As I was returning back to Salem following a quick cross-country flight, I heard another aircraft on the radio also flying into Salem. It was definitely an experimental homebuilt aircraft and I initially thought it was a Van's RV. But as it turns out, it was a Thorp T-18, a two-place, all-metal, plans-built, homebuilt aircraft designed in 1963 by John Thorp, himself an aeronautical engineer who made significant contributions to aircraft design throughout his life. Thorp's resume includes the Boeing Model 247 and the Lockheed P2V Neptune among others. The T-18 was one of the most popular homebuilt designs of the 1970s and early 1980s until the Van's Aircraft RV kitplane series came on the market.
I had the opportunity to catch this plane because as it turns out, it was owned and hangared right across from where I was hangared. I'll let the photos speak for themselves.
Salem (SLE)
Preview:
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| Thorp T-18 (N818TR) parked in front of the hangars. |
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| The particular airframe is serial number 888. Over 1,600 plans for this homebuilt were sold and 400 examples of the T-18 still fly today. |
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