Restoration of The First Production Cessna T-41 Mescalero

By Adam Estes Nearly every person on earth has seen a Cessna 172 fly overhead, and most of the world’s pilots get their first flight lessons and make their first solos behind the controls of a 172. However, the favorable flight characteristics of the 172 have also seen the aircraft used as military trainers with the United States Army and Air Force as the Cessna T-41 Mescalero, serving the same purpose of introductory flight training as the Boeing-Stearman Model 75 did during the World War II. Additionally, the T-41 was used to provide flight training to USAF pilots before their introduction to jet trainers such as the Cessna T-37 Tweet. Since its introduction in 1964, the T-41 has been in continual use not only with the U.S. military but with the armed forces of numerous other countries around the world. But in Pine Knot, KY the Big South Fork Aerospace Academy (also referred to as the Air and Space Education Institute) is restoring the very first production model T-41 to airworthy condition, all while providing an opportunity for the next generation of pilots, aerospace engineers, and mechanics a chance to acquire the trade skills needed to start their careers.

The aircraft being restored by the Big South Fork Aerospace Academy started out life as T-41A 65-5100 (construction number 172F-51947), being ordered for the United States Air Force in 1964. During its initial period of service with the USAF 65-5100, which was registered with the FAA as N5100F, was used for testing to determine what could be improved on subsequent models of the T-41 to follow, before it found itself being used as an ordinary trainer, with nervously eager pilots and calm instructors at the controls, primarily flying in the clear and sunny skies of the American southwest. 65-5100/N5100F was also used in the production of a 1966 USAF training film The Year of 53 Weeks, which highlights the experiences of pilot trainees as seen through the eyes of one Lt. Blake, who gets his first taste of flight behind the yoke of this historic machine. 65-5100/N5100F’s last assignment in the USAF came with the 3525th Pilot Training Wing at Williams Air Force Base (now Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport) in Maricopa County, AZ. From January 6, 1972 to March 20, 1973 the T-41 was kept in storage at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson before seeing out the last of its active flying years with the Indiana Wing of the Civil Air Patrol, and was later acquired by the Grissom Air Museum in Peru, IN. It was never displayed at the museum, however, as the aircraft was kept in storage, disassembled, its historical significance as the first production T-41 having been largely forgotten.

In December 1989, the museum sold the aircraft to a private owner in Kokomo, IN who later donated it to the Oneida Special School District, Oneida, TN on April 24, 2017. The district retained the aircraft for the next five years until it was donated to the Air and Space Education Institute/Big South Fork Aerospace Academy.

The Air and Space Education Institute and the Big South Fork Aerospace Academy have been seeking to provide educational opportunities for local youths of southern Kentucky in grades 7-12, with emphasis in flight training, aircraft maintenance, and aerospace engineering. Among its leaders has been Dr. Tim Smith, Director of the Big South Fork Aerospace Academy. It has been Dr. Smith who has led the efforts to restore the Mescalero to airworthiness and use the old plane to teach some lessons to a new generation of pilots and engineers.

One big milestone in the project has been the restoration of the T-41A’s Continental O-300 flat-six inline engine. The engine was overhauled by Poplar Grove Airmotive in Poplar Grove, IL having since been run on a test stand, and exhibited at AirVenture 2024. Now, Smith and his students hope to have T-41A 65-5100/N5100F flying by the time of the 2025 airshow at Oshkosh. The Academy’s senior students, who have spent up to two years restoring the aircraft and some of whom have obtained their private pilot’s licenses and A&P certificates, hope to fly the T-41 to Oshkosh for AirVenture 2025 where it will be on display in the warbirds section. Once it makes it back from Oshkosh, the T-41 will continue to be used by the Big South Fork Aerospace Academy for some flight training, but also to fly at local airshows to promote the Academy and inspire new students to realize their dreams in aviation.

Special thanks to Dr. Tim Smith for his assistance in the making of this article. Additionally, we will be posting an interview of Dr. Smith at Oshkosh with Moreno Aguiari on our YouTube channel. Watch this space for updates!

Like all projects, the Big South Fork Aerospace Academy needs support to complete the restoration of the T-41 and then maintain it and other aircraft in airworthy condition. If you would like to find more information and contact the Academy, visit their website HERE. To contribute with a tax-deductible donation, visit the Academy’s GoFundMe page HERE.