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Coming from NAAS Saufley Field's T-34Bs to NAAS Corry Field for Basic Flight training was a shock for many. With a tricycle landing gear comfiguration and sweet flying characteristics, the T-34B was the ideal Primary Flight trainer, but you were quickly brought to your toes in the SNJ.
She would stop trying to kill you only when safely tied down on the ramp. The P & W R-1340 radial engine snarled at you feet when you managed to get it started and then it was comical to see first timers trying to taxi to take off as 270s and 360s were common. In fact, one ship was painted with a red and white checkerboard scheme, had a foot chopped off each prop blade, and had little nose and wing tip "training" wheels for newbies to practice ground ops. You stayed clear of it encountered around t he field. But one soon learned to love the open system hydraulic system, fuel float gauges at you feet, rolling inverted to retrieve anything dropped in the cockpit (no floorboards) and the challenge of acrobatics and formation flying in a "man's" ship. |
The "Goat"
We don't know where the moniker "Goat" came from, but it stuck. Back when the USAF flew the aircraft as the SA-16, it was "Slobbering Albert". Regardless of her name, she was revered by all who spent any amount of time in her. I'm afraid I made her look sleek here - that she is not, but that is artistic license (or error).
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Primary Training
Mr Beechcraft came up with a winner in the competition with Temco's TT-1 in the 50s. His T-34A was the USAF standard primary trainer while the T-34B became the Navy's stalwart for many years and in different cionfigurations, including turbine power.
Here, our intrepid solo student is out West of Pensacola wondering where Silverhill OLF is. |
Ready For CarQuals
I went through the NATTC Multi-engine pipeline at a time when only the fighter-pilots-to-be went from the T-34B to the T-28B at Whiting. Fortunately, when I went into the Engineering Officer arena, I was assigned to Chanute AFB for AF AMO training and flew the "Gooney Bird", and managed to get 13.8 hours in the T-28 while at NAS Memphis for Navy AMO training. Quite a machine.
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