The Pinto has come home to Pensacola! Only a handful of TT-1 Pintos were made, making this one of the rarest production military aircraft tags we’ve ever released.
I also love that this aircraft was found buried at a boneyard. We are contacted on a regular basis about parts and material, but the organic finds are the most satisfying, and this is a perfect example of that.
The TT-1 Pinto:
Serving as an introductory and experimental all-jet trainer for the United States Navy, the TT-1 Pinto is a tandem two-seater, single-engine airframe developed by Temco Aircraft.
Powered by a Continental YJ69 T-9 turbojet engine, the Pinto had a top speed of 345 miles per hour and entered service in the late 1950s with Air Training Command in Pensacola, Florida, to test the feasibility of using jet-powered trainers for primary flight training.
Due to insufficient performance and limited endurance, the TT-1s were retired in the early 1960s. Only fourteen were produced.
The Tags:
Please note: As of 28 October 2024, all tags cut from the Roundel (stars and bars) are now listed as "Roundel" on the drop-down menu. Roundel tags are randomly fulfilled and are either Blue, White, Blue/Yellow, or Blue/White. The Red/White and Red/White/Blue tags are sold out.
Our TT-1 Pinto tags were cut from the forward fuselage of BuNo 144227. This aircraft was sold as surplus after the Navy retired the type. It was later involved in a mishap and damaged beyond repair in 1987. The crew recovered from the incident. We have been in contact with the family of the original owner of the aircraft about this tag project.
The TT-1 Tags are offered in 10 variants: Yellow, Blue, White, Raw/Yellow (printed), Blue/Yellow, Blue/White, Red/White, Red/White/Blue, Stencil, and Ejection Seat. In addition to the tags, we are also super pleased to report that the genesis for this tag project stems from the need for many of the cockpit components to support airworthy and restoration Pintos.
The Yellow and Yellow/Raw tags were cut from exterior fuselage skin. The Yellow/Raw tags are printed with black tag art that really pops against the tag finish.
The Blue, White, Blue/Yellow, Blue/White, Red/White, and Red/White/Blue tags were all cut from the roundel on the starboard side of the cockpit. These are very limited variants. On Sunday at midnight, any remaining roundel tags will be grouped into a single variant: Roundel, and color fulfillment will be random.
The Stencil tags feature tags cut from various stencils we found on the exterior and interior of the fuselage and cockpit.
The Ejection Seat tags were cut from the developmental ejection seat that was in the aircraft. This, like the aircraft, is a very rare ejection seat that was unique to the Pinto. These tags come with a metallic red printed design and come on a special card with red grid lines.
This run is limited to 625 tags total, and they all come on a card by BVR.
I love that trainers are the gateway to the fleet/operational squadrons. Every pilot must navigate the rigors of flight school, and many of the most harrowing flying stories told happened in training aircraft.