Laister-Kauffman TG-4

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 in 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 it predecessor in 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 All had been withdrawn from service prior to the end of the war when it was discovered that the flight characteristics of the aircraft were so different to those of a cargo glider,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

• XTG-4 - prototypes (3 built)
• TG-4A - production model (150 built)
• TG-4B - civilian aircraft impressed into service (1 impressed)

Aircraft on display

• Air Mobility Command Museum
• Museum of Aviation
• National Museum of the United States Air Force
• Planes of Fame
• Silent Wings Museum
• US Southwest Soaring Museum^[1]

Specifications (TG-4A)

General characteristics

• Crew: Two, pilot and instructor
• Length: 21 ft 3 in (6.48 m)
• Wingspan: 50 ft 0 in (15.24 m)
• Height: 4 ft 0 in (1.22 m)
• Wing area: 166 ft² (15.4 m²)
• Aspect ratio: 15:1
• Wing profile: NACA 4418, 4409
• Empty weight: 475 lb (215 kg)
• Gross weight: 875 lb (397 kg)

Performance

• Maximum speed: 100 mph (162 km/h)
• Maximum glide ratio: 22
• Rate of sink: 192 ft/min (0.98 m/s)

References

• Taylor, Michael J. H. (1989). Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation. London: Studio Editions. pp. 563. 
• Salmi, Reino J. (March 1943). "Gliders for Victory". The Wisconsin Engineer 47 (6): 8–9. http://digicoll.library.wisc.edu/cgi-bin/UW/UW-idx?type=div&did=UW.WIEV47NO6.RSALMI&isize=text. Retrieved 2008-09-16.  (uncorrected OCR)
• National Museum of the United States Air Force fact sheet
• Sailplane Directory entry on the LK-10
• LTU timeline
• Air Mobility Command museum
• Aircraft/laister-kauffman_tg-4a.htm Museum of Aviation

External links

• The Air Mobility Command Museum