I wouldn’t recommend powder coating for most structural aircraft parts. There are more reasons than I’ll list here but it’s so tough it can span over and hide hairline cracks. It’s also hard to remove for repairs, etc. I do like white though, small cracks are easier to see than black paint. Awesome rig, I’ve got a family member that has one!
Yeah since I posted this there have been other comments about this. Because of this I'm going to do epoxy primer and paint on the mount and gear. Im excited to get back to work on this project!
The Thorpe is one cool bird all though I do not like planes with fuel storage just behind the engine, I prefer it in the wings, especially with aircraft with higher stall speeds. Don't like the built in crematorium feature if you gotta dead stick it into anything rougher than a golf coarse. One did dead stick it into a 900 foot strip once and did manage to get it back out once it was fixed. Way cheaper than any RV.
WAY cheaper than any RV! There are advantages and disadvantages to header tank VS wing tank. As long as you reach down and shut the fuel valve before making an emergency landing I don't really feel that it's any less safe
Another reason to get an AV-30 or a Garmin G5…. Kick that vacuum pump to the curb. I did the G5 in my tri-pacer and pulled off about 18 lbs. between all vacuum pump accessories and the old gyro I had.
Yeah the vacuum system will not be going back on. I haven't fully decided yet about which direction I'm going to go with the panel but it's going to get some glass
Just an opinion on Avionics... Coming back to flying in the last two years after a dozen year hiatus, my Rans S-19 has a Dynon Touch (now obsolete of course!), But a new HDX or equivalent with iPad is all you need .. Dynon is so intuitive, great support and just works great. Before buying the airplane, flew a few other systems and much prefer Dynon ...and not Garmin price for the Experimental stuff. Is the tailwind gone?
love the idea of powder coating the foundation in pure white. This airplane is going to be awesome in the rejoin!
Props to you and your well organized hanger. Nice!
We will see if it's still this organized by the end of the project haha
I wouldn’t recommend powder coating for most structural aircraft parts. There are more reasons than I’ll list here but it’s so tough it can span over and hide hairline cracks. It’s also hard to remove for repairs, etc. I do like white though, small cracks are easier to see than black paint. Awesome rig, I’ve got a family member that has one!
Yeah since I posted this there have been other comments about this. Because of this I'm going to do epoxy primer and paint on the mount and gear. Im excited to get back to work on this project!
When possible dump your vacuum system. I did this on a friends Mustang 11 and total weight was 18lbs! Big savings on a small plane!
Yeah the vacuum system removal is happening as part of the rebuild! Gonna get rid of everything and go to a glass panel. 18 lbs is crazy!
Just read this and I also pulled 18lbs when I removed vacuum from my tripacer. Seems like the average.
The Thorpe is one cool bird all though I do not like planes with fuel storage just behind the engine, I prefer it in the wings, especially with aircraft with higher stall speeds. Don't like the built in crematorium feature if you gotta dead stick it into anything rougher than a golf coarse. One did dead stick it into a 900 foot strip once and did manage to get it back out once it was fixed. Way cheaper than any RV.
WAY cheaper than any RV! There are advantages and disadvantages to header tank VS wing tank. As long as you reach down and shut the fuel valve before making an emergency landing I don't really feel that it's any less safe
Another reason to get an AV-30 or a Garmin G5…. Kick that vacuum pump to the curb. I did the G5 in my tri-pacer and pulled off about 18 lbs. between all vacuum pump accessories and the old gyro I had.
Yeah the vacuum system will not be going back on. I haven't fully decided yet about which direction I'm going to go with the panel but it's going to get some glass
Just an opinion on Avionics... Coming back to flying in the last two years after a dozen year hiatus, my Rans S-19 has a Dynon Touch (now obsolete of course!), But a new HDX or equivalent with iPad is all you need .. Dynon is so intuitive, great support and just works great. Before buying the airplane, flew a few other systems and much prefer Dynon ...and not Garmin price for the Experimental stuff. Is the tailwind gone?
Was that plane in Minnesota?
Not to my knowledge. It has spent the last 25-30 years in Central Illinois
Any updates?
Nothing much at the moment. Trying to sell my tailwind