"Orval Fairbairn" wrote in message
news
In article et,
"Steven P. McNicoll" wrote:

"Newps" wrote in message
...

Yes, a friend of mine has one hangared here. He almost bought the only
nosegear Spartan Exec but wanted a real Exec instead.


I don't think there were any nosegear Executives. Spartan built 34 Model
7Ws before the war. They named this airplane "Executive", all were built
with conventional gear. Late in WWII they were working on two new
aircraft.
The Model 12 was clearly based on the Executive but it was a new
airplane.
The project was cancelled before the prototype flew. While it is
frequently
called an "Executive" today I don't believe Spartan ever called it that,
it
appears they just called it the Model 12.

The other airplane they were working on was to be a 6/8 seat twin for
business and feeder airline use. It was cancelled before it got as far
as
the Model 12, probably when Spartan realized they'd be competing with
many
military surplus aircraft.


A friend of mine, Colgate Darden, owns the rights to the Spartan
Executive. Apparently, a weak point is in the main gear trunions. One
broke on his a few years ago -- the plane has been repaired.

It is a BIG machine!

Friends of mine had an Exec and they had new trunions machined. It cost a
fortune but put to rest the gear collapse worry. Also had the only factory
tri-gear Exec. at our airport for a while. It totally changed the character
of the airplane and certainly not for the better. Sitting in the rear seat
of an Exec. is like sitting in a living room. There is enough room for a
big screen and refrigerator.