Laister-Kauffman TG-4 explained

The Laister-Kauffmann TG-4 (designated LK-10 Yankee Doodle 2 by its designer) is 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, covered all over with fabric. The pilot and instructor sat in tandem under a long canopy.

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 its 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 Kauffmann, they established the Laister-Kauffmann 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. All had been withdrawn from service prior to the end of the war when it was discovered that the flight characteristics of the aircraft were so different to those of a cargo glider,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. After the war many were sold as surplus and helped build civilian gliding in the USA.

Variants

XTG-4 – prototypes (three built)
TG-4A – production model (150 built)
TG-4B – civilian aircraft impressed into service (one impressed)

Operators

LK-10 Serial #48 registered as N53619 owned and flown by Doug Fronius of Poway, California, USA as of 2023. Based at Mountain Valley Airport in Tehachapi, California.

LK-10 Serial #106 under prefix PT-PAZ operated by Aeroclube de Bauru in Brazil as of April 2013^[1] This glider crashed on March 10, 2020.

LK-10 Serial # unk operating at Rockton, Ontario (CF-AZJ) as of Apr, 2022

LK-10 Serial #23 formerly registered as N53609 currently under restoration to flying condition in Dayton, Ohio, USA as of 2024. Once restored the aircraft will be based at the Caesar Creek Soaring Club in Waynesville, Ohio.

Aircraft on display

42-43688 – TG-4A on static display at the Planes of Fame in Chino, California.^[2] ^[3]
42‐43734 – TG-4A on static display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton, Ohio.^[4] ^[5]
42-43740 – TG-4A on static display at the Museum of Aviation at Warner Robins Air Force Base in Warner Robins, Georgia.^[6]
42-53078 – TG-4A on static display at the Air Mobility Command Museum at Dover Air Force Base near Dover, Delaware.^[7]
42-437357 – TG-4A on static display at the National Soaring Museum in Elmira, New York.^[8]
42-530727 – TG-4A on static display at the Silent Wings Museum in Lubbock, Texas.^[9]
28 – TG-4A on static display at the US Southwest Soaring Museum in Moriarty, New Mexico.^[10]
71 – TG-4A on static display at the Southern Museum of Flight in Birmingham, Alabama.^[11]
42-53072 – TG-4A on static display at the Military Aviation Museum in Virginia Beach, Virginia.^[12]
LK-10A on static display at the Historic Aircraft Restoration Museum in Maryland Heights, Missouri.^[13]
LK-10A on static display at the Port Townsend Aero Museum in Port Townsend, Washington.^[14]
USAAF 84.42-53027 at Gliding Heritage Centre

References

Book: Shenstone, B.S.. The World's Sailplanes:Die Segelflugzeuge der Welt:Les Planeurs du Monde Volume II. 1963. Organisation Scientifique et Technique Internationale du Vol a Voile (OSTIV) and Schweizer Aero-Revue. Zurich. 160–162. 1st. K.G. Wilkinson . en, fr, de.
Web site: Sailplanes, Hang Gliders & Motor Gliders. 26 May 2011. US Southwest Soaring Museum. US Southwest Soaring Museum. 2010.

External links

Notes and References

Web site: Planadores: Aeroclube de Bauru. 29 Apr 2013. 2013. pt. 16 February 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20130216023359/http://www.aeroclubebauru.com.br/o-aeroclube/frota/planadores/. dead.
Web site: Flying & Static Aircraft. Planes of Fame Air Museum. 30 May 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170806222534/http://planesoffame.org/index.php?page=81&itemsperpage=All. 6 August 2017. dead.
Web site: Airframe Dossier – Laister-KauffmanTG-4, s/n 42-43688 USAAF, c/n 9, c/r N53612. Aerial Visuals. AerialVisuals.ca. 30 May 2017.
Web site: Laister-Kauffmann TG-4A. National Museum of the US Air Force. 30 May 2017. 16 April 2015.
Web site: AIRCRAFT, DRONES AND MISSILES AT THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF THE U.S. AIR FORCE. National Museum of the US Air Force. 30 May 2017. June 2016.
Web site: TG-4A "Yankee Doodle". Museum of Aviation. Museum of Aviation Foundation, Inc.. 30 May 2017.
Web site: Laister-Kauffman TG-4A. Air Mobility Command Museum. AMC Museum Foundation, Inc.. 30 May 2017.
Web site: Airframe Dossier – Laister-Kauffman TG-4A, s/n 42-437357 USAAF, c/n 60, c/r N54191 . Aerial Visuals . 26 July 2019.
Web site: City of Lubbock – Departments | Silent Wings Museum .
Web site: Sailplanes, Hang Gliders & Motor Gliders. U.S. Southwest Soaring Museum. 30 May 2017.
Web site: Airframe Dossier – Laister-KauffmanTG-4, c/n 71, c/r N56588. Aerial Visuals. AerialVisuals.ca. 30 May 2017.
Web site: Aircraft N51462 (1943 Laister-Kauffman LK-10A C/N 126) Photo by Dean Heald (Photo ID: AC292671). www.airport-data.com. en. 2017-10-31.
Web site: Museum Hangar 2 . Historic Aircraft Restoration Museum . 26 July 2019.
Web site: 1942 Laister–Kauffman LK–10A (TG–4A) . Port Townsend Aero Museum . 17 September 2019 . 18 November 2019.