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| Successful in both civil and military markets, the North American NA-246
Sabreliner was developed originally as a private venture although the programme launch, announced on 27 August 1956, was in response to the US Air Force UTX (Utility Trainer Experimental) specification issued ealier in that month. Laid out with a six-seat interior and to be flown by a two-man crew, the civil-registered prototype was completed in May 1958, although the lack of suitable engines delayed the first flight, which took place at Los Angeles, until 16 September. The initial powerplant comprised two 1134kg thrust General Electric YJ85 turbojets and, thus powered, the prototype completed its military evaluation programme at Edwards Air Force Base in December 1958. A month later the Sabreliner won its first order, for seven NA-265 or T-39A aircraft with 1361kg thrust Pratt & Whitney J60 engines. Military production eventually totalled 213 aircraft. All military models of the T-39 series were certificated to civil airworthiness standards, beginning with the T-39A on 23 March 1962. North American then launched the commercial version, which was type approved as the NA-265-40 Sabreliner 40 on 17 April 1963. Since then civil production of all models, including the final model, the Sabreliner 65A, totalled well over 600 aircraft when the last aircraft came off the line in 1981. Rockewell International's Sabreliner Division was acquired in 1983 by the specially formed Sabreliner Corporation of St Louis, Missouri to continue product support. At the end of 1990 the company completed the design of a new version of the Sabreliner designated the Model 85. This has a supercritical wing incorporating winglets, a fuselage stretch of 1.5m, and more powerful TFE731-5 turbofan engines, but further development will require a risk-sharing partner.
| MODEL | Sabreliner 65 |
| ENGINE | 2 x Garrett TFE731-3-1D turbofans, 1678kg |
| WEIGHTS |
| Take-off weight | 10886 kg | 24000 lb |
| Empty weight | 6420 kg | 14154 lb |
| DIMENSIONS |
| Wingspan | 15.37 m | 50 ft 5 in |
| Length | 14.30 m | 47 ft 11 in |
| Height | 4.88 m | 16 ft 0 in |
| PERFORMANCE |
| Cruise speed | 0.81M | 0.81M |
| Ceiling | 13715 m | 45000 ft |
| Mike Evans, e-mail, 31.05.2012 01:30 I was one of a few lucky crew chiefs to fly aboard the T-39 at Clark AFB from 68 to 69. Unfortunately my DD 214 doesn't reflect that and thethe VA said they can't find any record. They say because it was TDY it's hard to prove. I need some help. reply | | Al Wilson, e-mail, 16.05.2012 16:22 deaftom,
I was there and seen the whole thing transpire. I was a crew chief on that birds sister plane. We got a call from the tower that your Dad's plane was coming in heavily damaged, from hitting the water at the Patuxant Naval Air Station and would do a flyover the Andrews tower. She came in low & slow. We were amazed the she was still flyable. As you said the main landing gear was ripped off and the nose gear was dangling by the wiring harness. Also the skin was ripped off most of the belly of the aircraft. I also seem to remember that some of the right wing was missing. While we were watching, the base fire and rescue were laying down foam on the runway. We were expecting the worse as she came in on final approach. I had seen a lot of emergency landing in Vietnam, but this one was picture perfect. She skated to a stop and we seen your Dad and the other 2 pilots emerge from the emergency escape hatch over the wing. I just wish I had had a camera.
On another note: Did your father ever fly with General Daniel "Chappie" James? I lauched him & Barry Goldwater many times. My bird was select to be in the 1972 Air Show at Andrews. We were parked right next to the SR-71. reply | | Frank Carpenter, e-mail, 03.04.2012 03:22 I was a flight engineer /cres chief on the T-39 from Oct 70-74. I was on flight status and had a great item. Went with the squadron for Wiesbwden to Ramstein
Flew mane VIP's such as Warren Burger, General David C Jones. My wife used to make muffins for him
We supported the SALT talks in Helsinki. Ferried T-38 to Iran and Turky. What a great time. We did run off the end of the runway during a rain storm in Nurenburgh. Hated that! reply | | Floyd, e-mail, 31.03.2012 23:19 The Sabre was the first jet I checked out on. I flew it all over the U.S., Mexico, Central and South America. I was named the "Chief Pilot" for our company's European operation, based in London and flew it thoughout Europe, Africa and the Middle East. What a great airplane, I loved it. Later, when I was checking out on a 727, I couldn't believe how similar it was to the Sabre. The 727 flew just like it--only bigger. reply | |
| | John Nixon-"Nick", e-mail, 13.01.2012 02:38 Flight mech. 1966-67 Tan Son Nhut "Scatback". Saw an awful lot of Southeast Asia. Some good--some not so good! MAN, WHAT A RIDE!!!!!!!!!! reply | | Mitch Allen, e-mail, 04.11.2011 02:43 deaftom, I flew the T-39 at Andrews in 1975, but was there from 1973 with the 2nd Com Sq flying C-118A, I moved to the 1st in 1975, befoe they became the 1402nd, 89th wing. Your father may have traing me on the T-39. If you are interested in talking, please contacted me at mrsongbird1@yahoo.com
FYI Songbird was my handle in those days. Mitch reply | | J.R. Krug, e-mail, 11.09.2011 07:40 I was a crew chief / Flight Mech on the T-39A in Itazuke AB Japan, The T-39B at McConnell AFB Kansas, Back to an "A" model in Tan Son Nhut (Scatback '70-71'), Alconbury England, and Kadena AB Okinawa. I also worked the "D" model in Pensacola NAS as a Tech Rep along with the "40" model in Cubi Point PI and El Toro MCAS in California. I was blessed to have been a part of this great aircraft for so many years. reply | | J.R. Krug, e-mail, 11.09.2011 07:37 I was a crew chief / Flight Mech on the T-39A in Itazuke AB Japan, The T-39B at McConnell AFB Kansas, Back to an "A" model in Tan Son Nhut (Scatback '70-71'), Alconbury England, and Kadena AB Okinawa. I also worked the "D" model in Pensacola NAS as a Tech Rep along with the "40" model in Cubi Point PI and El Toro MCAS in California. I was blessed to have been a part of this great aircraft for so many years. reply | | Ron, e-mail, 29.05.2011 01:36 I flew as a navigator on a T-39 ferrying it from the U.S. to Tan Son Nhut in 1973. We made stops in Anchorage, AK, Adak, Honolulu, Wake Islan, Guam, Phillipines and then Saigon. That was a big change from the C-141's I had previously flown! reply | | nels sprague, e-mail, 17.05.2011 23:04 Great aircraft! Flew it from 63 to 79. Randolph, Saigon, Mc Dill and Mc Clellan. Couple blown tires and thats it. Flame out with willy Lamb over rock springs trying to top a tstm, ok start. Knew all the guys flying then, even you Booger. Happy to hear from any of you. Bobby Mathis a great crew chief, only one Momyer would fly with, I take that back there was another too, can't think of his name off hand a great CC went o to Chief Msgt. Please let's hear from you. Nels reply | | BobK, e-mail, 29.04.2011 20:25 Can anyone tell me if the Sabre-65s have an escape hatch in the belly like the Sabre-40s do? We're looking at alternatives to the 40 for some downward-looking imagery experiments. Thanks. reply | | J Rohrs, e-mail, 19.04.2011 15:45 5,000 wonderful hrs. Round trips only. reply | | deaftom, e-mail, 06.04.2011 04:27 My father was a long-time T-39A pilot, first at Andrews AFB 1963-1965, then 1965-1968 at Ramstein, to Vietnam 1968-1969, then Andrews again 1969 to retirement in 1975. He flew all over the U.S., Europe, and Southeast Asia in that bird. He must have had over 10,000 hours in it when he finally hung up his USAF wings.
At Andrews, he was assigned to VIP ops, ferrying VIPs around the U.S. He also shepherded Washington-area colonels and generals who needed to keep up their flying hours; probably the most high-ranking person he ever right-seated for was Senator Barry Goldwater, in Goldwater's capacity as a USAF reserve officer.
My father's only major aircraft accident during his entire USAF career was also in a T-39A; in 1973 or '74--my memory is a little hazy on the year--he was check pilot for another guy who was converting to the T-39A, and they flew from Andrews to Patuxent River NAS to practice a touch-and-go with overwater approaches. The other guy was in control when my father happened to glance out the window and notice they were not only much too low, but about to impact the water. He immediately took control and shoved the throttles full forward, but it was too late. The T-39 pancaked off the water's surface twice, wobbled in the air for several tense seconds, then somehow managed to keep flying and gradually gain altitude. A flyby past the Patuxent tower for a visual inspection brought the news that both main landing gear had been sheared off and the (forward-retracting) nose gear strut bent back about 45 degrees. Since Patuxent didn't have T-39 ground crew or parts, and since the plane was still controllable, my father elected to fly back to Andrews, just a few minutes away, and put down there. Andrews foamed the runway and he put the T-39 down with minimal additional damage. (As an aside, the T-39A had a streamlined wooden skid of sorts on its belly to absorb most of the runway friction damage in case of gear-up landings, but I gather it was of no help in this situation because the stuck-down, bent nose gear leg prevented this wooden skid from contacting the runway.) I never did learn whether this T-39A was repaired and put back into service, or whether it was written off. In either case, it turned out to be a tough little bird that took care of its occupants. reply | | Ron Little, e-mail, 10.03.2011 16:09 We operated a Sabre 60 for some time. What an airplane. And
a pleasure to fly. Rarely used the auto-pilot even at FL410. Hard to believe this was 50's design. I hated to
see this one go. reply | |
| | Dave Schofield, e-mail, 26.02.2011 19:22 The comments on this aircraft are very interesting with one exception. There were ONLY 6 T-39B's ever built. The Navy version was the T-39D. Air Force Jets 59-2873, 59-2874, 60-3474, 60-3475, 60-3476 and 60-3477 were the only B models the Air Force had and first saw duty with the 4520th Combat Crew Training Wing at Nellis AFB, Nevada.
59-2873 ans 59-2874 were originally contracted as A models but were modified during production at request of the Air Force to become the first 2 B models with a mission as a flying class room for the F-105 Fire Control and Radar Training Program. 4 more aircraft with the same configurations were contracted shortly after the delivery on the converted A models, making up the complete fleet of B models.
I recently tried to track down the 6 B models only to learn that 5 of 6 are at Davis-Monthan AFB. The 6th, last I knew was still flying and is being used as a test bed at Edwards. The T-39B I crewed, 60-3475 ended up at Davis-Monthan with wing spar cracks. Only wish I could save her and bring her back. reply |
| Tim, e-mail, 30.12.2010 01:23 Got to fly the A (1974 - 1987) at Eglin (2 months TDY at Scott, flew 592868 and 592869), Ramstein, Wright-Patt, and then Andrews (DCANG). Enjoyed every minute of it, especially in Europe. First year at Eglin, I was in the 3246th Test Wing. At 10,000 ft, we dropped aluminum spheres out the escape hatch for ground radar calibration. Where can I find an old Dash 1 with the cartoons? reply | | Robert Follensbee, e-mail, 22.11.2010 10:13 I was a young thermodynamics engineer working on the development of the T-39A. I was given a high priority design assignment in Oct of 1961: splitter vanes had to be added to the engine inlets to prevent flameout during stall at 45000ft. This was one of the tough FAA requirements. My job was to design a hot bleed air anti-ice system for the splitter vanes and devise a test program that would get it FAA approved by year end. This meant putting the airplane behind an airforce Tanker with a spray boom to give the icing enviroment. The time span was short. The chief engineer, Gene Salvay, said don't worry about making it efficient just make it work by year end or there will be heavy cost penalties by the Air Force. The week before Xmas with no prior testing we put the airplane behind the tanker at wright field with Van Sheppard the NAA test pilot and Bill Mason, the FAA engineer on board. The test was successful in all respects. I was told when I got back to the office by a Garret subcontract engr That Lockheed on the Jet star with the same engine and splitter vanes also had gone thru 16 splitter vane configurations before they had a successful design. In any case I had an enjoyable Xmas. Six months later I went to work for FAA and retired there after 30 yrs. My experiences with the T-39A was the work I am most proud of. reply | | Dallas Smith, e-mail, 16.10.2010 19:38 Flew it for 3 years out of Wiesbaden. After single seat fighters, I had trouble getting used to an aircraft that was comfortable, performed well, had simple emergency procedures and would extend the gear with emergency procedures without screwing up the hydraulic system. One of the most interesting missions was to escort the 4 engine prototype tiltwing aircraft from Torrejon into France for the Paris Airshow. (1967 +- a year.) Strange that it took the Osprey another 40 years to prove the concept. reply | | Marilyn, e-mail, 15.10.2010 22:21 When NAA got their commercial approval in April 1963, I was involved in modeling for pictures to advertize the plane for commercial use. The plane was painted differently on each side to allow for more pictures of the same aircraft. Fond memories. reply | | Jim Reed, e-mail, 21.09.2010 22:02 Great bird the T-39. Flew it for 10 years at McClellan, Yokota, Vietnam (Scatback) and Colorado Springs. Ferried one from Lincoln, Nebraska to Yokota, Japan, island hoping across the Pacific. On the leg from Adak to Midway we had a planned 20 minute fuel reserve at Midway with no alternates and no real way of overwater navigation. From the time we lost the TACAN at Adak until we picked up the TAcan at Midway we were DR with the exception of a poition from a Navy P-3 halfway to Midway.
Jim Reed reply |
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Dave Schofield
All of the B models you listed were at Wright-Patt with the 4950th Test Wing and went to Edwards with the 412th when the wings merged. All of the 39s are gone except 2873, which is in a museum in California. Jimmy Doolittles grandson burned up 3474 on approach to Wright-Patt. We k-balled the wings off of her and donated the rest to the fire dept as a ground trainer.
These were the first planes I was run qualified on, I was an engine troop and CUT trained as a crew chief at 4950th. These jets paved the way for my civilian A&P career and I look back on them very fondly.
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