 A
very rare, post-World War I aircraft, the Consolidated PT-3, will be
displayed at the EAA Warbirds of America Training Command area at
AirVenture. Display organizers did not have to venture far to find this
historically significant aircraft, as the EAA AirVenture Museum possesses
an airworthy example in its collection.
EAA's PT-3 was assembled from a collection
of parts obtained by Buck Hilbert, which he donated to EAA in 1986. Museum
staff and volunteers rebuilt the aircraft to fly at Pioneer Airport. An
original engine for the PT-1 was available, but the reliability and
availability of parts was not. So EAA decided to re-engine the PT with a
W-670 Continental model in a configuration more closely representing the
PT-3.
EAA's restored PT-3 flew at Pioneer Airport
for several years after it's completion in 1998. Weeks Hanger staff
overhauled the aircraft into flying condition this past spring with plans
to display the aircraft at AirVenture this year. Warbirds of America
Training Command had just the place for it, and the airplane will be on
static display throughout the week.
Aircraft History and Development
After aviation proved its military worth
during WWI, the United States Army Air Service (USAAF) saw the need for a
new trainer to replace the previous all-wood structures. The Dayton-Wright
Company's chief designer, Colonel Virginus Clark, designed such an
aircraft with a steel tube fuselage and a "Clark Y" airfoil.
Dayton-Wright's parent corporation (General Motors), however, was no
longer interested in producing aircraft, and Reuben Fleet obtained the
design rights and formed the Consolidated Aircraft Company.
Consolidated reconfigured the aircraft as a
tandem, calling it the PT-1 "Trusty." The Airplane radically
improved the safety record of USAAF pilot training. When the engine was
replaced in 1928 with a radial air-cooled Wright J-5 engine, the aircraft
became the Consolidated PT-3 "Husky," which was used right up to
the beginning of World War II. Ultimately the Husky was replaced by the
PT-17 Stearman and N3N.
The Training Command will feature several
other aircraft used to train military aviators, from the Roaring Twenties
to the latest trainer in the inventory. This is also the 75th Anniversary
of the Beechcraft Company, and EAA's Warbirds of America and the
Beechcraft Heritage Museum will mark the occasion with several Beech
trainers positioned next to the PT-3 and the Navy's N3N.
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