ESTESBOG

THEY CALL HER “DOUBLE UGLY”

Peter Walker

What would you get if you put wings on a combine? The result couldn’t be much uglier than the funny-looking twin-engine airplane that spent a great deal of time at the Fort Morgan Airport Saturday morning practicing landings and takeoffs.

The unmarked grayish aircraft, it turns out, is a recent acquisition of the United States Air Force. Four young pilots from the 318^th Special Operations Squadron at Cannon Air Force Base in New Mexico have been assigned to familiarize themselves with the special plane.

Made in Poland under a Russian license, the plane is a PZL M28 Skytruck light utility transport, a copy of the very rugged Antonov An-28.

Why a Polish-made Soviet design for USAF? Just ten minutes watching the ungainly appearing contraption perform and one can readily see its advantages, especially for special ops.

Joe Rigli and I stood with 1^st Lieutenant Louis Gabriel of the 318^th while his buddies put the plane through its paces. Lt. Gabriel’s enthusiasm was infectious.

The lumpy machine can’t go very fast due to its lack of aerodynamics. But it is powered by two US-built Pratt & Whitney PT-6 turboprop engines each generating about 1,100 horsepower. With that kind of power, Gabriel says, a pilot can bully his way through situations that would otherwise call for finesse.

According to Gabriel, the plane’s greatest advantages are its short-takeoff-and-landing (STOL) capabilities and its general solidness. Making a steep decent at about 100 mph the plane flared out at the last second and plopped on rough prairie on its rugged fixed landing gear. A quick reversal of both engines and the aircraft comes to a stop in a cloud of dust in little over 200 yards.

Standing about 200 yards down the field from the Skytruck we watched a pilot build up rpms. The aircraft’s nose dropped as it strained against its brakes. The pilot released them and the machine bumped forward on the rough ground.

Before the plane reached us the nose wheel lifted and the nose came up. Still 30 yards away the main gear left the ground as well. The pilot held the plane close to the field for another 200 yards, then the 8-ton aircraft suddenly jumped skyward at an astonishing rate of climb.

The M28 is equipped with a large door on the rear of the aircraft that would doubtless facilitate quick loading and off-loading in the field as well as parachute jumpers.

Lt. Gabriel, a Hawaii native who graduated from the Air Force Academy last year, was one of only three pilots in his class to receive jet training. Although he wanted to fly fighters, he is clearly delighted with the mission he has been given.

“It’s an absolute blast to fly!” he told us.

The contingent of pilots and airmen from Cannon are temporarily assigned to Buckley AFB in Aurora. When asked if they will be using Fort Morgan Airport again, Gabriel said he thought they probably would. It has both paved and unpaved strips and minimal air traffic most days.