Thorp Air Command - T18.net

I'm a new Thorp guy, as of last summer. I was a Bonanza guy for many years. Man, nothing flies better than a Bonanza. Then I flew the Thorp! Now I'm a Thorp guy!

After just a few flights with this airplane, I began to investigate some issues- both electrical (intermittent or inop radios, etc) and mechanical (fuel leaks, et al.) So in late November, I began to repair and or replace things. I didn't plan on replacing the whole instrument panel. It's easy to get carried away...

There's a long list of what's new, changed, or repaired. And its still in the final stages, but I expect to fly this weekend. We'll see.




I found a lot of great information on this website, and also the Van's site. I love it when people share their experiences...! Thank you!!

I'll report back after flying it...

Peter

That looks very nice. You will enjoy that for sure.

Right there with you but decided to be both

That, Chad, looks like perfection! All of it!!

Awesome job! I just finished my panel upgrade and did the first flight yesterday. Everything worked flawlessly, which I definitely did not expect to happen. Good luck on your test flight, hope you have a good result!

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Marty G
N50LE
YouTube Channel
martygrosse@yahoo.com

Hey guys...

So, I was able to fly the Thorp today, after 3+ months of work! Whew! My hat is off to all of you that have built, or rebuilt, or refurbished an airplane! It's a lot of work!

The weather conditions weren't ideal for a test flight, but good enough, I guess. Somewhat windy with lots of clouds. The wing loading of the T-18 smoothed out the bumps, which was nice!

I'm not used to glass at all, and found myself hunting for the vertical speed, etc. I needed to stall it on this flight to find out where the number was on the airspeed indicator, and it's dramatically different (lower) than the previous number on the mechanical asi. I'll need to fly it a bit with more testing before I'll feel comfortable.

Everything worked, including the Garmin autopilot. But pulling the FAA report on ADS-B showed some problem- probably with the configuration of the 330ES transponder. So, I'll deal with that this week.

Really stoked to have a flying airplane again, and one with what seems to be a good, capable autopilot! Need to fly it places now, but where?

Peter
[url=https://postimg.cc/SnGkRZ34][img]

I did that last year ... seems like about the same 3 mo time frame. Yes! I would not want to do that ever again. Garmin installs are brutal! That being said .. once it's all in place and working right ... slick as can be!!

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Lee Walton
Houston, TX
N51863,N118LW
KEFD