– – EAA92’s Don Taylor Flight Around the World in his Thorp T-18  – –

At a time when many felt that the range of an experimental airplane was fairly small, one man decided to take his around the world. Join us as we take to the skies with Don Taylor and his T-18. This will be replay of the EAA Museum Webinar Series about Don Taylor and his Thorp T-18.

About Don Taylor:

Chapter 92’s namesake, Don Taylor, built a very special aircraft a Thorp T-18 for a specific purpose: to complete the first around-the-world flight in a homebuilt aircraft. Don studied many homebuilt plans and performance figures and decided that the Thorp T-18 would be the most adaptable. He encountered more than the usual homebuilder’s problems because of the unusual requirements of the proposed flight. A Lycoming 180 hp engine was chosen for the powerplant and Don crowded a full set of IFR instruments into the small panel and also found space for a 360 channel VHF with localizer head, ADF and a transponder. Don named the plane “Victoria” after the only ship of the Magellan fleet to complete the first world-circling trip. Next came more rigorous testing by attempting various speed records within the US, all-weather flying and continuous improvements to the plane. After meticulous planning, he felt quite ready to take on the globe circling challenge.

Don donated his T-18 to the EAA during the 1983 annual Oshkosh Fly-In and Convention and you can see her on a wall where she is mounted in EAA’s AirVenture Museum.

MEETING DETAILS:

This in-person meeting will be held at the IRWD Community Room at 15500 Sand Canyon Ave in Irvine.  Please be prepared to follow Orange County Covid guidelines in place at that time.

Hangar Talk social period: 6:30 to 7:00 PM

Meeting begins at 7:00 PM

Presentation begins approx. 7:15 PM