"Do you know something Bob, your PT-26 doesn't half look like a Chipmunk!""I know what you mean Dave," grinned the famous racing car driver, "but I think you'll find it's the Chipmunk that looks like a PT-26!" He was right, of course. In fact, production of the -26 finished in 1944, two years before the prototype Chipmunk made its maiden flight. One of the principal American primary trainers (PT) during World War Two, the PT-26 was derived from the Fairchild M62C trainer. Nicknamed either 'the cradle of heroes' or 'the cradle of the air force' (opinions differ) the Fairchild trainer has a unique claim to fame, as it was the first monoplane primary operated by the US Army Air Corps (USAAC). It was named 'Cornell' after the famous New York University, and the immaculate example that I was about to fly is based at Sebring, Florida and owned by Bob Tullius of Group 44 Inc and Team Jaguar racing fame.
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