Thorp Air Command - T18.net

First post here! I’ve recently acquired a pretty unique T18 that was completed and taxied after a 30 year build but never flown. It has a rounded turtledeck and a retractable main gear among other things all made from raw materials by the builder. He was an AE and a cnc instructor in later years and did all of the machine work himself. I am in need of a set of plans and a long main gear as I’m going to convert it back to a standard fixed gear. I appreciate the add here, and if anyone can steer me in the right direction I’d really appreciate it.

David Mitchell
770-367-0235

Well, before you dismantle that retractable gear, you gotta jack up the plane and share a video with us of the gear retraction in progress! Here is the S18 owner's facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/alex.pearson.315 His telephone number is buried in there somewhere. He can hook you up with plans and landing gear.

Unfortunately it’s already apart, and I’m in the process of removing the retract components out of the wing. This one is different from the few pictures of retractable T18s I’ve seen in that the wheels retract up under the pilot’s feet. I was told that the builder moved the wing forward 1” to compensate for that and the 180/cs combination, but I need to check the plans to see if this is the case. The guy I got it from never talked to the builder directly as far as I know. It’s a really well built airplane. Every single part has a date and part number stamp. The builder worked for Boeing during some of the construction, and I suspect some of the work was done with those resources.
I’ll give Alex a call.