NEWLY RESTORED T-6D OFFERED IN EXCELLENT CONDITION

Boschung Global is offering an immaculate T-6 Texan which has come out of a recent ground up restoration by the expert team at the workshops of Rare Bird Aviation, Hungary.

One of the most versatile and prolific aeroplanes built, the T-6 was given the name Texan by the US Army Air Corps, SNJ by the US Navy and Harvard by the British. The first prototype was flown in 1935, as an entry into the US Army Air Corps Basic Trainer competition, the requirement being an advanced air crew trainer. Such was the success of the design that it remained in active service as late as 1996, with the South African Air Force.

During its service life the T-6 not only trained thousands of pilots, it was also employed  as a combat aircraft in the post war years with several air forces, including those of Israel, France, Greece, Spain, Portugal and the UK. It was operated as a fighter bomber and a ground attack aircraft, often in the counter insurgency role.  In the Korean War and the early years of the Vietnam War the USA used the T-6 as a forward air control aircraft. The reliability of the Pratt & Whitney R-1340 engine and the structural strength of the aircraft meant it could be counted on to get the job done until more specialized aircraft were available.

This particular aircraft was built as a SNJ (US Navy) trainer and following retirement found its way into the civil aviation sector being registered as N7804B in 1958. Four years later the aircraft was taken on strength with the Spanish Air Force as C.6-162 serving through to 1979 prior to be auctioned and sold to Hans Dittes of Heidelberg, Germany, in 1981. The aircraft stayed in Europe despite being sold to a US buyer in 1987, being operated by Plane Fun Inc, Grossostheim, Germany from 1992 through to 1996 and thereafter by well known Bf 109 pilot Walter Eichhorn for Red Bull Aviation. Registered D-FHGL, the aircraft was repainted into a Red Bull scheme and flew with the father and son Harvard display team.

In 2019 the aircraft was purchased by an Austrian investor and sent to Rare Bird Aviation where it was completely stripped down and rebuilt to ‘as new’ standard. This included overhaul of components and, where required, repairs  to the fuselage, wings, empennage and undercarriage - the latter seeing new bearings, tubes, tyres and Red Line Corporation hydraulic brakes. In addition, state of the art communication equipment has been installed in the already well appointed cockpit. Flight control surfaces were recovered with new fabric, the aircraft primed and then painted in a US Navy colour scheme. The overhauled R-1340 and Hamilton Standard prop were fitted and test run, with all systems checked prior to the aircraft being cleared to fly.

This example of the iconic American pilot maker has had no expense spared in its restoration, making it one of the finest on the market. Given the type’s continuing popularity, it is a sound investment for any collector- pilot or not.  It is a great display aircraft and of course is a competent machine for the training of those pilots who have the desire to move into flying high performance piston engine fighters - after all, that is what it was designed to do almost nine decades ago!