Pioneer Park fighter jet gets a makeover

OTHELLO — The old Air Force trainer jet on display in Othello’s Pioneer Park has seen better days.

The paint job has faded and peeled in places and there’s rust and holes and dents on the 60-year-old T-33A fighter jet, twin-seat trainer derived from the F-80 Shooting Star, the U.S. Air Force’s first operational fighter jet.

“It’s not in the worst shape, and not in the best shape. It’s standard for a 1950s aircraft,” said Tony Anderson, a mobile crew chief for Straube’s Aircraft Services.

By mid-August, however, this ancient artifact of the American military should be completely repaired and at least somewhat resemble its original condition.

“We restore aircraft,” Anderson said. “We come in, assess the damage. We then do total corrosion control, sand it, repair the dents, prime it, and then we’ll paint it silver.”

“Don’t forget about the body work,” said Cranston Lozano, the newest member of the four-man team working on the T-33A. “There’s lots and lots of body work.”

Straube’s, based in Kapolei, Hawaii, specializes in painting and repairing aircraft. The company, however, has several mobile teams that do exactly what Anderson and his three co-workers are doing in Pioneer Park this month — repairing and restoring aircraft on display, often at Air Force bases. The company has restored display aircraft as varied as WWII-era transport planes to modern fighter jets.

And there will be plenty of work, Anderson said, as new Air Force standards require maintenance work on static display aircraft every five years to make sure they don’t look too shabby.

The repair work is costing the city of Othello $30,000 — half of which is being donated by the city’s Kiwanis Club.

The work on the T-33A in Pioneer Park is a little more difficult since the plane is “up in the air,” and at some point it was damaged when it was moved, Anderson said.

“We’ll pretty up the display stand too,” he added.

But amidst the sickly sweet smell of epoxy and paint, the Straube’s crew climbs the scaffolding around the airplane. Last week they sanded it down and applied sealant to the seams. This week, they will paint it silver, wait for that to dry, and then paint the rest of it — everything from the “USAF” on the wings to the warning signs near the cockpit.

“This is what we do,” Anderson said. “We take pride in our work, and we want this plane to look top notch.”

Charles H. Featherstone can be reached via email at countygvt@columbiabasinherald.com.