The Duluth Airshow has a wide variety of planes, from those flown by the Blue Angels and Canadian Thunderbirds to those on static display. In the latter group is a 1957 T-32B airplane flown by Patrick T. Brown. He says this is a Navy model of the T-32 and is often used to train students.

“The T-34A is the Air Force model. There’s a little bit of difference between the A and B models. The B model– I don’t have to switch tanks in this thing. The Air Force model you do. And then the dihydral in the wings in the B model, you get about three more degrees, and that creates a little bit more stable airplane,” explained Brown.

Originally acquired by the Navy, Brown says the aircraft was assigned to the Marine Corps Air Station at Quantico, where it was used as a utility airplane. It then got sent to Pensacola and eventually made its way to the Portuguese Air Force. Eventually, the airplane made its way back to the U.S. where it underwent many restorations.

“There’s a lot of stuff on this airplane that is not original anymore, including the engine, avionics, and we’re continually doing maintenance and upgrading parts,” explained Brown.

Sabrina Ullman had the opportunity to ride in this aircraft, going over Silver Bay and across Lake Superior to Cornucopia, back across the South Shore, and landing back in Duluth.

“I like going to air shows. I’ve done this thing multiple times, which has been really fun, and we meet everybody,” said Brown.

The T-34B will be on static display at the Duluth Airshow this weekend. More information about the Duluth Airshow can be found at this link.