Flying the “Texan”
- By Bruce Moore
It was known as the “Pilot Maker”,
for it trained over 100,000 allied pilots in WW II. Its official name was the “Texan”, but
it was more commonly called the AT-6 by its Army pilots and the SNJ (Scout,
Trainer, North American) by its Navy crews.
The Canadians and British called it the “Harvard”.
You don’t
appreciate the size of the Texan until you see it parked on the line of
single engine warbirds at airshows or
The Texan was built to handle and feel just like the front line fighters of its day. For the cadet stepping up from the primary and basic trainers this was the plane that would transition him to the single seat fighters, and it would be the first plane he would fly with retractable gear and constant speed prop (not to mention the Browning M-2 machine guns!) For versatility the Texan was no slouch, it was used to train pilots in aerobatics, formation, instrument flying, gunnery, glide bombing, dogfighting, and even carrier landings.
To climb aboard you start at the wing
root trailing edge. It’s a long reach
for the handhold and a big step to get up onto the wing walk. From the wing put your right foot on the
step protruding from the side of the fuselage, grab a tube of the massive
roll-over tripod as a handhold, step onto the seat and lower yourself into the
big metal bucket. When you look in the
cockpit everything says “Big Warbird”. 
The
deep seat pan was designed for a parachute and the four-point harness is
fastened to the seat, not the airframe, allowing you to move the seat up and
down without adjusting your lap belt.
The rudder pedals adjust fore and aft, although shorter pilots may still
want a cushion behind them to move them far enough forward so they have full
travel on the pedals and brakes. The
cockpit is big. I’m 5' 11"
with long legs and I zip a 3-inch cushion atop my parachute and run the seat
full up and I still have plenty of room to swivel my head inside the
canopy. I also set the rudder pedals
full aft for take-offs and landings. If
you do enough crosswind landings you will eventually need full rudder and
a bunch of brake right now.
So when a rudder pedal is pushed full forward it had better be still
close enough that you are able to slide your foot up and push even farther
forward on the top of the pedal for that brake!
The stick and throttle quadrant fall right into place, but everything
else seems like a bit of a reach. You
have to set your shoulder harness to “reel” when you want to use the primer,
carb heat or oil cooler shutters.
The engine is the Pratt & Whitney Wasp R1340-AN-1, a single row nine cylinder radial with a 10:1 blower (direct drive centrifugal supercharger). To start the engine is simple if you follow this procedure: set the mixture rich, wobble up some fuel pressure with the big red handle located on the left between the large elevator and rudder trim wheels, prime a cold engine five to six full strokes, set the throttle to “Idle” position, engage the starter and after two blades, mags “on”. The early models had a pedal on the floor for starting. Press the pedal with your heel to energize the starter, and when it was spinning good you would push with your toe to engage. Most planes have been converted to a direct drive starter either operated by the original pedal or from a switch on the instrument panel. Oh, the loss of romance; the old inertial starters sounded so great as the spun up to speed, and then crunched into engagement, the engine coming alive in ragged coughs, a cloud of smoke and deep spasms of round noise.
If you have the throttle cracked
past idle you may be rewarded with a nice big “bang”, a snort, another “bang”
and so on until you retard the throttle, scaring the airport dogs and getting
sorry shakes of the head from the old round engine hands. Even worse the “bang” of the unburned mixture
exploding in the exhaust system can stress the exhaust collector and the
“snort” of a backfire (flame going back upstream through the induction system)
can light any extra fuel that had accumulated in the air box and oil cooler
scoop, and if the engine doesn’t stay running your airplane is now seriously on
fire. Did you ever wonder why there was
always an airman or two standing by with fire extinguishers in all the WW II
ramp photos you see?
When taxiing it is necessary to make wide S-turns to see forward. On a stock airplane the tailwheel free casters for taxi and it takes a lot of anticipation with the throttle and brakes. For take-off and landing the tailwheel is locked with a handle forward of the throttle quadrant. Many Texans (including all the G models) have been converted to a steerable tailwheel that is controllable through 15 degrees of turn by direct linkage to the rudder pedals. This makes taxiing very easy and by moving the joystick full forward the steering can be disconnected from the tailwheel allowing it to free swivel for tighter turns.
With run-up and take-off checklists
complete and trim wheels set to
Hold your climb attitude, tap the brakes, search for the hydraulic power control handle... as you push the round handled lever down you will see the hydraulic pressure go to 1000 psi on the gage on the left console, then grab the big tire-shaped handle by your left thigh, push the handle forward to get the locking tab out of the down notch, and raise the gear handle all the way up and aft, making sure the locking tab drops into the up notch. Moving the handle mechanically retracts the down-lock pins at the top of the landing gear struts and when the handle reaches full up, directs the hydraulic pressure to the gear actuators. Retraction takes about 15 seconds, and as the two big main gear legs fold inward and move up into the locks, you can watch the cable driven position indicators move slowly towards the “up” marks. When the gear begins its transition the hydraulic pressure will drop. There is no “gear up” light so good practice is to check the pressure gage after the position indicators have stopped at the “up” mark. The hydraulic pressure should return to about 1000 psi until the timer runs out. If the pressure shut off without returning to 1000 psi the timer may have canceled before the mechanical up-locks clicked home and the gear could begin to droop as pressure in the actuators leaks out or under positive G loads. Gear operation is similar for the T-6G models, however the landing gear handle has been redesigned (pull to the right instead of forward to move out of the down notch) and the “power push” handle has been eliminated, the hydraulic timer is started when the gear handle is moved to the up position.
With the gear up and a good rate of climb I pull the power back to 30” and 2000 rpm. The book gives 32.5” and 2200 rpm as max climb power but 30/20 still gives better than 1000 fpm and is a lot more neighbor friendly, changing the characteristic T-6 “blat” to a sweet sounding big-radial moan. A climb speed of 105 mph gives good visibility over the nose and doing a few little “S” turns clears the blind spot directly ahead. The supercharger allows you to keep pushing the throttle forward to maintain rated climb power all the way to 7000 feet. Since the fuel and air mixture travels from the carburetor through the compressor and then is “blown” into the induction pipes to the cylinders you get good fuel distribution, which allows for better leaning. On take-off you are burning 72 gal/hr., so I like to climb at 30/20 and lean the engine once I have cleared the pattern.
The controls are well harmonized and, for the size of the plane, surprisingly light. You notice you are only moving the stick a fraction of an inch to do normal turns. At 5000 feet a typical cruise power setting of 26” and 1850 rpm gives you 155 mph at 30 gph. If you want to set max continuous power of 32.5 inches and 2200 rpm she will go 200 mph, but your fuel burn is double. The plane isn’t particularly fast, but then it is only asking 600 hp from the big Pratt & Whitney. As a trainer the extra top speed wasn’t as important as getting a 2000 hour TBO on the engine (as compared to a 400 hour TBO for the V-1650 on the Mustangs).
Aerobatics are a joy. From 140 mph pull the nose 40 degrees above the horizon, neutralize the elevator, put in the aileron and a little rudder to coordinate, and around you go... finishing with the nose 40 degrees below the horizon. The aileron roll takes about 4 seconds, not snappy by Pitts standards, but in the hot acro planes the high deflection rolls seem to go by too fast to be enjoyed. The Texan could be fitted with two different aileron bellcranks, one delivering 30 degrees up and 15 degrees down aileron, the other type provides 15 degrees both up and down. The benefits of the high-throw ailerons are found at lower speeds such as during strong crosswind landings. When doing aileron rolls in the 15 degree ships you can use full control travel, but with the high-throw ailerons if you go much past two-thirds travel at 160 or above you will start to stall the ailerons and will feel buffet in the stick as you roll. The other disadvantage to the high-throw ailerons is in the spin characteristics. With the 15 degree ailerons spins are a piece of cake, but with the high-throw ailerons the stick wants to snatch against your inside thigh during the spin, and you must hold the ailerons centered to prevent a strong yawing component to the spin.
Loops are best entered from a dive
of 190 mph, with a pull of
3 ½ G’s. As the nose goes through the horizon the G eases but you need to keep the stick coming back to keep your flight path round. Over the top the stick is the farthest aft, but now gravity is helping, and you need to relax a little pressure until the nose is pointing down before you can increase the pull to 3 ½ G’s to finish. With cruise power the Texan will finish a loop at the same altitude where it started and with climb power it can be looped from level flight. You need to be tender on the backpressure if you get too slow going over the top of the loop. The first loop I attempted in a
T-6 began well, but I kept in too much backpressure on top and the airplane terminated my loop with a half snap, flying away as a “flick immelmann”. The Texan will do a wonderful avalanche.
Which
brings me to the airplane’s stall characteristics. Most Texans will (except when at low
speed and skidding left) always stall right wing first. And when the wing is loaded (read:
“accelerated stall”) the plane will depart dramatically to the right. When pulling a tight 4 G combat turn if you
let the airspeed drop below 120 mph you get very little warning before the Texan
breaks into a right snap roll entry.
Recovery is immediate when you release the backpressure, but if you were
in a steep right turn when this happened a prompt recovery from the departure
leaves you inverted... guaranteed to get your attention. This tendency is so pronounced that you
cannot snap roll most Texans to the left. A right snap is easy: 90 mph entry speed,
full aft stick and simultaneous right rudder, the ship breaks clean and rotates
slow enough that you can easily spot the horizon for recovery; put everything
back to the center and you are flying again.
Coming downhill the Texan shines. If you didn’t notice the plane’s comfortable ride during the aerobatics you do now on the descent back to the airport. As you drop down through the more turbulent lower altitudes the airplane cruises through the bumps like you are sitting in your living room easy chair. The plane enjoys going fast. You will also find that for such a big plane the Texan will fly surprisingly slow. Stall speed at its civilian gross weight of 5300 pounds is only 72 mph, 64 mph with wheels and flaps down, and the Texan needs only 800 feet to land or take off.
The Air Force taught T-6 landings this way: enter the pattern from 800 feet with 130 mph. GUMP check. Turn base at 110 mph, adding flaps as required. 90 mph on final. Smooth flare to a three-point attitude. When you extend the landing gear you first push the hydraulic power handle, then move the gear handle to the down notch. The system is pretty foolproof since once you push the gear handle to the down position you are mechanically pulling the up-locks and gravity does the rest. To verify that the gear is down there are four things to check, 1) gear handle - down, 2) check the two mechanical position indicators pointing to the down position, 3) out on the wing, visible through a clear port located just over the landing gear struts, you should see the top of the gear struts and the downlock pins, 4) and finally (on most later planes) check for two green lights on the console or panel.
The Texan lives to do
overhead breaks. From cruise speed and
600 feet reduce your throttle to 20 inches just before the numbers. Over the runway threshold roll 45 degrees and
pull just enough G to drop below 150 mph as you reduce your throttle, gear down
(check “two green, two pointers, two pins”).
Ease your bank, flaps full down (45 degrees), throttle further back
almost to idle and continue your turn. If you’ve planned it just right you will
finish the 360 degree turn just as you cross the threshold at 50 feet, rolling
out of the turn and into your flare. The
turning approach is the best way to land the Texan, especially from
the back seat, otherwise none of the runway (or traffic ahead) is visible once
you roll out on final.
The moment of truth comes as you close the throttle all the way and raise the nose in the flare... and the runway disappears. Now it’s up to your peripheral vision to judge your height and alignment. As airspeed decreases your control effectiveness decreases, especially when the tail is on the ground and the wing and flaps blanket the rudder. Wheel landings allow easier runway alignment because of the improved view over the nose, but when its time to let the tail come down you are still faced with maintaining directional control with reduced rudder effectiveness. The big trick is to keep the plane heading straight and not let it get off alignment. Unlike light tailwheel airplanes, once the heavy Texan gets crooked just so far, especially in a crosswind, it reaches a point of no return, where the forces of the rudder, tailwheel and brake can’t overpower the weathervaning tendency and the momentum and inertia of the swerve. For the pilot this means extreme vigilance and the ability to detect a misalignment of only a degree or two. In strong crosswinds it is desirable to land with partial or no flaps. Having 45 degrees of split flaps running from aileron to aileron, including under the center section, can quickly overpower the effect of aileron and rudder when it comes to keeping the upwind wing down and the nose pointed straight. If you used flaps for a crosswind landing retract them immediately after touchdown. For crosswinds I prefer wheel landings and try and have the flaps coming up before I lower the tailwheel to the runway.
A Navy landing was also a turning approach but they wanted less airspeed on final. Proper speed and attitude was stressed and the cadets were given demerits if the tailwheel didn’t hit before the mains. This technique insured minimum energy and a stalled wing upon touchdown. It also gave the pilot less control of the landing rollout; but then the Navy was training carrier pilots and they would turn the runway into the wind and hook the tail to a cable to cure any ground looping tendencies. Be careful not to get too slow on approach, especially without power. With full flaps and power off the Texan will set up a sink rate that gives you a real ground rush. You also want to be on the runway before the plane fully stalls (remember the right wing-drop tendency at stall). The big tires and massive oleo struts give you good energy absorption on touchdown with little tendency to rebound (if you do your part right).
For go-around add the throttle s-l-o-w-l-y, the big R-1340 will give you beaucoup power, but only if you ask nicely. Watch your airspeed too, with full flaps the ship will get off the ground quickly but won’t want to accelerate. Be sure you have sufficient airspeed before you retract the flaps. The Air Force T-6G manual says wait until 90 mph and 200 feet, then “milk up” the flaps, but I have found you can select full up at 80 if you are paying attention.
As you taxi in you can’t help but
think back to the 1940's when the sky was filled with Texans, each
piloted by a young cadet who would shortly be going into combat. If he could master the Texan he could
go on to fly anything in the Allied arsenal... and they did... and the
Photo credits:
SNJ-6 going vertical, Mark Shaible
AT-6D inverted, Mark Shaible & Bob Roth
Ka-pow and Engine-fire, courtesy of USAF
All others, Bruce Moore