Chris, May I raise my hand here and put in a plug for the 450 Stearman? Tried and true aerobatic/airshow machine, big round motor (450hp as opposed to 600 on the -6), challenging tailwheel aircraft, most have 'history' of some sort and you could find several today in your price range.

You could get a stock -220 variant for much less, but it ain't no air show machine - unless you are named John Mohr and they don't make any more of him, either.

Watching John Mohr fly a 220 Stearman is like listening to Dr, King give a speech. There are ordinary pilots and some of us who at least think we are a little better than average and then there are experts, and then there are a few to whom normal rules of gravity don't seem to apply. John is one of those.

Before I flew a T-6, I got a few hours of Stearman time. Most docile stall of any powered plane I have ever flown. Not the most docile to land, I was just sort of starting to have the feel of it when the lesson day was over. One of these days I want to go back and try to learn to fly one.

Thanks Stan! Very helpful. I've always looked at T-34s as the next big thing but this thread is fascinating and Anoka is crawling with T-6s these days.

I've flown T-34s but never a T-6 - will fix that.

Stan - What's the cruise speed of a T6?

Robert

Jack,

You might consider checking out the CAF at Fleming... The Harvard over there is a really nice straight well maintained airplane, and the CAF program is a much cheaper program than owning, and every dime of it is tax deductible....

Jack,

You might consider checking out the CAF at Fleming... The Harvard over there is a really nice straight well maintained airplane, and the CAF program is a much cheaper program than owning, and every dime of it is tax deductible....

I absolutely agree with this. No one can truly appreciate John Mohr until they have done some acro in a 220 Stearman. When I did acro in mine it was a strictly downhill affair. I would climb up, push the throttle all the way forward and flip, flop, roll, twist, swap ends, and whatever until the altimeter said it was time to stop. I think I lost altitude on almost every maneuver.

Somehow, John makes his 220 climb while doing all of those things. It's just like you said, he makes it appear that gravity doesn't have much of a grip on him. I know he has the great steel prop, the carb that will run a little longer inverted, and a super light airplane, but none of those advantages add up to a Stearman doing those things. It's truly the most impressive show of airmanship that I have ever witnessed.

How about putting a Wirraway on the list. It is just like a T6, but without the howling during take-off. Not sure there are too many in the US. It is essentially a T6 with a geared 1340 & rounded wingtips & rudder.

Thanks Doug - I visited one day last fall and have the paperwork to join - just a matter of pulling the trigger. I know the flying won't come for a while but the support part is good too.

Stan - What's the cruise speed of a T6?

Robert

There is nothing wrong with an airplane being easy to fly, especially land, which the T-34 certainly is. Lot's of times you may want to go flying to relax, or on a simple or short flight.

But, if you really want training to be a lot better pilot, particularly with an eye toward moving up to some day flying a fighter, or DC-3 or B-25 then you want an advanced, military type training
plane, and that is the AT-6, AT for Advanced Trainer, same as SNJ.

I could put it in football terms. One day you meet two young men who are football players at Alabama (.or maybe Texas in past days).
One says, "Hi, I am Tom T-34 and I am the place kicker."
The other says, "I am Tony T-6 and I play linebacker."

My friends with Stearmans love them. One big plus for the Stearman is that parts are easy to get. If you're open to suggestions, I'd like to make one too. Go fly a deHavilland Chipmunk. It's a real warbird trainer but it costs peanuts to operate compared to a T28 or a T6. The chippie is still used in England to help train RAF pilots transitioning from jets to the BBMF Spitfires and Hurricanes. That's a long life as a military training aircraft, more than 60 years. http://www.raf.mod.uk/bbmf/theaircraft/chipmunk.cfm It's got a ton of ramp appeal too. Be prepared to answer lots of questions wherever you go in one. I haven't flown that many different types of airplanes but the chipmunk is the nicest flying plane of any I've ever flown. No tail wheel steering so taxiing in strong winds can be a chore.
I was once parked next to a T28. That T28 is a monster! I thought it might swallow my chippie whole.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/runway27r/4981152372/

Bill, I nominate this for the best Bill Greenwood post ever.

Bill, I nominate this for the best Bill Greenwood post ever.

..."paging Chris McKoewn..."