Thorp Air Command - T18.net

I figured I should say hello. I am the proud new co-owner of a T-18CW. We have already received some great support from several members of these forums and I hope to pick the collective brains for years to come.

As a newbie I have a few questions:
I have seen reference to a searchable newsletter archive and I am wondering if that is still around.
I have seen reference to a previous forum archive and I am wondering if that content has been loaded into this current version or if there is an archive of that somewhere.
I noticed that the newsletter archive stops at issue number 100 and was wondering if there is a plan to include/add more recent copies.
If I have a desire to reference drawings to see how my plane is put together, are there any online sources? My plane was completed in 1988 and the drawings that I have seem incomplete.
Are there any good blogs that I can look at construction photos?

Thanks all and I am very glad to be here.

Answers ...

I have seen reference to a searchable newsletter archive and I am wondering if that is still around.

on the main site here ...

http://thorp18.com/index.php?option=com ... Itemid=159

I have seen reference to a previous forum archive and I am wondering if that content has been loaded into this current version or if there is an archive of that somewhere.

The retired site is down right now ... I haven't put a lot of energy into reviving it as I didn't see any activity on that site.

I noticed that the newsletter archive stops at issue number 100 and was wondering if there is a plan to include/add more recent copies.

The newsletter archive goes up to issue # 140 and is current.

If I have a desire to reference drawings to see how my plane is put together, are there any online sources? My plane was completed in 1988 and the drawings that I have seem incomplete.

You may consider buying a full set from Cubes ... thorpcentral.com

Are there any good blogs that I can look at construction photos?

Check under "Projects" most recently Terry Hagle has been keeping us entertained with his project look "Terry's Keeper - N218TH"

_________________
Lee Walton
Houston, TX
N51863,N118LW
KEFD

Thanks Lee. Wendell tells me you are somewhat familiar with our plane. The good Dr's are planning to fly it to Texas this weekend, weather permitting. I am very much looking forward to having it here. The wait has given me the opportunity to be very curious about how the plane was put together. Things like fuel and electrical systems are likely to be different in every plane so I am sure I will just need to dig into the plane once I have access to it.

Your reply raised a couple of other questions;
Are the plans that Cubes sells likely to be much different than the ones that Harlo McKinty used?
What was I looking at when I thought there were only 100 newsletters on this site (this is rhetorical)

Thanks again!

Yes Cubes sells S-18 plans which are an updated version of the T-18CW plans used by Harlow. The design itself was not changed, the plans were just rebranded when John Thorp retired from the T-18 business.

I'm not sure, where you were looking, I think there's a single file that has the first 100 perhaps that's what you were looking for. Harlow McKinty was fairly active when he was building his plane you may find some pictures of his build in there somewhere.

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Lee Walton
Houston, TX
N51863,N118LW
KEFD

We also coordinate the sale of straight T18 plans. We do not own the rights to the T18, just the S18. But the T18 owner and I have an agreement to get T18 plans out to those who need them.
Cubes

Brad,

Welcome to the Thorp community. I've had the pleasure of talking to you in coordination with the delivery, but I still haven't asked you what motivated you to buy a Thorp? For me, it optimized the knots per dollar ratio, while also being aerobatic with great handling qualities and with enough useful space to be comfortable on long flights.

There are some legends in the community who provide excellent guidance and support. It sounds like you already ran into a few of those (I'm looking at you Lee and Cubes). This forum is great, but one of the best experiences for a new Thorp owner is to join one of the annual fly-in events. Those haven't been happening in 2020 due to COVID, but keep it in mind for the post-pandemic world.

Well, you are pretty well on point with the knot per dollar ratio. There is nothing that I have seen that is close to the performance of this aircraft in an IFR platform that is even double the cost. But a major factor was, my airplane partner wanted to buy it...

I am still hoping to find either a searchable version of the newsletters or at a minimum a topical index. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Specifically what I am looking for now is some history on the tail wheel attachment. The plans I have show a completely different tail wheel spring from what is installed on my plane. I am guessing that this is probably discussed in the newsletters.

The plans show the original solid aluminum spring. We went to a steel leaf spring early on (that’s what you have). I have a compiled pdf of the newsletters, once I dig it up I’ll post a link to it for download.

_________________
Lee Walton
Houston, TX
N51863,N118LW
KEFD

Brad, welcome aboard! You have already discovered how tight and supportive this group is. I love your comment, "Wendell tells me you are somewhat familiar with our plane," referring to Lee Walton. That's like saying the Pope is somewhat familiar with Catholicism ;--)

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Philip Mandel
N118BC
S/N 957
Beaverton OR