Classic British Flight Sim

No camera handy for either of these
Three weeks ago, a T6 flew over our home. Absolutely no doubt about it.
Today, I'm almost certain that a Stemme motor glider did a couple of passes over our town. No idea which model, but I've never seen anything self powered in such a glider-like configuration.

Are you sure it was a T6 ? It might have been a Vultee Valiant.

Paul K wrote: ↑

20 May 2021, 12:06

Are you sure it was a T6 ? It might have been a Vultee Valiant.

Brian

Ahh but.....

...was it a

North American T-6

a

Beechcraft T-6

or even a

Bikle T-6

Enquiring minds need to know!

Living a short distance from The Imperial War Museum at Duxford, I regularly see North American T6 Texan/Harvard aircraft overhead. The best defining feature is the noise, which is said to be due to the propeller tips breaking the sound barrier. They are incredibly noisy.
I wouldn't have a clue about the motor glider.

Kevin

Hi Larry,
I'm glad that you have an enquiring mind, and I will try to be more specific in future

Hi Kevin,
I've heard the same about the prop tips; it was that sound that made me crawl out from under the van, and I thought this'll be worth a look.
There are plenty of pictures of the Stemme models on the net. At first, I couldn't understand why it looked like a glider, but had a propellor. A bit of research led me to my conclusion, and I checked that they do operate in Australia. Quite a change from the odd Cessnas and Pipers that stooge around here.

I once took a flight in the rear cockpit of an SNJ-5...the US Navy version of the T6. Much to my disappointment I couldn't hear the propeller growl from inside the aircraft. Still had a lot of fun. The pilot let me take the controls for part of the flight.

Brian

Airspeed wrote: ↑

20 May 2021, 11:48

No camera handy for either of these

I know what you mean. Some years ago, I was at a very small airfield in the UK. Basically, I was the only one watching. Nothing happened for ages and then to my surprise, a UFO landed. My flabber was further gasted, when a hatch opened and out stepped Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster and Elvis. And guess what? My camera wouldn't work!

Kevin

With ungeared engines, you only need a prop of about 8 feet 5 inches diameter to start getting into the transonic region at high rpm. It became a notorious problem with aircraft such as the ATP which, like the Harvard, made a noise like ripping calico !