LHP-18 N1054A

My Dad (Robert Leonard) built N1054A in the basement when I was a kid. Along with Bernie Moore He borrowed a fuselage kit that belonged to some friends and built a copy. There were countless trips to Boeing Salvage for steel and aluminum parts. Lots of cutting and welding to make control linkages. He and Bernie made an enormous plaster mold of the fuselage out of plaster. He bought a kit from Dick Schreder for the wings. I remember him bucking rivets in the basement while I buried my head under my pillow and tried to sleep. He even painted it in the house. My Mom is a very patient woman :O

To me it is a work of art. Throughout are examples of simple designs that work well that are excuted with quality workmanship, many examples of mechanical engineering talent. Dad came up with refinements for many of the weak points including:
- front hinge one piece canopy
- real wheel brake (not the original scrubber)
- articulated side stick
- gear up lock
- sufficient cockpit air vent
- balast tank vents to improve fill and dumping
- fixed tail with tightly sealed fairings
- simple trailer design with efficient dolly system
- cheater bar that greatly reduced assembly hassle
- one man rigging gear
- ground towing equipment

Dad flew it about 1000 hours as '2X'. He had 2 top 10's in National competition and flew many regionals. He flew countless miles of cross country in the Hutchinson area. He finally gave up flying it when he discovered the joy of an ASW-20.

When I bought it from him, I installed Bob K's center stick and changed it's call sign to '4A'. The center stick (which uses bearings throughout) anlong with mylar replacements for the original copper-berilium gap seals makes an enormous difference. The control forces are all greatly reduced and the overall handlinig of the ship greatly improved. I have tried a couple of regionals in it and even managed a single daily win.

To me a great part of the attraction to soaring is the beauty of the machines. I think the HP-18 is one of the best looking sailplanes ever made.