Taylorcraft TG-6
| Taylorcraft TG-6 | |
|---|---|
_(8744489014).jpg) TG-6 in the Pima Air & Space Museum (2013) |
|
| Type: | Training glider |
| Design country: | |
| Manufacturer: | |
| First flight: |
June 10, 1942 |
| Number of pieces: |
250 |
The Taylorcraft TG-6 (factory name ST.100) is a cargo glider from the US manufacturer Taylorcraft Aviation from the early 1940s, which was used for pilot training during the Second World War .
history
In June 1942 Taylorcraft received an urgent request by telegram from the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) as to whether the plant would be able to produce a large number of gliders for military pilot training. The background to this was the already envisaged invasions in Africa, Italy and France, for which a huge number of gliders to transport troops and equipment was considered necessary. Since the well-known manufacturers of gliders were already busy, Charles T. Stanton, the Assistant Administrator of the Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) at the time, suggested that the manufacturers of light aircraft be included in the construction program. He showed that such aircraft can be converted into gliders with little effort. In the factory designation ST.100, in which the "S" stands for Stanton, his contribution to the realization of the project is recognized. The "T" stands for Taylorcraft.
Within nine days, Taylorcraft worked with the CAA to design a glider based on the Model D tandem trainer . For this purpose, the engine with its suspensions including the fire bulkhead was removed and a new fuselage bow was created, the upper half of which was glazed. An additional seat with a third set of controls was also installed here to compensate for the lack of weight of the engine. The flight instructor sat in the back with the two flight students in the seats in front of him. The shortened landing gear now had to do without a damper and the vertical stabilizer was enlarged. In order to make landings as short as possible, a spoiler was installed directly behind the leading edge of the wing , which the pilot could operate . The descent rate of the aircraft increased by over 100%. Only 18 days after the start of work, the TG-6 was accepted by the USAAF and commissioned for mass production.
variants
- XLNT-1
- Version of the United States Navy that received three TG-6s from the USAAF for testing purposes
- LNT-2 (or LNT-1)
- 25 serial copies that were also taken over by the USAAF
- XTG-33
- 1945 rebuilt TG-6 with the pilot in prone position
Technical specifications
| Parameter | Data |
|---|---|
| crew | 3 (1 flight instructor + 2 flight students) |
| length | 7.68 m |
| span | 10.80 m |
| Wing area | 16.72 m² |
| Empty mass | 279 kg |
| Takeoff mass | 572 kg |
| Top speed | about 220 km / h |
| Landing speed | 67 km / h |
Whereabouts
What has been preserved is a plane that was restored and flown in the Pima Air & Space Museum.
See also
literature
- Taylorcraft - A Complex Classic . In: AIR Enthusiast Forty-Five, March to May 1992, pp. 52-55
- Chet Peek: The Taylorcraft Story , Aviation Heritage Library Series, 1992, ISBN 0-943691-08-7 , pp. 154 ff.
- John M. Andrade: US Military Aircraft Designations and Serials since 1909 , Midland Counties Publ., 1979, ISBN 0-904597-22-9 , pp. 170 and 201
Web links
- Film about the restoration and the first flight of the TG-6 of the Pima Air & Space Museum (accessed December 12, 2015)
- TG-6 in the Pima Air & Space Museum (accessed December 12, 2015)
Individual evidence
- ^ Biography of Charles Ingram Stanton on airandspace.si.edu (accessed December 12, 2015)
- ^ Chet Peek, p. 156
- ^ TG-6 in the Pima Air & Space Museum