There are several varieties of Tailwind wings. My W8 has the flatbottomed, short type. "Flatbottomed" in the sense that the bottom surface is literally flat not rounded. And "short" in the sense that they don't have the extended triangular tips which are about 18" longer and proven to add lift and r...
After uncovering and inspecting the wings, they were found to be in great shape. There's a little bit of water staining at the roots. If you look closely at some of the pictures you may see it. A retired mastercraftsmancabinetmakerwoodsman took a look at them and indicated it was nothing to be conce...
There is clear evidence of some experimenting done on this experimental aircraft over the years, specifically in the horizontal stabilizer area. The plates that secure/locate the leading edges of the horizontal stabilizers had many holes in them: four on the pilot side; six on the passenger side. ==...
There's a popular deviation from the standard Wittman Tailwind plans that involves building it with the rear spar carrythru moved aft about three inches. This is great for people that are tall or people that don't like smashing their head on that crossbeam when the flight gets bumpy. Trust me, IT HU...
The wings are gonna need a fair bit of prep work done to them so they can be painted to match the fuselage (when it gets covered and painted). They have the original fabric from 1965 and peeling that away from the plywood skin from which it's been adhered to for the past 52 years isn't exactly the r...
I spent yesterday taking the wings apart and removing them from the fuselage, removing the cowl, side panels, control surfaces, and pulling the engine. Today I removed the skin. It was a bittersweet process. I kept thinking about all the history it has experienced since 1965. All the eyes that have...