Experimenter is a magazine created by EAA for people who build airplanes. We will report on amateur-built aircraft as well as ultralights and other light aircraft.
Issue link: http://experimenter.epubxp.com/i/271000
30 Vol.3 No.3 / March 2014 WHAT OUR MEMBERS ARE BUILDING AMONG THE UNSUNG HEROES of World War II was the contribu- tions of the Allied glider programs. There is a handful of the large Waco CG-4 cargo gliders still in existence, but even fewer of the training gliders. A couple of Taylorcraft TG-6 gliders are displayed in museums around the country. The Western Antique Aeroplane & Automobile Museum in Hood River, Oregon, has one it occasion- ally fl ies. Reportedly, there are some Piper TG-8 airframes still around, rumored to be in private collections and some that con- tinue to fl y, cloaked as J-3s. But there are no Aeronca TG-5 gliders. The Aeronca airframe was dif erent enough that it was not easy to convert into a powered plane after the war. So they were stripped of parts and left to rust away from memory. BIRTH OF THE NINE-DAY WONDER During World War II, America began the development of an assault cargo glider program. But it was discovered that existing high-performance gliders did not reflect the flight characteristics of the assault gliders. A way to train assault cargo glider pilots was needed. Charles Stanton, then the head of the Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA), pro- posed an idea to convert two-seat liaison aircraft into train- ing gliders. His idea was to remove the engine and create a third seat, thus maintaining the weight and balance. On May 11, 1942, Stanton made a call to the Aeronca fac- tory. After a quick discussion with Lee Smith, vice president of Aeronca, the company jumped on the proposal. Over the next several days, Aeronca's design team, led by Ed Burns, engineered the model G -3 training glider, based on the TA/O-58 (L-3) tandem airframe. While the design was progressing, construction was underway. On May 20, the completed airframe, with Aeronca test pilot Maurice Fry at the controls, was towed by a car to a height of 20 to 30 feet. A mere nine days had passed since the phone conversation between Stanton and Smith. On May 21, flight tests were flown by Maurice Fry and Major Barringer. These flights were made with one to three crewmen on board. The following day, Major Barringer flew the G -3 under tow 500 miles from Middletown, Ohio, to Washington D.C. Flight tests were continued by the CAA and U.S. Army Air Forces. On May 26, the G -3 went back to Middletown to have spoilers developed and installed. On June 6, the order was finalized for 250 TG -5 airframes. Return of the Nine-Day Wonder Aeronca's TG-5 training glider BY CRAIG MACVEIGH, E A A 614781 Maurice Fry preparing for a test fl ight in the Aeronca TG-5. Photography courtesy of Craig MacVeigh E A A E X P _ M a r 1 4 . i n d d 3 0 EAAEXP_Mar14.indd 30 3 / 3 / 1 4 1 0 : 3 3 A M 3/3/14 10:33 AM