Aircraft model
NORTH AMERICAN T-28C
Everything here is true of every aircraft of the type, not of any one aircraft.
The T-28C is the carrier-qualified Navy Trojan, with a tailhook, a strengthened structure for arrested landings and a shorter propeller for deck clearance. Otherwise it is a T-28B: 1,425 hp, 3,400 fpm of climb and a 35,500-foot ceiling.
The carrier modifications add a little weight and cost a little performance, and the shorter propeller is slightly less efficient, but the differences are small. What matters to a buyer is the same as for any Trojan: a large radial burning around 60 gallons an hour, a warbird maintenance regime, and often a complex rebuild history across several owners and countries. The tailhook is usually removed or inoperative on civil aircraft. Insurance requires formal type-specific training and the market is a specialist one.
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Put NORTH AMERICAN T-28C side by side with up to two other models.
- NORTH AMERICAN T-28C
What it is
| Seats | 2 |
|---|---|
| Landing gear | tricycle |
| Engines | 1 |
| Engine | Wright R-1820-86 (radial) |
| Horsepower | 1,425 hp |
| Fuel | 100LL |
| Certification basis | amateur-built |
| Production start | 1955 |
| Production end | 1957 |
| Endorsements required | complex;high-performance |
Performance
| Cruise speed | 190 KTAS |
|---|---|
| Range | 900 nm |
| Service ceiling | 35,500 ft |
| Climb rate | 3,400 ft/min |
| Stall speed (Vso) | 75 KCAS |
| Takeoff over 50 ft | — |
| Landing over 50 ft | — |
Load and fuel
| Seats | 2 |
|---|---|
| Useful load | 1,979 lb |
| Full-fuel payload | 917 lb |
| Max takeoff weight | 8,500 lb |
| Empty weight | 6,521 lb |
| Usable fuel | 177 gal |
| Fuel burn at cruise | 79.8 gal/h |
Cost of ownership
| Price, low | $300,000 |
|---|---|
| Price, high | $600,000 |
| 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 | 91 |
|---|---|
| Active fleet | 52 |
| Median year built | 1956.0 |
| NTSB events, last 10 years | 2 |
| Fatal events, last 10 years | 0 |
| Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years | 38.46 · thin base (low)1 |
| Personal-flying events per 1,000 active | 38.46 · thin base (low)2 |
| Ownership transfers, last 24 months | 11 |
| Transfers per 100 active | 21.15 · 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 52 active.
- Personal-flying events per 1,000 active: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 52 active.
- Transfers per 100 active: per 100 active aircraft · base 52 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 | 3.6 of 104 |
| Liquidity | 5.7 of 105 |
These record scores treat NORTH AMERICAN T-28C as one design with the same aircraft registered under other names: it includes 1 aircraft registered under NORTH AMERICAN / BUMGARNER; includes 1 aircraft registered under NORTH AMERICAN/BELLEK; includes 1 aircraft registered under NORTH AMERICAN/PRIDE ACFT INC; includes the record of aircraft once registered under NORTH AMERICAN-MARK; includes the record of aircraft once registered under NORTH AMERICAN-RIVERA; includes the record of aircraft once registered under NORTH AMERICAN/CLARK; includes the record of aircraft once registered under NORTH AMERICAN/GERMAIN; i. 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.