T-28 Trojan Foundation
Hunter Reiley flying his family's T-28A Photography by Terry Green
Preview calendar, click on thumbnail photos to enlarge:
At the young age of 13/14, I was responsible for multi million dollar pieces of art and the pilots! I was enthusiastic to talk to every pilot about their airplane to learn as much as possible. Fast forward to getting my pilot's license. I was invited to fly an Ercoupe (with military paint) at the show that I first started marshaling! I remember writing everything, EVERYTHING, down in that first briefing! Since then, I have flown several airshows in several aircraft throughout the years. One of my favorite memories of flying warbirds at Oshkosh in 2018 when I took the entire F-16 Viper Demo Team crew flying in a BT-13. It was an awesome opportunity to take these friends flying, one, as a way to give back to the people who have given so much to their country, and two, as a way for me to give back to the crew who has a passion for aviation. The Warbird aircraft that I have flown are a Piper L-4, Aeronce L-16, Fuji LM1, T-6, T-28A, Pilatus P-3, BT-13, Ford Tri-Motor, Airwolf M-26, Beech 18, and a Stearman PT-17. I have had the amazing opportunity to ride in a P-51 with the United States Air Force Heritage Flight Demo Team team with two F-35's in formation! Along with riding along on a couple aerobatic rides in the Mustang. I have volunteered for many years to be ground crew at airshows. To add to his accolades, Hunter is also an Eagle Scout and a two time national champion speed shooter with a handgun. His mom, Debbie supports his aviation pursuits as well as his shooting hobby thru one of many businesses she owns; The Rio Gun Club!
Never under estimate the impact of meeting an aviation legend like Bud Anderson who tells you to "follow your dreams and never give up." Now Hunter pays it forward inspiring the even younger generation who view him as their aviation legend!
Hunter is a graduate of Liberty University School of Aeronautics and holds a commercial multi engine pilots license. Hunter aims to join the Texas Air National Guard in the near future. I predict he'll be flying his own mustang one of these days!
T-28A Serial # 49-1539 was once owned by EAA founder Paul Poberezny. It's history can be traced back to the original Air Training Command days. Hunter is the spitting image of his dad Jeremy who purchased the T-28A to add to is personal fleet at Texas Aviation Academy. Jeremy is very proud of the fact his flight school is the first since WWII to train active-duty military pilots for the Air Force!
Drawing from numerous oral history interviews, Fly Until You Die brings the Hmong pilot's stories to light for the first time.
"HURRICANE" HUNTER REILEY Ever since I was a young kid I've been fascinated with Warbird aircraft. (Fun Fact: when I was growing up, my bedroom wall was painted ceiling to floor of a mural of a P-51 flying right at you; and the ceiling was painted as a sky with airplanes flying over!) Growing up attending airshows fueled the fire of passion for warbird aircraft, meeting many famous aviators and watching legends fly. I remember the first time I met Bud Anderson, a shy kid with a love of the mustang. He signed his book and told me to follow my dreams and never give up. What an inspiration! I started "my career" in warbird aviation where it all started, airshows. I started by helping as ground crew to marshal aircraft. It felt amazing to be standing just feet away from Rolls Royce-Merlin's, Allisons, Pratts, Wrights etc, and telling them where to go!
Be prepared for laughter and tears in this behind-the-scenes peek into this doctor’s life, with a twist that takes his career from the clinic to the cockpit as he embarks on a second profession as a commercial airline pilot.
"Keep Calm and Trojan On"
Jeff Schroeder, Charlie Oscar Photography
Trojan Phlyers 2015 Bonham Festival of Flight
THE RAVEN CHRONICLES available at Amazon.com
The Raven Chronicles, In Our Own Words, is a unique collection of first person accounts by the USAF forward air controllers who flew in the Secret War in Laos. Restricted by the 1962 Geneva Agreement, they flew in civilian clothes in unmarked light spotter aircraft. These pilots regularly operated from primitive dirt landing sites, often flying in poor weather, with few navigational aids, under the constant threat of enemy fire, and in the midst of towering mountains and unforgiving karst formations. According to USAF history, they were one of the success stories of the war. They built a legend of efficiency and daring in their control of RLAF and USAF strikes in support of Laotian ground units.
kindle edition: $8.95 and paperback b/w: $24.95
In addition to the stories, many of the Raven authors have shared photographs from their personal collection, some never seen by the public before. For more information see the Raven Chronicles Archives page on this website under "Call Sign Raven."
This website is best viewed on desktop, it can be viewed on mobile devices but the text and photo's will not appear in the same order as the desktop version.
All Photographs, videos and stories have copyrights. Reproduction in any manner is prohibited.
T-28 Radial "Round Sounds"
courtesy of David Ramsey
1. T-28 Start 2. Take-off
3. Fly-bys 4. Returning
click on right arrow o scroll thru selection
click on middle arrow to play
- T-28 Start3:06
- T-28 take-off0:40
- T-28 fly-bys3:47
- T-28 Returning2:08
Raven 43 Will Platt's collection of personal accounts of the Secret War in Laos along with never before seen photographs of the war.
See Jean Barbaud's cartoons at: http://jeanbarbaud.blogspot.com
Col. (ret) Craig Duehring's memoir from boyhood in Minnesota, to USAF pilot training to flyng as a Raven during the Secret War in Laos. See also:
THE LAIR OF RAVEN,
BOOK Corner