TROJAN WARRIORS
Recalling the brief tenure of the T-28 Racing Class, the classic Rodney Dangerfield- 
'I get no respect' line comes to mind. Despite high hopes for the class' great potential for fan appeal by filling the speed niche between T-6 & Unlimited Class events - the T-28 Class passed through the air racing scene almost as quickly as a strafing run.
North American began producing the T-28 as successor to their great T-6/SNJ advanced primary trainer, with first flight in Sept. 1949. N/A built over 2,000 for military use by two dozen nations, and the type saw combat duty in SE Asia. Most T-28s are powered by Wright R-1820 series engines.
Described by some as- 'a T-6 on steroids', the big & pugnacious Trojan made sporadic attempts as Unlimited Class entrants over the years at Reno, beginning in 1983. Thanks to the organizing efforts of a hard core cadre of operators led by the late, great aviator & air racer- Neil Anderson, the T-28 Racing Class made its' formal debut at the '95 Phoenix 500 Air Races. They made their presence known at Reno '96 with demonstration races, and returned for trophy competition at Reno '98.
Sporting bold & appropriately-descriptive monikers like- "MONSTER", "THE BEAR", "ULTIMATE HOOKER" & "ORGASMATRON", etc., the T-28s bypassed all pretense of glamour and got right down to displaying some truly professional & highly-impressive AIR RACING at its' finest! Then they flew off into the sunset... Personally, I really loved experiencing the excitement of watching the T-28s compete, and hope they'll one day return to the race course.
Here's a mini-gallery tribute to the T-28 Class and a BIG Thanks to all the folks who worked hard to show us the racing mettle of the mighty- 'Trojan Warriors'!
DBD
Various Reno photos - top row (L-R):
1. Sat. 9/12/98: Chris Miller's Race #35 ORGASMATRON shows-off its' big paddle prop.
2. Wed. 9/16/98: T-28s lined up & ready, for the start of their practice & qualifying period.
3. Tue. 9/15/98: Les Salz warms up his- 'Balz Out Aviation' T-28 - Race #22.
4. Sun. 9/13/98: Lud Carrao starts his T-28 #37 SMOKIE to join Chris Miller for some test & practice flying.
5. Sat. 9/19/98: Excellent formation taxi-out by the T-28s, led by Skip Holm & Lud Carrao in Lud's Douglas AD-5 Skyraider pace plane for start of T-28 Heat-3A.
More Reno photos - bottom row (L-R):
1. Sat. 9/19/98: "Let's get ready to- RUMBLE!" - Everyone's spotted into the wind for takeoff to start T-28 Heat-3A.
2. Sun. 9/20/98: T-28 GOLD RACE - Lap 1 photo shows the racers aggressively heading for Pylon T-4.
3. Sun. 9/15/96: Reno '96 T-28 GOLD RACE photo captures the Trojans turning Outer 8 Pylon strictly for the fun & experience (demo only - no prize money!).
4. Thur. 9/17/98: T-28 Heat-1A - Lap 4. Rick Raesz holds down 2nd-place in #29 Monster, sandwiching Neil Anderson flying Trojan #028 in 3rd, ahead of Chris Miller in #35 Orgasmatron. Boyce Thelan won the 6-lap heat at 272.231-av/mph flying #95 Mega Bucks. Raesz-Anderson & Miller finished 2-3-4 @ 271.866 - 271.583 - 271.156-av/mph, respectively. (Note: The predominance of grey painted T-28 racers made things a bit challenging for the pylon judge & timer ops!)
5. Sun. 9/20/98: T-28 GOLD RACE - Lap 6. Dan Lawson expertly turns Pylon T-4 in his sharp #86 Spirit of American Valley, heading for his 5th-place finish @ 269.126-av/mph.
'I get no respect' line comes to mind. Despite high hopes for the class' great potential for fan appeal by filling the speed niche between T-6 & Unlimited Class events - the T-28 Class passed through the air racing scene almost as quickly as a strafing run.North American began producing the T-28 as successor to their great T-6/SNJ advanced primary trainer, with first flight in Sept. 1949. N/A built over 2,000 for military use by two dozen nations, and the type saw combat duty in SE Asia. Most T-28s are powered by Wright R-1820 series engines.
Described by some as- 'a T-6 on steroids', the big & pugnacious Trojan made sporadic attempts as Unlimited Class entrants over the years at Reno, beginning in 1983. Thanks to the organizing efforts of a hard core cadre of operators led by the late, great aviator & air racer- Neil Anderson, the T-28 Racing Class made its' formal debut at the '95 Phoenix 500 Air Races. They made their presence known at Reno '96 with demonstration races, and returned for trophy competition at Reno '98.
Sporting bold & appropriately-descriptive monikers like- "MONSTER", "THE BEAR", "ULTIMATE HOOKER" & "ORGASMATRON", etc., the T-28s bypassed all pretense of glamour and got right down to displaying some truly professional & highly-impressive AIR RACING at its' finest! Then they flew off into the sunset... Personally, I really loved experiencing the excitement of watching the T-28s compete, and hope they'll one day return to the race course.
Here's a mini-gallery tribute to the T-28 Class and a BIG Thanks to all the folks who worked hard to show us the racing mettle of the mighty- 'Trojan Warriors'!
DBDVarious Reno photos - top row (L-R):
1. Sat. 9/12/98: Chris Miller's Race #35 ORGASMATRON shows-off its' big paddle prop.
2. Wed. 9/16/98: T-28s lined up & ready, for the start of their practice & qualifying period.
3. Tue. 9/15/98: Les Salz warms up his- 'Balz Out Aviation' T-28 - Race #22.
4. Sun. 9/13/98: Lud Carrao starts his T-28 #37 SMOKIE to join Chris Miller for some test & practice flying.
5. Sat. 9/19/98: Excellent formation taxi-out by the T-28s, led by Skip Holm & Lud Carrao in Lud's Douglas AD-5 Skyraider pace plane for start of T-28 Heat-3A.
More Reno photos - bottom row (L-R):
1. Sat. 9/19/98: "Let's get ready to- RUMBLE!" - Everyone's spotted into the wind for takeoff to start T-28 Heat-3A.
2. Sun. 9/20/98: T-28 GOLD RACE - Lap 1 photo shows the racers aggressively heading for Pylon T-4.
3. Sun. 9/15/96: Reno '96 T-28 GOLD RACE photo captures the Trojans turning Outer 8 Pylon strictly for the fun & experience (demo only - no prize money!).
4. Thur. 9/17/98: T-28 Heat-1A - Lap 4. Rick Raesz holds down 2nd-place in #29 Monster, sandwiching Neil Anderson flying Trojan #028 in 3rd, ahead of Chris Miller in #35 Orgasmatron. Boyce Thelan won the 6-lap heat at 272.231-av/mph flying #95 Mega Bucks. Raesz-Anderson & Miller finished 2-3-4 @ 271.866 - 271.583 - 271.156-av/mph, respectively. (Note: The predominance of grey painted T-28 racers made things a bit challenging for the pylon judge & timer ops!)
5. Sun. 9/20/98: T-28 GOLD RACE - Lap 6. Dan Lawson expertly turns Pylon T-4 in his sharp #86 Spirit of American Valley, heading for his 5th-place finish @ 269.126-av/mph.
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