Thorp Air Command - T18.net

Does the main landing gear have any spring action to it? I read online somewhere that the T/S 18 is not well suited for unpaved runways. All but one of the you tube videos I've watched of a T 18 landing touch down rather rough and usually bounce a time or two. Thanks for any comments.

What it lacks in "spring", it makes up for in toughness. The only time I ever bounce is when I hit the runway too hard. She Who Eye Wership sleeps, or at least yawns dramatically through most of my landings.
The great thing about this airplane is that it will teach you to attentively manage your airspeed on approach, ultimately resulting in a pilot of greater proficiency.....

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Fraser MacPhee
N926WM
Serial #279-1
Angel Fire, NM (KAXX)

John Kerr's AC had a Harmon type rod gear similar to what the RV guys use . It had a good deal of "give/spring" to it . The last time I Flew it I made 2 of the best landings I ever made in a T-18 . Wait for it , wait for it ! OK let me have it with the landing jokes! BANG , BANG , BANG , BANG...BOOM , BOOM , BOOM , BOOM !

RB

There is unpaved and there is rough. I don't have a lot of experience in the Thorp but the grass runways I have landed on didn't seem like a problem. Those strips get mowed and rolled fairly often so I can easily say I have been on rougher paved runways.

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Thorp T18
O-320-B3B (160 HP)
68x74 Sterba Propeller

"The joke in aviation is, 'If you want to make a million, you'd better start with £10m.' " -Bruce Dickinson

Additionally, all airplanes bounce if not landed correctly. A bounce usually happens because the aircraft hit the ground before it was done flying. This applies to both 3-point and wheel landings. I can bounce a J-3 just as bad as I can bounce the Thorp if I am not paying attention... or, more precisely, paying attention to the wrong thing (like the runway immediately in front of the aircraft). A springy landing gear has the potential to launch the aircraft higher on a bounced landing do the the rebounding spring.

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Thorp T18
O-320-B3B (160 HP)
68x74 Sterba Propeller

"The joke in aviation is, 'If you want to make a million, you'd better start with £10m.' " -Bruce Dickinson

Actually, are gear does flex more than most people think. It moves slightly out (wider), but mainly aft on landing. This is the main reason you cannot connect all the fairings from the fuselage to the wheel pants.
Cubes

Thanks for the comments and info. Tornadojoe