocate it. The machine will now be restored on museum grounds and displayed “on certified loan from the National Museum of the United States Air Force.”

The restoration will be performed by volunteers and is expected to take roughly a year and a half.

Click below to check out local news coverage and photos of its arrival.

Continue reading Mississippi F-86L Sabre Arrives at New Home, Restoration to Follow [Video]

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RAF’s First Folland Gnat T.Mk1 Offered For Sale

Please Note: This is an archived post. The information presented here may not be current and the associated listing may no longer be active.

The airframe of Folland Gnat T.Mk1 FL.514/XM709 has hit the market.

The machine is said to be a pre-production aircraft that first flew in 1962 and went on to become the first T.Mk1 to enter service with the RAF. The machine is reportedly equipped with its wing, both seats and most instruments, although it lacks an engine. It is said to be in “decent shape” and ideal for a post guard or ad platform.

The aircraft, which is sold as parts and lacks a title, is currently located in West Palm Beach, Florida and is offered for $14,900. Click here to check out the complete listing on eBay.

A second T.Mk1 airframe described as an ex-Red Arrows machine in similar condition is also availble for $5,900. Click here to learn more.

Please Note: This post contains an eBay affiliate link. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.

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Temporary Home Sought For Restored Harrier That Won 1969 Transatlantic Race

A temporary home is being sought for a newly restored Harrier with a historic past.

The aircraft (XV741) won the transatlantic race from London to New York in 1969, an event held by the Daily Mail to commemorate the original 1919 flight by Alcock and Brown. Departing from a coalfield near St. Pancras, RAF test pilot Tom Lecky-Thompson flew the machine to the Empire State Building in 6 hrs 11 mins and 57 seconds.

XV741 was recently restored by Jet Art Aviation, Ltd. in a process that included the removal of 17 layers of paint. The aircraft is reportedly being kept in a hangar just south of York, and while it does have an eventual home, the owner would like the jet to be placed on public display “in a suitable museum environment so the aircraft and restoration work can be enjoyed by the public, especially for the 50th anniversary of the race next year.”

A loan period of up to 3 years would be considered.

Click below to check out recent restoration updates.

Continue reading Temporary Home Sought For Restored Harrier That Won 1969 Transatlantic Race

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Charity Hopes to Preserve Historic Flight Collection As Royal Navy Withdraws Funding

The Royal Navy has reportedly withdrawn funding from Historic Flight, a unit which was “established in 1972 as a living memorial to all those who have served in the Royal Naval Air Service and Fleet Air Arm since the birth of naval aviation in 1909.”

The Yeovilton, Somerset-based collection includes Swordfish Mk.I W5856, Swordfish Mk.II LS326, Swordfish Mk.III NF389, Sea Fury FB.11 VR930 and Sea Hawk FGA.6 WV908. The machines attend air displays throughout the United Kingdom while providing “something of a ‘shop window’ on the Fleet Air Arm.”

The operation of Historic Flight will now be handled by Navy Wings, “the recognized Royal Naval Charity” which “raises money to keep important historic Naval Aircraft in the skies.” A plan is currently underway to transfer the Historic Flight aircraft to the civil register and into Navy Wings ownership. Continue reading Charity Hopes to Preserve Historic Flight Collection As Royal Navy Withdraws Funding

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Mars Models Announces Development of 1/144 Tu-4 Bomber

Mars Models has announced the development of a Tupolev Tu-4 in 1/144 scale.

The Tu-4 was a Soviet strategic bomber that is essentially an unlicensed, reverse engineered copy of the B-29 Superfortress. It performed its maiden flight in 1947 and went on to serve until the 1960s, during which time a number of variants were produced for long-range bombing, transport and passenger-carrying duties.

Details about the Mars kit are nonexistent at the moment, although renderings have been released. Click below to check out an additional example.

Continue reading Mars Models Announces Development of 1/144 Tu-4 Bomber

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World’s Only “Big Tail” SR-71 Undergoes Repaint

The Air Force Armament Museum located at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida is in the process of repainting their SR-71 Blackbird.

The aircraft, SR-71A S/N 61-7959, was completed in 1965 and, in 1975, was modified with a nine-foot boom on its aft end carrying Electronic Countermeasures and an Optical Bar Camera. The result earned the machine the moniker “Big Tail” and it would remain the only example of the type to be fitted with the modification, as tests revealed that the equipment provided no marked advantage. The aircraft performed its last flight in 1976, being placed in outdoor storage before being moved to its current home in 1991.

The repainting process is reportedly being carried out with brush and rollers and, as of this writing, prep work has been completed and primer application is in progress. When complete, the machine will reportedly retain its signature black finish.

Click below to check out photos of the progress.

Continue reading World’s Only “Big Tail” SR-71 Undergoes Repaint

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Mystery Photo Stokes Excitement About Possible New Avro Vulcan Model Kit

Trumpeter/Hobby Boss whet the appetites of Avro Vulcan fans earlier today with the above photo, which has stoked excitement that a new kit representing the iconic Cold War delta wing bomber may be on the horizon.

Unfortunately, no information was included, so scale, kit contents, pricing and availability details are unknown at the moment.

Here’s hoping some light is shed on the mystery in the near future.

(via Trumpeter & Hobby Boss)

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Nuclear Museum Launches Effort to Restore B-47 Stratojet [Video]

The National Museum of Nuclear Science & History in Albuquerque is planning to restore New Mexico’s only Boeing B-47E Stratojet, which is currently part of their nine-acre outdoor exhibit area.

The machine (S/N 53-2280) was constructed by Boeing in 1955 and went on to serve mainly as a test bed for “fly-by-wire” technology. Following removal from the USAF inventory in 1969, it was transferred from the USAF Heritage Museum program, and in 2013 arrived at its current home at the National Museum of Nuclear Science & History.

One of only 23 examples of the type remaining, the museum’s B-47 has become part of “Operation Preservation,” a multi-year campaign to refurbish the collection’s iconic aircraft residing on outdoor display. The effort will reportedly begin this month under the supervision of Brigadier General (Ret.) Jay Bledsoe, Restoration Project Manager, and include bodywork and a new coat of primer and paint. Continue reading Nuclear Museum Launches Effort to Restore B-47 Stratojet [Video]

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B-52 “Midnight Express” Begins Journey to Seattle, Reassembly for New Memorial to Follow [Video]

Last week The Museum of Flight in Seattle, Washington received the first truckload of parts for their B-52G Stratofortress “Midnight Express” following an exterior restoration.

As previously reported, the bomber (S/N 59-2584) has been parked outdoors at the museum’s Paine Field facility in Everett for the past 26 years. A $2.2 million effort was launched to restore the machine for use as the centerpiece of a new Vietnam Air War Memorial Park, which will pay tribute to the aircraft of the Vietnam War and honor the service members who flew and supported them.

Now repainted, the aircraft has been partially disassembled and is now in the process of being moved to the memorial park site on west side of the Museum’s Aviation Pavilion. The museum reports that the “small parts” will be stored until final assembly takes place later this spring.

Click below to check out a video of the first parts following their arrival.

Continue reading B-52 “Midnight Express” Begins Journey to Seattle, Reassembly for New Memorial to Follow [Video]