I made the first flight of 28TG on 12/27/92 and we had flown 700 hours by her 5th birthday. We have made 3 trips touring the U.S. (includes Oshkosh), numerous trips to go to fun spots (Reno air races, camping, water skiing, etc.) and frequent flights to Mom and Dad's airstrip in Arizona. In the past five years, 28TG has been steadily receiving improvements such as aux fuel, engine monitoring, fuel system monitoring, electronic ignition, an engine pre-heater, a lightweight alternator, a Sky-Tec starter and a freshly rebuilt 180 hp Lycoming.

John Thorp did a great job designing the Thorp T-18. It is a great-handling, responsive and honest plane. It is a terrific airplane for cross country trips, going for those $100 hamburgers and just punching holes in the desert sky.

I purchased this 1953 Cessna 170B in OCT 97 and flew her home from Georgia in 19.5 hours. Rain and headwinds from hurricane Nora spiced things up on that trip. 16C has a low-time 145 HP Cont. O-300D (wet vacuum pump), digital flip-flop Comm/Nav radio, xpdr/encoder, recent interior, nearly original panel, night lights, 42 gallon capacity, Cleveland tires/brakes and lots o' room.

Have been having a lot of fun flying it (NV, AZ, NM & CA) but cruising at the Thorp's climb-out speed took some getting used to. I am constantly tinkering with some sort of improvement and 16C will soon get a new 4-place intercom and new cowlings. Hopefully I can strip and paint in a year or so. In the first 7 months we've put 140 enjoyable hours on 16C. It handles honestly and has proven to be an excellent tail-dragger trainer and camping/utility plane. This picture was taken while searching for suitable emergency landing sites for a project at work.

On the way home from OSH 97, I found this Chief along the way for a great price!

Happy Landings and Check for MY six. Tony

Homepage URL: http://www.eaa49.av.org

Webmaster: Paul Rosales