The Commemorative Air Force (CAF) has added a Temco TT-Pinto (N4486L) to its historic aircraft collection.
This is a notable acquisition for the Commemorative Air Force as the aircraft is not only post-World War II-era but also a jet, CAF officials said.
“This unique acquisition reflects the organization’s unwavering commitment to preserving aviation history and ensuring that future generations can experience the thrill of flight aboard these living legends,” officials said when announcing the acquisition.
The TT-1 Pinto is an experimental jet trainer aircraft produced during the 1950s.
On Oct. 18, 1955, the U.S. Navy released a Request for Proposals calling for a new primary jet trainer to replace the Beechcraft T-34. The Pinto was designed to provide a transition platform for naval aviators moving from propeller-driven aircraft to jet-powered ones.
The Pinto played a role in training the men and women who would become the backbone of the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps aviation. However, by the spring of 1960, the Navy elected to end its jet training program, CAF officials noted.
The aircraft has been assigned to a newly established Super Pinto Sponsor Group, which will be based at the CAF hangar in Memphis. Group members noted the aircraft will divide its time between Memphis, Pensacola, and Dallas. The group also hopes to be able to start offering living history flights in the Pinto in 2024.
Always remembered as the Confederate Air Force. John G, ex New Yorker.
I’m glad to see that others agree with me that calling it the “Confederate Air Force” was cool and edgy. “Commemorate Air Force” sounds dull and boring.
Very cool. Was probably not expensive enough for the US military? BTW – the organization was, and remains in the minds of most of us Southerners, “The Confederate Air Force.” The other name is what the American Taliban calls it, doing their best to erase the proud history of the South including the Confederacy. Read anything from Thomas DiLorenzo or Tom Woods on the topic.
Yep , same here. I’m originally from Memphis and so remember them as Confederate Air Force. I find my self still calling them that when referring to them.
I still think of it as Confederate Air Force, American Taliban notwithstanding.
Awesome
While calling it a Confederate Air Force might be grammatically correct in that all the members are aligned in a common purpose of preservation. The ever changing nature of language and the usage of Confederate for the secessionist Southern States in the Civil War has changed the meaning of the word Confederate in the American Language, and has a negative association. Just a thought.