|
Flyme's Restoration Project
This is my T-18 after a complete restoration and winning "Best Restoration of a Classic Home Built Aircraft" at the 2003 Oshkosh AirVenture. Its new home is Ellington Field in Houston, Texas and sporting the new numbers N71XP. I found my Thorp T-18 in San Antonio
Texas. I was looking for a high performance Experimental that had to be a tail dragger with dual sticks, side by side seating with an IFR panel, and all metal construction. I found all that and some extras strong construction (+6 and -4g)and 170mph @ 7.5gph @ 65% power.
I got lucky here. This is its 314 hour Mattituck over hauled 160 hp fuel injected Lycoming IO-320-B1C with a low time 72" Hartzel constant speed prop. The remote mounted oil filter and stainless steal cross over exhaust is a real plus. It also has a GEM-610 graphic engine monitor and Shadin microflow fuel totalizer to help keep it at max performance.
Fully IFR Certified. One draw back is no room for redundant instruments. A hand held comm and GPS will be the backup instruments for IFR.
Side by side seating is a little tight but there is leg room for a 6' 4" pilot. The 4 point harness are sports car
accessories as well as the seats. The phone jacks for the intercom can be seen between the seats and help keep the tiny cockpit from getting too
cluttered. Believe it or not there is enough room behind the seats for
weekend luggage and some tools.
N71XP "Best Restoration of Classic Custom Built Aircraft" Oshkosh AirVenture 2003. Special thanks to my restoration team: Bob Wagstaff and Jerry Lake of K&W Aviation in LaPorte, TX and my past and present student pilots and friends who greatly helped out with the project.
|
