About the Wright Stuff Squadron T-50
N1238N

The Royal Canadian Air Force acquired the aircraft on November 20, 1941 where it operated as RCAF Crane #8139 at No. 3 Service Flying Training School in Calgary, Alberta until October 1, 1946 when it was transferred to the Canadian War Assets Corporation.

On July 2, 1947 the Canadian War Assets Corporation sold it to A. J. Leeward of Montreal, Quebec for "$1.00 and other valuable considerations".

On May 5, 1948 N1238N was sold to Fred Farrington of Seattle, Washington for the same price noted above. Curiously, the seller's signature on the Bill of Sale was notarized in Allen County, Indiana (Ft. Wayne).

One month later, on June 7,1948, N1238N, was sold for the same legal considerations plus $1.00 to Harold E. Olson of Kirkland, Washington.

It appears that on September 29, 1948 Mr. Olson registered N1238N with the C.A.A. and became the first post-war civilian operator of our Bobcat. The certificate of registration was corrected on August 14, 1951 to reflect Mr. Olson's new address of Independence, Kansas.

On March 31, 1953 ownership of N1238N was transferred to Harte Flying Service, Municipal Airport, Wichita, Kansas (George Harte, owner) with a C.A.A. registration issued on April 30, 1953.

There are no records of any activity until February 16, 1971 when the (now) F.A.A. sent A Notice of Proposed Certificate Action to Hart Flying Service, whose address is now Hartlee Field, Denton, Texas. The F.A.A. proposed to revoke the Certificate of Registration because the owner failed to submit a Registration Eligibility, Identification and Activity report by the July 1, 1970 regulatory deadline.

Mr. Harte's reply was received by the F.A.A. on February 23, 1971. It said: "In reply to your letter of February 1971 I wish to say there is no longer Hart Flying Service, Incorporated. I have this airplane in my hangar here, and it has not been flown for ten years, and more than likely will not be flown. This plane is one of the first Cessnas built. I test proved the first Cessna built, therefore, am keeping this one for old time sake. My license # is 3193. If we straighten out the title on it, would like to have it registered in my name. I was in the hospital in 1970 for some time, and have not been able to get around too much. I am blind in one eye and sight failing in the other eye. I would appreciate any concern given me in this matter."

According to the book, Cessna's Golden Age, Mr. Harte was a test pilot and long time friend of Clyde Cessna and did indeed on June 1, 1935 test fly NC12599, the prototype C-34 Airmaster.

To satisfy himself and the F.A.A., on March 22, 1971 Mr. Harte transferred ownership of N1238N from the defunct corporation to himself.

On October 31, 1975 the F.A.A. issued an Order of Revocation of Registration Certificate due to Mr. Harte's failure to comply with FARs as in the preceding instance.

On May 25, 1979 ownership of N1238N was transferred by Harte's widow to James M. Paige of Fort Worth, Texas.

Later that year, on December 10, 1979, Mr. Paige sold N1238N to the Confederate Air Force. A Certificate of Registration was issued to the CAF on January 18, 1980. On August 14, 1991 ownership was transferred to The American Airpower Heritage Flying Museum, Inc.

The Bobcat has been assigned to the following CAF units:
Indiana Wing - February 1989 to November 1995
Wright Stuff Squadron - June 2002 to present

An interesting point is that N1238N, besides being the oldest flying T-50, is probably the lowest time as well. It currently has 4,683 hours on the airframe. Because of Mr. Harte's ownership as a keepsake (for 26 years!) and the CAF's stewardship as a museum piece the aircraft has only flown approximately 500 hours in the last 50 years!

During the 6 years 9 months in the Indiana Wing, she was flown 236 hours. As of October 15, 2004 (2 years 3 months with us), The Wright Stuff Squadron has put 226 hours on her.