[1][2] Bikle developed the all-metal T-6 during the time when he was director of the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration Dryden Flight Research Facility.

The airfoil was altered from the stock Wortmann FX 61-163 to simplify construction, even at the cost of some measure of performance.

The construction of the airframe was modified to eliminate the use of pop rivets and the structure and assembly requirements were simplified.

[2] Upon completion of the aircraft Bikle entered it in the 1970 US Open Class Nationals, held in El Mirage, California, in which he placed fifth.

As a result of its precisely-known performance, the aircraft has often been used as a comparative platform for evaluating other sailplanes in flight.