| 1933 Great Lakes 2T-1A Sport Trainer |
(6 Feb 08) On 26 January 2008 I bought my first biplane - a 45 year old scale
model of the 1933 Great Lakes 2T-1A in order to restore this wonderful old
aircraft and, hopefully, see this bird fly again. These pages will document that
restoration and, hopefully, a long life in the air again.
The model, overall, is in pretty good condition. When you consider that she's probably been
model of the 1933 Great Lakes 2T-1A in order to restore this wonderful old
aircraft and, hopefully, see this bird fly again. These pages will document that
restoration and, hopefully, a long life in the air again.
The model, overall, is in pretty good condition. When you consider that she's probably been
Great Lakes Aircraft Company in Colorado) and Harvey Swack (company historian and information guru). I had the incredible
luck of finding the website for Great Lakes Aircraft (didn't even know they still existed) and after an evening of pouring over
information about the 2T-1's I sent Mr Dunham an e-mail describing the model and my intentions for it. He replied the very next
day, and was kind enough to grant me permission to have decals made from the copyrighted company logo, and to use the company
logo on this page. Then he forwarded my e-mail to Mr Swack. Of all the luck, Mr Swack had the original company 3-view
drawings and design specs - and he sent me a copy, which I've included on this page (much smaller than the originals). Of course,
they want to see pictures of the restoration and video of the first flight, and I'm going to be much more than happy to provide as
much as I can to them.
.
luck of finding the website for Great Lakes Aircraft (didn't even know they still existed) and after an evening of pouring over
information about the 2T-1's I sent Mr Dunham an e-mail describing the model and my intentions for it. He replied the very next
day, and was kind enough to grant me permission to have decals made from the copyrighted company logo, and to use the company
logo on this page. Then he forwarded my e-mail to Mr Swack. Of all the luck, Mr Swack had the original company 3-view
drawings and design specs - and he sent me a copy, which I've included on this page (much smaller than the originals). Of course,
they want to see pictures of the restoration and video of the first flight, and I'm going to be much more than happy to provide as
much as I can to them.
.
While I'm at it and before I forget - I'd also like to thank the Vintage Aircraft Photo Library for their
help in finding color photos of 2T-1's for me so I'd have an idea how to color her. I've got near 100 pics
stored on my computer that are from that library.
Getting back to the plane, one of the many things I wondered about was where it might have come from.
Eventually, I couldn't resist and tried the phone # painted on the cockpit side with pilot info, etc. - it's a
valid number for that area but not in service right now. I also took a look-see at the FAA "N" number that
was painted on the wings. It works out that that particular number (N1437D) belongs to a 1951 Cessna
170A in Oregon, and has been active with that plane since 1956. However, FAA registrations are used and
re-used so I e-mailed them to see if the number was ever really registered to any 2T-1A aircraft. Got an
answer back right away - that # has only been on the Cessna 170A. Oh, well.
help in finding color photos of 2T-1's for me so I'd have an idea how to color her. I've got near 100 pics
stored on my computer that are from that library.
Getting back to the plane, one of the many things I wondered about was where it might have come from.
Eventually, I couldn't resist and tried the phone # painted on the cockpit side with pilot info, etc. - it's a
valid number for that area but not in service right now. I also took a look-see at the FAA "N" number that
was painted on the wings. It works out that that particular number (N1437D) belongs to a 1951 Cessna
170A in Oregon, and has been active with that plane since 1956. However, FAA registrations are used and
re-used so I e-mailed them to see if the number was ever really registered to any 2T-1A aircraft. Got an
answer back right away - that # has only been on the Cessna 170A. Oh, well.
The plan is to recover her in a more durable modern "silk" type covering and she'll be painted
with SIG dope. I know SIG rather well, many of my planes (and ALL of my CL planes) have
been painted with it and I've never had a paint job I wasn't happy with.
I have been more than fortunate already, with all the help I've received from the web - and I
have an awful lot of people to thank for many little tidbits of information. Two of my
greatest contributors are John Dunham (the owner/President/CEO of the
with SIG dope. I know SIG rather well, many of my planes (and ALL of my CL planes) have
been painted with it and I've never had a paint job I wasn't happy with.
I have been more than fortunate already, with all the help I've received from the web - and I
have an awful lot of people to thank for many little tidbits of information. Two of my
greatest contributors are John Dunham (the owner/President/CEO of the
sitting in a garage for the past 3 decades or so, she's in outstanding condition. First thing I had to do was get my camera and take
a few (!) pictures. Once that was done and the original covering was off, the true condition of this plane was revealed - and it
wasn't much worse than I originally thought it might be. There were a couple broken rib-caps, several of the flying wire braces
were total losses, and there were a couple hidden holes in the sheeting - not much, really, in the way of damage for such an old
airframe.
There was also a crack on the underside of the bottom wing sheeting, just outside the fuselage line - sure sign of an overstressed
wing-spar. When I removed the sheeting - sure enough, there it was - the spar was definitely cracked. A little spar-webbing was
removed so I could actually see the break and I knew it wouldn't be much of a job to repair it. I got out the ol' Dremel mototool
and within a half-hour I had a neat little slot cut through the center of the spar on both sides of the break. I cut a "biscuit" from
some 1/8" aircraft grade ply and inserted it into the slot with 12-hour epoxy, then added re-enforcement on each side of the spar,
clamping it tight to keep it in place until the epoxy cured. Once cured, I replaced the webbing and sheeting, sanded it all down -
nice and smooth - and she's ready to go.
Right now I'm working on the outer wing "N" braces, which are missing - they'll have to be re-created from scratch. I've also
sent for a new flying wire kit (actually, a pair of them) which includes the wire braces, and once they arrive I can get the mounting
braces into the wings and then start to think about the new covering.
.
a few (!) pictures. Once that was done and the original covering was off, the true condition of this plane was revealed - and it
wasn't much worse than I originally thought it might be. There were a couple broken rib-caps, several of the flying wire braces
were total losses, and there were a couple hidden holes in the sheeting - not much, really, in the way of damage for such an old
airframe.
There was also a crack on the underside of the bottom wing sheeting, just outside the fuselage line - sure sign of an overstressed
wing-spar. When I removed the sheeting - sure enough, there it was - the spar was definitely cracked. A little spar-webbing was
removed so I could actually see the break and I knew it wouldn't be much of a job to repair it. I got out the ol' Dremel mototool
and within a half-hour I had a neat little slot cut through the center of the spar on both sides of the break. I cut a "biscuit" from
some 1/8" aircraft grade ply and inserted it into the slot with 12-hour epoxy, then added re-enforcement on each side of the spar,
clamping it tight to keep it in place until the epoxy cured. Once cured, I replaced the webbing and sheeting, sanded it all down -
nice and smooth - and she's ready to go.
Right now I'm working on the outer wing "N" braces, which are missing - they'll have to be re-created from scratch. I've also
sent for a new flying wire kit (actually, a pair of them) which includes the wire braces, and once they arrive I can get the mounting
braces into the wings and then start to think about the new covering.
.
Another mystery was "where did the kit come from in the first place". That was solved for me by e-bay and a friend in
RCUniverse.com. It just works out that an old NIB kit of the plane just sold and pics were still on the e-bay site. No doubt about
it, pure luck had brought me to the very same model kit. It was listed on the box top as the Great Lakes Trainer by Scale Line
Models of Milford Ct, and was kitted in 1961. The specs as listed on the box match my plane so closely the difference isn't worth
talking about, and the boxtop pic is a near duplicate of the original paint job on mine. A quick comparison might show how close
the two are.
| Scale Line Models Kit Scale - - - - - - - - - 2" = 1' Wingspan- - - - - - 57" Length- - - - - - - - 40.5" Weight- - - - - - - - 7 lbs. Engine- - - - - - - - .35 - .45 |
| My Plane Scale - - - - - - - - - 2" = 1' Wingspan- - - - - - 56.75" Length- - - - - - - - 39.75" (not including spinner or engine) Engine- - - - - - - - (bolt holes are .75" front to back, 2" spread between engine mounts) |
The wingspan works out to 868 sq.in. lifting surface (908", minus the 40 sq.in. you subtract for the fuselage area on the bottom
wing), which I think is just about right for a modern OS-40LA, which is what I'm planning to put under the cowl.
wing), which I think is just about right for a modern OS-40LA, which is what I'm planning to put under the cowl.
| Just below is an actual advertisement from 1931 for the plane. . |
|
