In 1929 the Great Lakes Aircraft Company (GLAC) was formed in Cleveland, Ohio at the former site of the Martin Aircraft Company. The company built civilian biplanes and float planes, as well as biplane torpedo bombers under contract to the US Navy. The model that most people think of today when someone says, "Great Lakes aircraft" is the enduring 2T biplane, also known as the Great Lakes Sport Trainer. It was designed and sold as a two-place, open cockpit biplane. The first engines were an 85hp (63 kW) American Cirrus Mk III. The 2T biplane was not as large as some of its contemporaries manufactured by Stearman, WACO and Travel Air.
This add-on the Golden Age Simulations Great Lakes series includes the Menasco and Ranger in-line engine conversion series which were done just prior to WWII with the mating of the 125hp Menasco C-4 Pirate to the Great Lakes airframe. You might have seen this bird had you been wandering around the American aviation scene in the late 1930s as it appears to have been a fairly popular conversion. The extra power provided by the Menasco delivers a modest increase in performance - perhaps 10mph more at the top end and six or seven mph at cruise, or a bit more if you want to burn more fuel! This engine/airframe combination is a very pleasant aircraft to fly, and economical to boot.
The Fairchild Ranger 200hp l- L-440-3 version would be a typical post-war conversion, with returning service men wanting the extra speed! With only 26 gallons of gas available to feed this beast you wouldn't get far without refuelling but you'd have a blast getting there. The increase in torque effect and P factor both require pilots to pay a bit more attention, especially on take-off. At 144 mph, the top speed of this version will raise an eyebrow, but the real eye-opener is its vertical performance.
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Incredibly detailed model with full animations and completely clickable virtual cockpit
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Highly detailed engine modelling
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Two unique liveries per aircraft with blank textures for creating your own designs
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Precise 3D modelled gauges with backlighting
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High fidelity sound package - unique to each model
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Precise flight dynamics
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Detailed user manual
Additional aircraft information
The original models had a wing span of 26 feet 8 inches and length of 20 feet 4 inches. The useful load was 578 pounds (262kg) and it was stressed for 9G positive and 6G negative. It had outrigger landing gear with spring oleo shock struts and the range was 375 miles. The sale price started out at $4,990 dollars but as the depression came it was lowered to $3,985.
The first four Sport Trainers built were of a rare straight-wing design, one of which was modified into a special racer. Because of problems recovering from flat spins, the top wing was swept back and that is what most people recognise first when looking at a Sport Trainer. At its peak, Great Lakes had as many as 650 deposits for new aircraft. With the onset of the great depression, however, the Great Lakes Aircraft Company went out of business in 1936. The company built just 264 of the Sport Trainers ordered.
That's not the end of the story for this iconic golden age aircraft, however, as its timeless design has inspired others to keep the dream alive through almost continuous modification and refinement over the decades since the original factory closed its doors. Golden Age Simulations bringing the Great Lakes to FSX and Prepar3D is the latest chapter in the history of this fine aircraft.
System Requirements:
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Flight Simulator X (Acceleration, Gold or SP2 required) or Prepar3D
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2.0GHz or any Dual Core
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2.0GB RAM
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256MB graphics card
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Windows 8 / 7 / Vista / XP (32-bit or 64-bit)
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1.3GB hard drive space
US$14.99
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