Great Lakes Aircraft

Great Lakes Aircraft - Great Lakes Aircraft produced 240 of their Sport Trainers, starting in 1929. They were soon famous as delightful aircraft capable of aerobatics. However, the company fell victim to the Great Depression. With so few original Great Lakes available, pilots desiring a Great Lakes Sport Trainer have few options.

There have been intermittent limited production runs with modern engines and modified landing gear. Another alternative has been to home-build a version from plans. This homebuilt example is owned and operated by Aerodrome pilot Matt Heuer who performs an impressive 1930s style aerobatic performance during our "History of Flight" air shows on Saturday afternoons throughout the flying season.

Great Lakes Aircraft

It happens at 125 miles per hour. That's the speed at which the sound of the rushing wind drowns out the growl of the Great Lakes 2T-1A-2 Sport Trainer's 180-horsepower engine. Conveniently, it's also the recommended entry speed for loops and other over-the-top maneuvers, so the change in sound signals it's time to pull.

Firm back pressure on the stick brings three positive Gs that quickly lift the nose up through the horizon and towards the fair-weather cumulus clouds far overhead. Glance left and right at the checkerboard wing tips for alignment, then relax the back pressure and wait for the moment that open-cockpit fliers fondly anticipate: floating weightless at the top of a loop while gazing upward at the Earth.

Its external dimensions, Lycoming IO-360 engine, and Hartzell constant-speed prop are the same as its predecessors, but differences in the new and old airplanes are more than skin deep. The Great Lakes biplane was introduced in 1929 by the Great Lakes Aircraft Company of Cleveland, Ohio.

It has been in and out of production multiple times over the years by various owners up to the present day. Only minor changes have been incorporated along the way, the most significant being the use of modern engines.

Its classic good-looks and pleasant performance have drawn aviators to this craft for many years and its appeal will no doubt continue well into the future. This is a homebuilt Great Lakes.

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