Top speed 161 km/h Length 6.5 m | Wingspan 15 m Manufacturer Laister-Kauffman | |
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The Laister-Kauffman TG-4 (designated LK-10 Yankee Doodle 2 by its designer) was a sailplane produced in the United States during the Second World War for training cargo glider pilots. It was a conventional sailplane design with a fuselage of steel tube construction and wooden wings and tail, skinned all over with fabric. The pilot and instructor sat in tandem under a long canopy.
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Design and development
Jack Laister designed the aircraft in response to the formation of the United States Army Air Corps' American Glider Program in 1941, basing it on his Yankee Doodle design of 1938 for Lawrence Tech. Aside from the addition of a second seat, the Yankee Doodle 2 differed from it predecessor by having wings of constant dihedral instead of gull wings. The USAAC expressed interest, but only if Laister could arrange for the manufacture of the type. When Laister found a sponsor in businessman John Kauffman, they established the Laister-Kauffman Corporation in St Louis, Missouri and the USAAC ordered three prototypes as the XTG-4.
When evaluation of the type proved positive, the Army placed an order for 75 aircraft, followed by an order for another 75. These were operated as the TG-4A, along with the original, single-seat Yankee Doodle that was impressed into service. All had been withdrawn from service prior to the end of the war when it was discovered that the flight characteristics of the aircraft were so different to those of a cargo glider, that the experience gained on the TG-4 was not particularly relevant.
Variants
Operators
LK-10 Serial #106 under prefix PT-PAZ operated by Aeroclube de Bauru in Brazil as of April 2013
Video of LK-10a flying at SOSA Gliding Club during the summer of 2013 - her 70th anniversary.
Aircraft on display
Aircraft under restoration for flight
TG-4A Serial #74 Under Restoration at Legend Of Aces Aviation (www.Legendofaces.com)
Specifications (LK-10 / TG-4A)
Data from The World's Sailplanes:Die Segelflugzeuge der Welt:Les Planeurs du Monde Volume II
General characteristics
Performance