Kalember T-28c

Duane had experience restoring old aircraft prior to the T-28; He restored a '48 Stinson Voyager and a North American SNJ-5B Texan. He also had experience flying military aircraft in his seven years as a naval aviator. He started the T-28 project in the Atlanta, Georgia area prior to his retirement as an airline pilot (for 32 yrs) from Delta.

This T-28 was originally obtained thru a swap of planes and was picked up at an Arizona surplus storage field in 1988. The landing gear & elevator parts were literally in a buckets.

The first job was to dismantle most of the plane and strip everything down to bare metal. Then came replacement of most of the nuts, bolts and cables. There were a few parts that where in good condition, but many needed rebuilding. For safety, the radios were totally replaced with modern radio and navigation equipment, which also saved lots of weight. Many people have helped in the building process.

This project has taken fifteen years so far. Part of the complicated process of restoring the T-28 came in having to relocate twice in the Atlanta area and moving to TVC and build new hanger space each time. There still are a few electrical items to complete.

Duane moved to TVC in 2001 and the Blue Babe was moved to TVC in July 2002. In July 2003 the plane was finished enough to be displayed with the War Birds at Oshkosh.

A few facts: radial engine 1,425 HP
                    Total weight 8,500#
                    Cruises at 390 MPH
                    Fuel cap. 178 gal, burn rate 50 gal/hr.