Temco TT Pinto

TT Pinto
Temco TT-1 in testing
Role Jet Trainer
Manufacturer Temco Aircraft
First flight 26 March 1956
Introduction 1959
Retired 1960
Primary user United States Navy
Number built 15


The Temco TT Pinto was a jet-powered, tandem two-place primary trainer aircraft built for the United States Navy by Temco Aircraft of Dallas, Texas.

Design and development

TT-1s being assembled in Dallas.

The Temco Model 51 had been initially proposed to the US Air Force in response to an Air Force competition for a jet-powered primary trainer, which was won by the Cessna T-37 Tweet. The concept behind the Model 51 was an attempt to provide primary training in a jet-powered aircraft. The official name for the Model 51 was the Pinto.

The Pinto was a mid-wing, tricycle landing gear trainer with an enclosed cockpit powered by a single Continental Motors J69-T-9 (license-built Turbomeca Marboré) jet engine. The aircraft carried no armament.

The TT-1s were equipped with many of the same features found in operational jets, including ejection seats, liquid oxygen equipment, speed brakes, along with typical flight controls and instrument panels. Although the flight characteristics were considered good, the "wave off" capability was rated marginal due to being slightly underpowered.

After its first flight in 1956, the prototype was sent to the Naval Air Test Center (NATC) Patuxent River to be evaluated alongside the Beech Model 73 Jet Mentor. Fourteen of the aircraft, designated TT-1, were produced between 1955 and 1957.

AJI T-610 Super Pinto

In 1968, American Jet Industries (AJI) (later to become Gulfstream Aerospace) re-engined a TT-1 Pinto, replacing the J69 with a 2,850 lbf (12.7 kN) General Electric CJ610 (the civil version of the J85), with the modified aircraft, the T-610 Super Pinto, flying on 28 June 1968.[1] The new engine significantly increased performance, with maximum speed reaching 450 kn (518 mph; 833 km/h), and AJI marketing the aircraft as a light attack aircraft.[1][2]

The prototype Super Pinto, together with drawings and production rights, were purchased by the Philippine Air Force, which planned to build the aircraft as the T-610 Cali.[3]

Operational history

A U.S. Navy TT-1 in flight.

In 1959, these aircraft served in the Air Training Command at Pensacola, Florida and used in a training program demonstration testing the feasibility of using a jet-powered trainer for primary flight training.

In March 1959, Aviation Cadet E. R. Clark soloed in a TT-1, the first student in naval aviation history to solo a jet without previous experience in propeller aircraft.

By the end of 1960, the TT-1s were phased out of operations in the Naval Air Training Command and sold as surplus.

Survivors

T-610 prototype, Philippine Air Force Museum

Seven of the TT Pinto series currently appear on the U.S. civil roster with four being Super Pintos.[4]

One T-610 prototype is preserved at the Philippine Air Force Museum.

Variants

TT-1 Pinto
Two-seat primary jet trainer aircraft.
American Jet Industries T-610 Super Pinto
Re-engined with 2,850 lbf (12.7 kN) General Electric CJ610-6 turbojet.[1]

Operators

 United States
 Philippines

Specifications (TT-1)

Data from Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1956–57[5]

General characteristics

Performance

See also

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration and era

References

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 Taylor 1971, p. 223.
  2. ↑ Field Flight International 16 October 1976, p. 1185.
  3. ↑ Flight International 1 March 1980, p. 680.
  4. ↑ Murphy, Kevin. One of the seven is a Super Pinto kept flying by the World Heritage Air Museum at Detroit City Airport. "TT-1 Pinto." Warbird Alley. Retrieved: 8 November 2009.
  5. ↑ Bridgman 1956, p. 342.

Bibliography

  • Bridgman, Leonard. Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1956–57. New York: The McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1956.
  • Dillon, Mike. "Will lovely loser become super winner?" Air Progress, Vol. 24, no. 3, March 1969.
  • Field, Hugh. "Launch Pad for Hustler." Flight International, 16 October 1976, pp. 1184–1185.
  • "Military Aircraft of the World." Flight International, pp. 641–694.
  • Taylor, John W. R. Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1971–72. London: Sampson Low, Marston & Co. Ltd, 1971. ISBN 0-354-00094-2.
  • Taylor, Michael J.H. Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation (Vol. 5). Danbury, Connecticut: Grolier Educational Corporation, 1980. ISBN 0-7106-0710-5.

Further reading

External links

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