Alright!!

[Hung Start]

Mark Clark has somebody local who can give you the ride, indeed, that is where I got mine. I am pretty sure the instructor/examiner has a sylabus that has been approved by the FAA, although I did not see it during my time. It was very basic, one day event for me. But, that was years ago, your mileage may vary, as they say. The whole training event and ride was just getting used to the aircraft, a steep turn or two and a couple of stalls and slow flight. Nothing like FSI type ride at all. I think I did demonstrate an engine failure glide, no biggie at all.
As a CFI you can give instruction, but I think you will need a waiver from the EAA to do it unless the students are owners in the plane. Can't do commercial ops, remember? But the EAA has/had a program that allowed an exemption. Of course, you insurance carrier may have a bit of say for that.
You may have to put together a maintenance plan for that also, because we don't do 100 hours or annuals, you get a condition inspection instead. The difference is any A&P can sign it off, don't need an IA.
The other difference is you get a pink airworthiness certificate, as it will be certified in the experimental/exibit category. Most FAA guys seem to just check to see if you are ok to fly it, they really don't want to be bothered with a non-standard aircraft. When I go to shows, they ask for the paperwork, and then ask for a ride!
Overall, it has been a darn reliable aircraft. Any problems I have had were mostly related to add on things, like the Darton kits. I took the old radio boxes out, about 200 lbs of gear, and put in a Garmin gps and a King HSI. Dual radios and good to go!

Hung

 

[svcta]

good info. The dual I would give would be to an owner of the same aircraft. The deal is that since I'm a CFI they want me to get the rating first and then the thought is that I can do the training for free and we can just go right to the designee from there. But, if we can each do it in a day, then that might be the best route. Maybe the designee would give me the list of things he wants to see and I can train to that. Thoughts?

 

[svcta]

What are your thoughts about the small nosewheel on grass?

 

[Hung Start]

I don't see why that won't work. There is no "sign off" per se, just a letter sent to the FSDO saying you met the standard that has been set. So, once you're set, you could prep the second guy, I would think. Of course, there may be a minimum time requirement that the guy signing off may have to spend with an applicant, so it may be a mute point.
Having said that, I did my stuff before the new and improved process. I had a LOA that I traded for the plastic. So, the training regime may have changed in time.
Small wheel is a no-no on grass. There is not a lot of clearance between the prop and ground, and the small wheel would go into a hole really easy. I do have the small wheel on mine, looks a lot nicer than the large. I used to go in and out of a 2200 ft. paved runway without a problem, but 3,000 is a lot more comfortable. Maybe I'm just getting old.
To give you an idea how rugged they are, during hurricane Wilma, the hangar I was in fell onto my plane. I mean, the whole hangar was sitting onto my bird. A crane had to pull the roof and stuff off. $105,000 damage, both canopies, wing and fuselage damage. Got the holes in the wings plugged, stiched the canopies together and flew about 50 miles to where I got the repairs. What other plane can do that?

Hung

 

[svcta]

I dig what you're saying about the small wheel. We operate off of a very well prepared grass runway, 3000' long. It's really the only grass that the airplane would see. Thanks for the insight on that. Is the larger wheel easy to swap?

 

[Hung Start]

Yes, all three wheels are identical.

You say you are in the South East, I'm in South Florida. Close?

Hung

 

[svcta]

I'm in Ga. Not too close, unfortuantely. I really appreciate all your insights.

 

[wmudriver]

I saw Mark Clark at Courtesy Aircraft was taking inquires into warbird partnerships. Have you guys ever heard of this being done for a warbird and would you recommend it? I've never done a airplane partnership before so i don't know if it is beneficial at all.

 

[Mud Eagle]

I saw Mark Clark at Courtesy Aircraft was taking inquires into warbird partnerships. Have you guys ever heard of this being done for a warbird and would you recommend it? I've never done a airplane partnership before so i don't know if it is beneficial at all.

I have heard a number of movers-and-shakers in the warbird cliques talking about fractionals and partnerships for about the last 3-4 years. In reality, it's the only way that most "mere mortals" can get into the game, given the way buying and operating costs have skyrocketed over that same timeframe. I would certainly be interested if the airframe, price, and location were right.

The big problem I heard discussed was insurance...as only a couple under-writers will even insure warbirds, they were both balking at the idea at the time.

In addition, since the community of people with the interest and financial means is so limited, it was tough to find a number of qualified owners who could all agree on the geographic basing of a specific airframe.

I know of at least one L-39 fractional, and I am sure there are numerous partnerships out there. It certainly can work and given how successful it has been in the last 5-10 years with the GA crowd, I forsee that this will eventually become the norm rather than the exception.

 

[Frozen Ronin]

T-28? Pretty cool, complex and fun~ When I was pulling them apart for reskinning, I found a lot of hidden corrosion. Some of the major fittings were even candidates for x-ray testing. Find out if it was a wreck, laying in swampy ground for 15 years before finding a set of wings bolted on and 'refurbished'. Sounds funny, doesn't it? Too bad it's not a joke! Know what you're getting into. If you don't approach this like a second career, learning everything you can, digging up every lead you find, you may end up another number on a stat sheet with NTSB letterhead at the top.

Beyond that, the world of warbirds will lead you into a society of some very awesome people.

Good luck!

Ronin