The Inside Loop - 2010/02

Once upon a time, a little boy
venturing around a local airfield,
not far away from his father who
was doing a walk-around of a beloved
Cherokee 140, stared intently at a monster
aircraft tied down in the high grass. From
his viewpoint, it was ominous. Today I’m
still that little boy.
The checklist complete, it was finally
time to take the father-son ride he’d
always wanted, up in an airplane. As the
Continental engine cranked over, that
little boy stared back at the old aircraft.
“That’s a Texan!” his father declared with
a smile.
From that day on, I’ve had a warm
spot for the North American aircraft
legend. Although I’m not flying one
today (I finally have a model), the sight
of a Texan always brings a smile, the
sound of its growling engine gives chills,
and stories told of its glory bring a further
sense of wonder and patriotic fulfillment.
This issue obviously has a North
American Texan theme. Call it an “AT-6”
or “SNJ”; the heart of the aircraft is still
all “Texan.” What part of the Texan
experience is like today is what our
collection of articles should bring to you.
As if to walk in the footsteps of those
pilots who trained in the Texan during
WW II, modelers have thought of piloting
an RC version to be worthy of stepping
into the field of history. Because the
aircraft was labeled as a trainer, some
have thought flying one would be easy.
What they’ve learned, and what I’ve
learned, is that flying this airplane is
indeed a training exercise, but not always
an easy one.
It was, after all, an aircraft that taught
the bad-habit lessons required to safely
handle a high-performance fighter. Some
would admit that the Texan may have had
more bad habits than the fighters they’d
fly later, but that meant that pilots were
better trained; thus the love affair we
have today.
Flying a Texan is a similar experience
for the RC pilot. And this reputation has
scared off a number of talents from
modeling this historic treasure.
Not able to test every model out there,
we collected at least some ARF versions
of the Texan. What we found in our
samples is that many of the infamous
handling characteristics have been
removed, or at least softened.
There are electric and glow versions to
consider, as well as designs that employ
conventional and composite
construction—or a combination thereof.
None of our models was a
disappointment, but all reporters noted
that it deserved a certain measure of
respect. That makes sense. Don’t all of
our models deserve that kind of attention?
When we treat our airplanes with
loving attention, as we do the full-scale
versions, they return the favor with
countless hours of pleasure. How
familiar our models are to the “real
thing” got me thinking whether or not
there was a story out there that could tie
in the fanaticism of aircraft ownership
and modeling. That’s when a
misappropriation of funds then occurred
to me.
That is, the AT-6/SNJ Texan named
“Miss Appropriation of Fund$.” It is
owned and operated by Fred Johnson,
who frequents Muncie for the AMA
Nationals with his son, Baron. Both
spoke about the aircraft with an obvious
verve, like I would if I had just maidened
a new model. They were happy to share
their story of the Texan with us, which I
found very moving.
Speaking of moving, the “Texan”
name is once again employed with the
US Air Force to title a trainer. The T-6
Texan II is a turboprop aircraft used to
teach today’s military pilots skills that
will prepare them for missions in
frontline fighters.
Bob Isaacks has modeled an FF
rubber-powered version that does justice
to the graceful lines of the aircraft. As he
put it, the design had all the right
numbers for Rubber Scale. He also
mentioned that an inspired modeler
might have a lot of luck modifying the
design for RC electric.
Sounds like the Texan will be with us
for ages to come.