Thorp Air Command - T18.net

I am in for one, let me know how / when you need payment

Here's where we are. Langair is going to make a production run of 10 Trusty Tailsprings. I have commitments for 8. I should know more on timeframe early next week. I'll also be able to confirm the price that Stug mentioned earlier - with any luck the number will be real close.
PM with any questions,

Terry

I bought mine from Aviation Products. They have a whole line of these.
Cubes

The Aviation Products Tail Spring is not the same as the Trusty design 1. it is straight. 2. it is not designed to mount with three bolts...and 3. it is shorter. Harmon Lange on the other hand makes an excellent spring to the Trusty drawings. I made about 30 "kits" for upgrading the Thorp to the Trusty style tail spring. The only caution I would offer is that the geometry of the tree mounting holes in the rear of the Thorp can vary greatly form Thorp to Thorp..and the two rear holes need to be matched to the Bolster plate. I ended up insisting that each kit I sold be matched by me to the Bolster plate. That is the only way to guarantee it will fit. We did all that work on a Milling machine. Including drilling the hole for the Aviation Products tail wheel. Which is the only tail wheel i ever offered on the Kit.

I installed Tom's last kit. It was perfectly matched and I had it installed in less than a hour. Well worth the upgrade.

I agree...Tom's fit perfect ! Hole drillin has to be perfect . Yep , less than an hour to install . BOOM !

RB

Yeah Tom, they didn't bend it. But they have SSteel and regular steel and many different designs. As I recall, we drilled the forward hole, slide on the collar, and bent the spring on a press. It was a while ago, but I seem to remember they drilled the tail wheel hole as well.
Cubes

Any thoughts on chroming the rod ? Just asking , don't beat me up !

RB

Rich,

Get smart on the phenomenon of hydrogen embrittlement then you will be able to answer your own question about chrome.

_________________
Bob Highley
N711SH
SN 835
KLAL

DOH ! I know something about everything , but little about nothing ! I will keep my Navy Chrome Dome from Boot Camp and paint the "Rod" Navy Haze Gray Under Way !" I had a feeling chroming was a "no" "no" , but had to ask . I only have a BA degree in Liberal Arts , not a degree in metal polishing ! BOOM ! Just funnin with you Bob !

RB

Embrittlement can also happen during the powder coat process depending on how it's done.Caustic solutions can change the structure of the metals being coated and cause the fractures that Somtimes cannot be seen with the standard eyeball. Leave the metal in the acid tank just bit longer than what is needed and it could crack up on you..........Dan

A good reason why I did not power coat my engine mount , just paint to help see any failures in the welds .

RB

For all of waiting on Tail Springs:
I sent a follow up email to Richard this afternoon. He had said that he was going to get scheduling and pricing information back to me on Monday. Well, it's Wednesday and I've yet to hear. With any luck, I'll get something by the end of business west coast time.

Terry

Alright, For the 9 names that I have regarding a "Trusty Tail Spring". I spoke with Richard earlier today and he has commited to a production run of 10 springs. He tells me that he can have them done and shipped to me by the end of next month. The other good news is that he is honoring the price that was quoted to Stuart at the beginning of this thread. I'm going to send him the 50% of total order for him to get started. What I'll need from you guys is a shipping address. That way I can get a shipping cost figured. I won't ask for funds until I have the springs here and have them ready to ship.
You can just private message your addresses to me here on the forum. Let me know if you have any questions,

Terry

I'll buy that 10th spring!
Just let us know when & where.

_________________
Scott Emery
EAA Chapter 326
T-18 N18TE