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T-41B Mescalero Trainer and Liaison Airplane In mid–1966 the Army ordered 255 examples of Cessna’s Model R–172E single engine, high wing, cabin monoplane for use as primary flight trainers. The Vietnam War had overtaxed the capability of the Cessna L–19/0–1 fleet to provide airframes for initial fixed wing training and for the combat needs of the war. The new aircraft was designated the T–41B Mescalero 1, and was basically similar in the trainer role to the T–41A machines already in service in November 1966, and all the remaining machines had been delivered by March 1967. The Majority of the Army Mescaleros were used as primary flight trainers, although many also served in the general liaison role. A distinctive feature of the T–41B is its oversized nose gear tire that is the same size as those on the main landing gear. Only a handful of examples, primarily in the inventory by the mid–1990s. |
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OUR AIRCRAFT
Serial No. 67–15203 |
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| This aircraft entered Army service in February of 1967. In 1978 it was assigned to the U.S. Military Academy Flying Club at West Point. It was used at West Point to interest future Army Officers in aviation by teaching them to fly. It was also flown by West Point instructors who were rated Army aviators to maintain their flight proficiency while stationed at the Military Academy. Since this T–41 flew in a civilian environment, the Army had it assigned an FAA registration number, N78WP, which it still bears. Declared excess to the Army’s needs in March 1982, 67–15203 was reassigned to the Civil Air Patrol (CAP) in January 1983. It served in the CAP as a primary flight trained for cadets and also performed on–call Search and Rescue missions for 13 years. After 29 years of this Army T–41B was released from government service and sold to a private individual. |
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Specifications |
| Crew: Trainer Role: 1 Pilot and 1 student
Utility/liaison Role: Pilot and up to 3 passengers Powerplant: Continental Io–360–D piston (210HP) Speed: 115 mph at maximum cruise Range: 600 miles Armament: none
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