Brand new here. I've been doing a lot of searching for information on the 5151 and P-40, and there's not much out there. I find it interesting that there is a "replica warbird thread here that EXCLUDES P-40 and P-51 replicas (maybe too much 5151 and P-40 back in the day?) I first met Mike and Sandy when they brought the completed prototype to Sun and Fun back in 1986. I would have been one of the first 10 customers, but my "aviation adviser" squished the idea shortly before I was going to place my order (LSA hadn't come of age yet and the area around here was about to come under TCA).
I am aware of Sandy's passing and the demise of Loehle Aviation. While there seem to have been some "weak points" in the original designs, there seem to be quite a few flying and a number of modifications to improve them. From what I gather, about 400 kits were sold, and about 100 have flown. This means there should be some 200 to 300 kits out there either being built, or collecting dust. A guy just GAVE AWAY a damaged project down in my area. This renewed my interest and started the search for information.
What I'm looking for: Are there any "Loehle forums" out there? I kind of found a facebook thing, but it mainly seems to be one guy's progress. It would seem there has to be something (I found reference to a Yahoo group, but apparently Yahoo has gone by the wayside as well. There are some dead threads, one of the most interesting was a guy building a P-40 with a Geo Metro conversion, but it has been stagnant for years. I saw where someone here was even interested in buying the rights and starting the brand back up. I think that would / could be an interesting prospect. Your comments are welcome, and any information is desired. Dennis
I am aware of Sandy's passing and the demise of Loehle Aviation. While there seem to have been some "weak points" in the original designs, there seem to be quite a few flying and a number of modifications to improve them. From what I gather, about 400 kits were sold, and about 100 have flown. This means there should be some 200 to 300 kits out there either being built, or collecting dust. A guy just GAVE AWAY a damaged project down in my area. This renewed my interest and started the search for information.
What I'm looking for: Are there any "Loehle forums" out there? I kind of found a facebook thing, but it mainly seems to be one guy's progress. It would seem there has to be something (I found reference to a Yahoo group, but apparently Yahoo has gone by the wayside as well. There are some dead threads, one of the most interesting was a guy building a P-40 with a Geo Metro conversion, but it has been stagnant for years. I saw where someone here was even interested in buying the rights and starting the brand back up. I think that would / could be an interesting prospect. Your comments are welcome, and any information is desired. Dennis
