Aircraft model
NORTH AMERICAN T-28B
Everything here is true of every aircraft of the type, not of any one aircraft.
The T-28B is the Navy Trojan, and the difference from the Air Force A model is enormous: a 1,425 hp Wright Cyclone in place of the 800 hp R-1300, giving 3,540 fpm of climb and a 35,500-foot ceiling. It is one of the highest-performing piston aircraft a civilian can own.
It is also a serious machine with warbird costs. The R-1820 is a large nine-cylinder radial burning around 60 gallons an hour, expensive to overhaul but better supported than the R-1300 because so many were built. The airframe needs inspections a light aircraft does not, and many have complex rebuild histories. Tricycle gear makes it far easier to land than a T-6, but the power and weight demand real skill and insurers require formal type-specific training without exception.
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Put NORTH AMERICAN T-28B side by side with up to two other models.
- NORTH AMERICAN T-28B
What it is
| Seats | 2 |
|---|---|
| Landing gear | tricycle |
| Engines | 1 |
| Engine | Wright R-1820-86 (radial) |
| Horsepower | 1,425 hp |
| Fuel | 100LL |
| Certification basis | military-surplus |
| Production start | 1954 |
| Production end | 1957 |
| Endorsements required | complex;high-performance |
Performance
| Cruise speed | 190 KTAS |
|---|---|
| Range | 900 nm |
| Service ceiling | 35,500 ft |
| Climb rate | 3,540 ft/min |
| Stall speed (Vso) | 75 KCAS |
| Takeoff over 50 ft | — |
| Landing over 50 ft | — |
Load and fuel
| Seats | 2 |
|---|---|
| Useful load | 2,076 lb |
| Full-fuel payload | 1,014 lb |
| Max takeoff weight | 8,500 lb |
| Empty weight | 6,424 lb |
| Usable fuel | 177 gal |
| Fuel burn at cruise | 79.8 gal/h |
Cost of ownership
| Price, low | $220,000 |
|---|---|
| Price, high | $350,000 |
| Prices as of | 2026 |
| Engine TBO | 1,000 h |
| Overhaul cost, low | $120,000 |
| Overhaul cost, high | $210,000 |
The fleet and its record
| Registered, all time | 181 |
|---|---|
| Active fleet | 89 |
| Median year built | 1955.0 |
| NTSB events, last 10 years | 8 |
| Fatal events, last 10 years | 4 |
| Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years | 89.89 · thin base (low)1 |
| Personal-flying events per 1,000 active | 78.65 · thin base (low)2 |
| Ownership transfers, last 24 months | 19 |
| Transfers per 100 active | 21.35 · thin base (low)3 |
| Airworthiness directives | 0 |
| Directives, last 5 years | 0 |
| Rate confidence | low |
- Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 89 active.
- Personal-flying events per 1,000 active: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 89 active.
- Transfers per 100 active: per 100 active aircraft · base 89 active.
Peer scores6
| Peer class | Fixed wing single-engine, piston, 1 engine, 1-2 seats |
|---|---|
| Accident record | —1 |
| Severity | —2 |
| Access | 2 of 103 |
| Support | 5.3 of 104 |
| Liquidity | 5.1 of 105 |
These record scores treat NORTH AMERICAN T-28B as one design with the same aircraft registered under other names: it includes 1 aircraft registered under NORTH AMERICAN/AIRPLANE SERV; includes 1 aircraft registered under NORTH AMERICAN/ARMOFLEX INC; includes the record of aircraft once registered under NORTH AMERICAN/BURKS. Prices are not combined.
- Accident record: class median 29.1 · 174 models in class.
- Severity: class median 9.09.
- Access: class median 974.
- Support: class median 81.
- Liquidity: class median 20.47.
- Each of the five categories places the model within its peer class, from 0 (the worst of the class) to 10 (the best): a position among comparable models, not a grade. The overall score is the sum of the categories shown that are scored, out of 10 for each (50 when all five are); it is given only when at least 4 of the five are scored, and it can be set against another model's only when both are in the same peer class and scored on the same categories.