Roaring in the sky

It’s no surprise that when Chris Maurer lands at an airport, he attracts a lot of attention.

That’s because his airplane, a Thorp T-18, is painted to resemble a tiger.

Chris even takes the tiger scheme to its logical conclusion, with its registration number, N118GR, followed by “rrrrr.”

Based at La Porte Municipal Airport (T41), a few miles southeast of Houston, Texas, Chris says the airplane is as full of history as it is color.

While the Thorp T-18 was designed in the early 1960s, the history of this particular aircraft does not go back that far.

“I bought her in July 2013,” Chris shares. “Tiger has had at least three owners prior to me and, unfortunately, sat unused for a couple of years. When I got her, she needed a lot of restoration and, with lots of help, she is now in excellent flying condition.”

One of the changes Chris made to Tiger is to give her the nickname “Fat Cat,” which is painted on her tail. That’s because of Tiger’s wide-body design. She is a T-18W variant, two inches wider across the cockpit than the standard T-18.

While the original paint design was conceived by Tiger’s former owner Harvey Mickelsen and his son, Chris has added his own touches to the airplane.

On the left side of the plane, Chris inscribed the names of 13 Cessna A-37 Dragonfly pilots.

He explains why: “The T-18 design started as a ground attack aircraft, the FD-25 Defender. Although it was a successful design, the military wanted jet aircraft. Some FD-25s were produced, but the A-37 was selected for the Air Force. It provided excellent service during the war in Southeast Asia. Troops on the ground loved its ability to make fast, precision attacks.”

“I spent four wonderful years at the Air Force Flight Test Center at Edwards Air Force Base,” he continues. “I was the A-37 chief pilot. The A-37 flew thousands of combat sorties; sadly 13 pilots were killed flying these essential missions. That’s why — in their honor — their names are listed on Tiger’s left gear leg.”

The former military and airline pilot, whose call sign is “Bloke,” also had a helmet designed to match Tiger’s paint scheme.

He’s also made some modifications to Tiger.

“The armament rails and wingtip smoke systems for pyro,” says Jordan King, a CFI who has flown Tiger. “It has got faux guns up in the nose — you can see the barrels — gunsights and stick shakers, along with gun triggers to be used in flight to dogfight a fake enemy.”

Another interesting feature adapted by Chris is when sitting as a static display at air shows, a sound system blasts under the seats with the sound of tiger roars.

There is also an iPhone on the panel that never leaves the aircraft, hard wired in. The airplane even has its own special playlist and other personalized modifications.

While it’s captivating on the ramp, what’s Tiger like to fly?

“Since the Thorp T-18 was developed from a ground attack aircraft it is a delightful combination of speed and maneuverability,” Chris begins. “The IO-360 engine is a perfect match, just the right amount of power without excessive weight. It drives the Catto propeller, which is lighter and much cheaper than a constant-speed with similar performance. The composite propeller has far less gyroscopic effect and responds quickly to power changes.”

He adds the aircraft is fitted with optional wing tanks, giving it a range of almost 1,000 miles.

“The ‘Corsair wing’ keeps the aircraft stable on cross-country flights, but it still flies nice aerobatics,” he continues. “A full IFR panel coupled to the autopilot makes long flights easy — she can even fly an approach with auto trimming.”

“Loops and rolls are easy, but the speed can build quickly with the nose down. Stalls are predictable with plenty of warning, but it is always important to watch the airspeed, whether fast or slow.”

“I really enjoy the visibility she has — it is great for formation flying,” he adds. “There’s a clear view aft to ‘check-six’ and the view over the nose means there’s no need for s-turns during taxi.”

He notes that the design dates from a time when people were a bit smaller, “so it is a cozy fit, especially the original design.”

“Tiger is the ‘wide’ version with an extra two inches across the cockpit. I have taken a lot of people flying and most fit — the feeling is that you wear the aircraft.”

“On Young Eagles flights children love to fly the Tiger. They especially like the gunsight,” he says.

Maneuvering the aircraft into parking is easy, he adds.

“I hook a strong leash to the tail and pull her around with the warning to onlookers “do NOT try this with a real Tiger!” 

When attending air shows and fly-ins Tiger is often accompanied by a beautiful red Van’s RV-7, flown by Rodney Horn, Chris’s wingman.

“Col. Rodney Horn and I served in the Air Force and at Pan Am and United Airlines,” Chris explains. “Our team — myself, Rodney ‘Blondie’ Horn, Mitchell ‘Bear’ Horn, and Brooke ‘Katniss’ Gill — were inspired by the amazing people we met at air shows and during our careers. By bringing these aircraft to shows and children’s events we hope to introduce aviation to them and encourage all to consider joining the wonderful family in aviation.”

“The only limit they have is their own motivation — if they want to be a pilot, flight attendant, mechanic, or other support position they just have to want it badly enough to succeed.”

For more information, check out the Tiger Flight page on Facebook.