Warbird Information Exchange

hi all,

In the December 2009 issue of Flight Journal is an article on the T-37B retirement. I was never a fan of the T-37 but wanted to share the last paragraph in the article.

It reads, "The Raytheon T-6A Texan II replaced the T-37B as the USAF's standard primary trainer. But T-37B's won't be crowding the warbird circuit: By the end of 2011, all T-37's designated for disposal will have been shredded and recycled, said a USAF spokesman".

Glad us warbirders where noted!

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Shop the Airplane Bunker At
www.warbirdbunker.com

Not surprising at all. The DOD and FAA still don't trust civilians to operate jet powered warbirds. Heck, even after the T-3 Slingsby Firefly debacle, they won't even release those to the civilian market and they're like glorified Cessna 172's - and they don't even have jet engines!

Can't release the T-3s as they were shredded into pieces no bigger than a lunch bag. Even the brand new IO-540s that were never out of the crate. One of the most shamefull days in Hondo AAFs rich history.

I saw an "ad" somewhere for T-34Cs at Davis Monthan. The catch was they had to pass through a hole 6 inches square! (Or something like that.)

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"I can't understand it, I cut it twice and it's still too short!" Robert F. Dupre' 1923-2010 Go With God.

Why should anybody take an interest in airplanes that the USAF doesn't trust us with? My thought is let them scrap them, I'd rather see a Chicom Mig, rather than an Americom bird (anything used after 2009) !

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"No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth!" R.R.

Welcome to the USSA! One Nanny State Under the Messiah, Indivisible with Tyranny, Higher Taxes, Socialism, Radical Environmentalism and a Loss of Income for all. Boy I'm proud to be a part of the USSA, what can I do to raise taxes, oh boy oh boy!

Well,

If it's the speed that they're threatened by, maybe they should read the Dash-1.

Last time I flew a tweet, it was speed limited to 275 knots, with a bunch of prohibited aerobatic maneuvers. Those airframes have been beat to heck and back, and I certainly did my part.

While I agree they shouldn't have been shred up, the AF was concerned about the liability of the engine and fuel system modifications that had been at the heart of some of the T-3's problems.

A T-3 is nothing like a Cessna 172. A C-172 is like a T-41.

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If God had wanted man to fly behind a flat motor, Pratt Whitney would've built one.

its still a load of crap that the government has virtually forced out the tax-payer from getting an airframe that he could possibly turn a buck on. The Post WWII years were the best. Granted, the scrap man made a heap of scrap cash, but look what was saved. I wouldn't mind having a 6000 pound dog whistle - if I could afford it.

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Kind Regards,
Gary Lewis
J.A.F.O.

I've sent several T-34C's to AMARG, and they are worn out. When the Navy has decided that the wing has reached it fatigue life, and won't send up a student, then that's it. We are tracking the FLE (fatigue life expended) monthly, then weekly, then daily to achieve the maximum life from the wings. They've been milked along until the T-6B's show up.

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If God had wanted man to fly behind a flat motor, Pratt Whitney would've built one.

It's all relative. The T-3 is similar in performance to a T-41 for the purposes of this discussion. Both are slow, prop-driven airplanes that are not high performance, tactical jets, hence my comparison.

The T-3 was a piece of junk from the get go, and the T-41 is a proven stable design from the time the military received the first one.

Uncle Sam screwed the pooch by procuring the T-3, and by scrapping the lot, righted a wrong.

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If God had wanted man to fly behind a flat motor, Pratt Whitney would've built one.

Blame former USAF Chief of Staff Merrill McPeak for the T-3.

He said he didn't want AF pilots to train in something a dentist might fly his family in.

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Remember the vets, the wonderful planes they flew and their sacrifices for a future many of them did not live to see.

All the T-3s are gone - chopped up!

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"If its red or dusty - DON'T TOUCH IT!

I worked on T-3s briefly and there was really nothing wrong with the aircraft, although the T-41 should never have been replaced.

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"If its red or dusty - DON'T TOUCH IT!