Thorp Air Command - T18.net

I'm the new owner of a red T-18C that used to live in Chino. I bought it from the insurance company after a prop strike. While the engine is being torn down I'm making a few updates, one of which is a Trusty tail wheel. Langair has the rods in stock and I've ordered the AP wheel assembly from Aircraft Spruce, so now it is time for me to make the bracket that mounts the rod to the fuselage. There is a drawing of the bracket on this forum but when I download it the file is corrupted. Does someone have a readable copy of this drawing they can repost or send me by PM?

Thanks,

Bob Cringely
Santa Rosa, CA

Bob, congrats on the Thorp!

I have the drawings on my work machine. I'll be in the office in a few hours and will repost.

Lee

_________________
Lee Walton
Houston, TX
N51863,N118LW
KEFD

Here you go Bob.

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Lee Walton
Houston, TX
N51863,N118LW
KEFD

Hi Bob,
I may have 1 or 2 front attach fittings left along with the aluminum washer.
I can check and see when I'm at home this weekend. Best contact for me is email- terryhagle1@yahoo.com

T

Thanks to you both! I'll be in touch over the weekend, Terry.

This T-18 is very nostalgic for me. My Dad bought plans from John Thorp at Rockford in 1964 (I was 11) and we built the plane together in about four years with me doing most of the work (my Dad was a great scrounger but not a good builder). Unfortunately he was seriously injured in the crash of a Meyers 200 and my Mom sold the Thorp before I got my license, so I never got to fly it as PIC. For the last 35 years I've been flying a Glasair TD (#102 -- the first kit ever sold) that is now down for a total upgrade after 2800+ hours, allowing me to finally fly a Thorp.

Man, that's a great story, Robert. Is your Dad still living?
I think the forward visibility on the ground in your Thorp will be considerably better than the Glasair. Is this the same T-18 that you built?

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John Evens
Arvada, Colorado
T-18 N71JE (sold)
Kitfox 7 SS N27JE

No, it's just one I found on eBay, but it's very nice. I don't know what became of the one we built. I'm not sure I'd trust it anyway since it was built by a teenager. My Dad never flew again after crashing the Meyers. He died in 1991.

Compared to what I remember of the T-18 a Glasair is a pretty sorry taildragger. Someone once pointed out to me that John Thorp was an aeronautical engineer and Tom Hamilton was a failed dental student. Landing gears weren't supposed to be made of fiberglass, which is why I'm upgrading to a Robbie Grove 7075 aluminum gear. All Glasair TDs lean a bit to one side, sometimes unporting a vent that has been known to completely empty overnight the 44 gallon wing tank. They fly too nose-high in cruise with the short wing and have a sometimes deadly VMC with the original small rudder. But it's fast: mine with an O-360 and a constant-speed prop will top an honest 203 KTAS five feet above sea level off the Pacific coast. That's 234 mph.