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Herb Baker
 Flown by owner, re-builder and
air show pilot Herb Baker, the massive military warbird is an
EAA Oshkosh award-winner that he restored from 1992-1996 in
West Bend, Wis.
Baker's 13-minute performance
in his T-28C nicknamed "Ditto" (from the movie GHOST) includes a simulated carrier take-off followed by
high-speed strafing attack demonstrations and an aerobatic
routine which includes a three-leaf clover, graceful barrel
and aileron rolls, loops, and a simulated carrier landing.
When not performing, Ditto is on static display where Baker
personalizes autograph cards for spectators.
Baker has flown in warbird
formations at the EAA convention in Oshkosh since 1996 and has
flown aerobatics at more than 40 air shows. He was a guest
T-28 instructor at the Edwards AFB Test Pilot School
Qualification Program in California in 1997. After earning a
degree in aircraft maintenance engineering from Parks College
of St. Louis University in 1964, he worked on Saberliner jets,
military fighters, commercial airliners and Gemini spacecraft
for major aircraft manufacturers. He completed his industrial
career in wholesale manufacturing and real estate development.
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 THE
PLANE
1957 North American Aviation T-28C used as a Navy Advanced
Trainer for jet transition and carrier qualification.
The engine is a 1425 HP CURTIS-WRIGHT with 2-speed blower,
35,000 foot ceiling, 400 mph top speed and 207-265 mph cruise
speed. Many T-28's were modified with armament and
Yankee extraction seat, then served their combat tours in
Southeast Asia.
Four models of T-28 aircraft
were built from the 1950's to the 1970's. The A model used by
the U.S. Air Force had an 800hp engine. The Navy's B and C
models with a 1425 hp engine were used for jet transition,
instrument and aircraft carrier qualification training. D
models fitted with armament and extraction seat were very
successfully flown in combat as attack fighter-bombers by the
CIA's covert AIR America and Ravens pilots and the airforces
of South Viet Nam, Laos, Cambodia and Thailand during the Viet
Nam War.
T-28s normally cruise at 200-260mph and burn 55 gallons of gas
per hour. They are equipped with an oxygen system and are able
to fly as high as 35,000 feet at speeds up to 400 miles per
hour. They weigh up to 12,500 pounds and have a 1,425 hp
9-cylinder radial engine with a distinctive rumbling sound.
Ditto, one of the 300 T-28Cs
built by North American Aviation, was accepted by the Navy on
May 16, 1957. The plane served in the Gulf of Mexico on two
carriers, the Antietam and the Lexington, which sailed
training cruises between Pensacola, Fla., and Corpus Christi,
Tex., until the late 1970s.
See more exciting air show
photos in the AirVenture
photo gallery.
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