I Learned About Flying From That: Taking an Old Bird to Oshkosh

Jim Thomason

Friday, September 12, 2014 at 09:18 PM ET

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Key Takeaways:

The article chronicles the challenging eight-year international effort to restore a rare Temco T-35 Buckaroo, a former Saudi Arabian trainer, for the Swift Museum Foundation.
The aircraft's delivery flight to Oshkosh was plagued by a series of significant setbacks, including a chemically damaged canopy, marginal weather leading to delays, and two separate in-flight fuel leaks requiring emergency landings.
Upon reaching Oshkosh, the crew faced severe air traffic congestion and an unexpected, difficult night landing in a day/VFR aircraft, ultimately overcoming these obstacles through adaptability and perseverance to complete the mission.

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Around 1950 the Air Force decided it needed a new trainer airplane. As you know, the Beech T-34 was the winner. My story comes from one of the airplanes that did not win.

The Temco T-35 Buckaroo was a spinoff of the Globe Swift. Saudi Arabia ordered about 15 of the T-35As, armed, to be used as trainers for its air force. Many years passed, and what was left of them was sitting in a military boneyard in the desert.