Sonoma Skypark CA today
Sun Nov 30, 2008 2:01 am
Eric Presten took me up in his Piper PA-16 Clipper today for a late afternoon shoot of John Cicero's Cole-modified Clipped-wing Taylorcraft.
Now that Eric is following this message board, maybe he'll followup with some details on the Taylorcraft.
Now that Eric is following this message board, maybe he'll followup with some details on the Taylorcraft.
Sun Nov 30, 2008 6:10 am
The T-craft is an interesting machine. When John bought it several years ago I was dispatched to some place (that I have forgotten) in Illinois to ferry it home to Sonoma. I flew allot of the trip upside down looking up through the skylight at I-80 while I was following it west bound.
It’s a Duane Cole type conversion, but all of these (I have flown three) T-craft Clipwing conversions are a little different. This one has unique tail feathers, a fixed and welded no shock landing gear, six feet cut off of each wing, inverted fuel and oil, a single center stick type control system, an O-320 150 horse power Lycoming engine, and is converted to single center seat configuration. It is quite light, and is a real rocket ship to fly. The stock T-cart has a semi symmetrical wing, so this set up makes it a good acro ship.
A nice day had by all.
It’s a Duane Cole type conversion, but all of these (I have flown three) T-craft Clipwing conversions are a little different. This one has unique tail feathers, a fixed and welded no shock landing gear, six feet cut off of each wing, inverted fuel and oil, a single center stick type control system, an O-320 150 horse power Lycoming engine, and is converted to single center seat configuration. It is quite light, and is a real rocket ship to fly. The stock T-cart has a semi symmetrical wing, so this set up makes it a good acro ship.
A nice day had by all.
Sun Nov 30, 2008 1:42 pm
Nice to see John's Tcraft up in the air, I remember him telling me about it a year or 2 ago...
Hey we should do a formation shoot with Robin's and this one.
Hey we should do a formation shoot with Robin's and this one.
Sun Nov 30, 2008 1:51 pm
And another interesting point when you mention a T-craft formation, yesterday, five different PA-16 Clippers flew from Skypark yesterday.
Sun Nov 30, 2008 5:58 pm
That is a beautiful ship! I did some flying in a stock BC-12 a few years ago and it was a fantastic plane -- except for the fact that it was a yoke side-by-side. For that reason, I never quite enjoyed it as much as the J-3, though it flew a bit faster. This conversion looks like it would solve that and really carve through the sky at the same time!
Eric, any chance we can convince you to visit the Geneseo airshow this year? Was great meeting you at Chino and I am trying to get some of you West coasters to make the trek!
Eric, any chance we can convince you to visit the Geneseo airshow this year? Was great meeting you at Chino and I am trying to get some of you West coasters to make the trek!
Sun Nov 30, 2008 6:13 pm
Roger Cain wrote:And another interesting point when you mention a T-craft formation, yesterday, five different PA-16 Clippers flew from Skypark yesterday.
You sure it wasn't the same clipper with 5 different kinds of landing gear?
Sun Nov 30, 2008 6:23 pm
Definitely not, as Eric has Six different sets of gear
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Sun Nov 30, 2008 10:00 pm
Boy that's clipped all right. Put a radial on it and it would resemble a Monocoupe.
What sort of negative G can you push with those struts?
What sort of negative G can you push with those struts?
Sun Nov 30, 2008 11:22 pm
My buddy Steve Givens in Pendleton, Indiana has a gorgeous Clip-wing T-Craft with an outstanding paint scheme. Will see if I can dig up a photo.
Mon Dec 01, 2008 7:39 am
Ryan.
I have been there a couple of times in the last five years. I would like to come back and maybe even fly an airplane down there for the Tiger Boys. Unfortunately, I never know what my summer schedule will be very far in advance. It all depends on test flight, ferry flight, book sales, and even the occasional weird movie flying opportunities, as to where I will be at any moment. We may be doing two trips to France this summer, but it would be nice to be back to the best airshow photography site in the U.S. (my opinion only). Let’s hope I am in the area at the right time.
I have been there a couple of times in the last five years. I would like to come back and maybe even fly an airplane down there for the Tiger Boys. Unfortunately, I never know what my summer schedule will be very far in advance. It all depends on test flight, ferry flight, book sales, and even the occasional weird movie flying opportunities, as to where I will be at any moment. We may be doing two trips to France this summer, but it would be nice to be back to the best airshow photography site in the U.S. (my opinion only). Let’s hope I am in the area at the right time.