T-35 Buckaroo
| T-35 Buckaroo / TE-1 | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| The first YT-35 for evaluation by the USAF | |
| Role | Light Prop Trainer |
| Manufacturer | Temco Aircraft |
| First flight | 1948, (TE-1B: 20 February 1950) |
| Introduction | 1948 |
| Status | Active |
| Primary users |
Saudi Arabia Israel |
| Number built | 26 |
| Developed from | Globe Swift |
The Temco T-35 Buckaroo (company designation TE-1) was designed in the late 1940s as an extremely low-cost trainer for commercial and military markets. Temco's failure to secure a United States Air Force order for the Buckaroo forced it to turn to non-US governments to keep the production lines going, yet only a few export orders materialized.
Early in 1948, Temco’s President, Robert McCulloch, received an inquiry from the Philippine Government expressing an interest in a tandem trainer version of the Swift. The first TE-1A was a modification of the Swift GC-1B, hand-built to rough layout drawings, the major difference in appearance being the tandem seating arrangement which resulted in a narrow windshield and an elongated two-piece canopy with a fixed bubble at the rear. This TE-1A prototype was completed late in 1948. After initial flight tests a 145 hp Continental engine replaced the original 125 hp installation.
Early in 1949, Temco’s management received word that the United States Air Force (USAF) planned to hold a competition for a new primary/basic trainer. Temco built two additional prototypes for this competition, adding some minor improvements as time permitted. The three aircraft were designated the YT-35 by the air force. Temco was competing with two other training aircraft, namely the Fairchild XNQ-1/T-31 and the Beechcraft Model 45. On 24 February 1949, the Air Force trainer evaluation board chose the Beech Model 45 by a four-to-one vote with Temco’s TE-1A a distant third. Due to budget cuts, the USAF program was ultimately cancelled that year.
Although the USAF had decided against the TE-1A, interest had increased on the part of foreign governments, particularly the Republic of the Philippines. After a study of the competition evaluation, Temco decided to proceed with a program to improve the TE-1A. Some of the redesign included:
Concurrent with all this redesign Temco had decided to build, on speculation, 10 of these production models powered by 145-hp engines.
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