Great Lakes Sport Trainer Explained

The Great Lakes Sport Trainer is an American biplane trainer and aerobatic aircraft. It was originally produced in large numbers before the company building it went bankrupt in the Great Depression in 1933. Owing to its continuing popularity, however, it was eventually placed back into production in the 1970s and again in 2011 by WACO Classic Aircraft.

Development and design

The Great Lakes Aircraft Corporation of Cleveland, Ohio, produced a design for a small two-seat sports/trainer in early 1929, with the first prototype flying in March 1929. The resulting aircraft, designated 2-T-1, was a single bay biplane of mixed, fabric-covered construction and with a tailskid undercarriage. Power was by a single 85hp Cirrus III inline engine (as the Detroit Aircraft Corporation, the holding company for Great Lakes, also held the American rights to the Cirrus, so all Sports Trainers were originally sold with Cirrus engines).[1] Initial testing showed that the aircraft was tail heavy, so after the first four aircraft were built, the upper wing was swept back.

Operational history

The aircraft proved very successful, with 262 built before construction ended as a result of the closure of Great Lakes due to the Great Depression. It was highly maneuverable even on the relatively modest power of a Cirrus engine. A 1929 Great Lakes Model 2T1a held for many years the world record for consecutive outside loops, a total of 131, set by Jim Moss flying the Hunt Special which by the early 1930s had been highly modified and re-powered with a Warner Scarab 165 7 cylinder radial engine.[2]

The Great Lakes continued to be popular well after production ended, and many aircraft adopted more powerful engines, particularly the Jacobs radial engines.[2] Eventually, in the 1960s, the rights for the Sport Trainer were acquired by Harvey Swack, who offered plans of the aircraft for sale to homebuilders. In 1972, Swack sold the rights on to Doug Champlin, who set up a reconstituted Great Lakes Aircraft Company to produce a revised version meeting the current airworthiness requirements, powered by modern Lycoming engines and revised materials of construction (including the use of Douglas fir instead of spruce).[1] The first of the new production aircraft, the Model 2T-1A-1, powered by a 140hp engine was certified in May 1973, with production starting in October that year. A more powerful version, the 2T-1A-2 followed in July 1974. In 1978, production was divided between Wichita, Kansas, and Enid, Oklahoma, with the intent on relocation to Florida,[3] but production by Great Lakes Aircraft at Wichita and Enid ended that year, with 137 built.

Rights to the Sport Trainer continued to switch hands, resulting in production moving several times. In 1979, rights were acquired by Dean Franklin, who moved production to Eastman, Georgia. Production restarted at Eastman in 1980, but ended in 1982. In 1984 the company was brought out by John LaBelle, and moved to Claremont, New Hampshire, with production restarting that year, but production ended again in 1985.[4]

In January 2011, WACO Classic Aircraft announced that it will put the Great Lakes Model 2T-1A-1/2 model biplane back into production. The aircraft had not been available since 1980. The aircraft will incorporate several changes including metal wing spars. It will be offered in two models, a touring model, with a Lycoming IO-360-B1F6 engine and a higher-performance sport model, with a Lycoming AEIO-360-B1G6 engine. Work on the new production model was completed in June 2013 and the base price announced as US$245,000.[5] [6] Waco had built 220 Sport Trainers by 2022.

Variants

Model 2T-1
  • Original production. 85 hp (63 kW) American Cirrus III engine. Small tail. Approximately 40 built.
    Model 2T-1A
  • Revised version with enlarged tail surfaces and 90 hp (67 kW) American Cirrus Ace engine. About 200 built.
    Model 2T-1A-1
  • New production (1973 on) version. Powered by 140 hp (104 kW) Lycoming O-320 engine.
    Model 2T-1A-2
  • More powerful version - powered by 180 hp (134 kW) Lycoming IO-360 engine.
    Model 2T-1A-E
  • Homebuilt Experimental Plans-built [7]
    Model 2T-1E
  • 95 hp (71 kW) American Cirrus Ensign engine. About twelve built.
    X
  • A 2T-1E used for aero-engine testing.
    Model 2T-1MS
  • Menasco Pirate powered two-seat version, one example (registration of NC 304Y) airworthy at Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome is fitted with Goodyear "airwheel" low-pressure main gear tires, and was a favorite aircraft of Cole Palen, the museum's founder.[8]
    Model 2T-1R
  • Homebuilt variant with a 200hp Ranger 6-440-5.[9]
    Model 2T-2 Speedster
  • Racing version of 2T-1-A. Powered by 95hp Cirrus Hi-Drive and straight top wing. Later rebuilt as Model 2T-1E.[10]
    WACO Classic 2T-1A-1/2
  • New production model starting in 2011. There will be two models, a touring model, with a Lycoming IO-360-B1G6 engine and a higher-performance sport model, with a Lycoming AEIO-360-B1G6 engine

    References

    Bibliography

    External links

    Notes and References

    1. http://www.geocities.com/greatlakesbipe/history.htm History of the Great Lakes Sport Trainer
    2. Davisson, Budd. "The Great, Great Lakes". Air Progress, July 1975
    3. Aeronews: End of an era — Second time around . Air Progress . November 1978 . 40 . 11 . 14.
    4. Web site: The Second Generation Great Lakes 1973 - 1984 . greatlakes2t.co.uk . April 2, 2008.
    5. News: Waco Great Lakes Production Underway. 13 June 2013. Grady. Mary. 11 June 2013. AvWeb. https://web.archive.org/web/20130618082848/http://www.avweb.com/avwebflash/news/WacoGreatLakesProductionUnderway_208834-1.html. 18 June 2013. dead. dmy-all.
    6. News: Waco Revives Great Lakes Biplane. 20 January 2011. Grady. Mary. January 2011. AvWeb. https://web.archive.org/web/20110123222043/http://www.avweb.com/avwebflash/news/WacoRevivesGreatLakesBiplane_203974-1.html. 23 January 2011. dead. dmy-all.
    7. Air Trails. Winter 1971.
    8. http://oldrhinebeck.org/ORA/great-lakes-2t-1ms/ Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome NC304Y
    9. Air Trails. Winter 1971. 9.
    10. http://www.aerofiles.com/_grlakes.html Great Lakes

    This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Great Lakes Sport Trainer".

    Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2025, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.