Loading AI tools
Type of aircraft From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Bacon Super T-6 was a North American AT-6F Texan that was modified during the mid 1950s by the Erle L. Bacon Corporation in an attempt to interest foreign air forces in an upgrade for their T-6 fleets. The aircraft did not receive sufficient interest for production, and only the single conversion was produced.
Super T-6 | |
---|---|
The Super T-6 | |
Role | Trainer aircraft |
National origin | United States |
Manufacturer | Erle L. Bacon Corporation |
First flight | April 1957 |
Number built | 1 |
Developed from | North American T-6 Texan |
Produced in 1944 and operated by the United States Army Air Forces alongside its brethren, following the end of World War II AT-6F Texan 44-82028 was sold on the civilian market, operating in Iceland for a time before being acquired by Bacon for conversion. Described as appearing "like an illicit hangar affair between a T-33 and a T-6",[1] the conversion consisted of adding the canopy, tip tanks, and tricycle landing gear from a Lockheed T-33 Shooting Star;[1] streamlining of the cowl and wings including jet stack exhaust, augmenter cooling, and a 4-foot (1.2 m) reduction in wingspan compared to the standard T-6; in addition, the cockpit was upgraded with a revised instrument panel and modernized avionics, and the aircraft's brakes were upgraded.[2]
Bacon hoped to sell the conversion to foreign air forces, many of which operated large fleets of T-6 aircraft;[2] after taxi trials at the end of 1956, it first flew in April 1957, and flight testing was considered generally successful.[2] No interest from its intended customers materialized and the aircraft was sold on the civilian market; it eventually received a paint scheme, believed to have been intended for a role in a movie, resembling that of a Russian fighter aircraft.[1] It was stored at Whiteman Air Park in California, and allowed to deteriorate in the elements, with its registration being cancelled in 2013.[3][4]
Data from Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1958–59[2]
General characteristics
Performance
Armament
Related development
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era
Related lists
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Every time you click a link to Wikipedia, Wiktionary or Wikiquote in your browser's search results, it will show the modern Wikiwand interface.
Wikiwand extension is a five stars, simple, with minimum permission required to keep your browsing private, safe and transparent.