Mods
Mark incorporated a few modifications in the Charger,
primarily for comfort and aesthetics. He raised the rear
instrument panel by an inch and the top of the tur-tledeck by an inch-and-a-half. “I did that because I was
a bit taller,” he said, “and I wanted to be a part of the
airplane and not sitting on it. I also changed the vertical
fin shape just slightly, but pretty much the structure is
built to plans.”
Powered by Lycoming
A fellow chapter member sold one of his Twin Comanche
engine cores to Mark, and he rebuilt the 160-hp IO-320
in 1992. It was a good match for the Charger, which has
a total fuel capacity of 27 gallons ( 18 in the fuselage tank
and 4. 5 gallons in each wing), and a fuel burn of 8. 5 to 9
gph at 2450 rpm.
“In essence, it was a new engine,” said Mark. “I didn’t
have the test stand available, so it was one of those
situations where you’ve got a new engine, a new airplane, and chrome cylinders to break in—and all of the
potential problems that go along with that. We did a
minimum of test running, and we did fuel flow and oil
leak checks. I had done a couple of high-speed taxi tests
before I flew the airplane.”
Finishing Touches
Mark’s surname was a springboard for the ultimate paint
scheme for his Charger. He said, “The Gilmore Oil Company was founded in the 1930s, and since our last name
is Gilmore, we thought it’d be kind of neat to tie into
that. Roscoe Turner was sponsored by the Gilmore Oil
Company, and they had the lion logo and their gasoline
was red—hence the Red Lion. Also, we live in Muncie,
Indiana, and when Roscoe Turner retired, he went to
Indianapolis and opened a flight school. So there was a
connection to Indiana, and we thought, ‘If Roscoe Turner
had a biplane, what would it look like?’ That was the idea
behind it all.”
Brett, who recently graduated from college with a manufacturing engineering degree, applied some of his digital
skills to help with the finishing touches for the Charger.
Using AutoCAD to make a 3-D model of the wing for the
paint scheme, he was able to find a combination of a half
circle and half ellipse that allowed the tips of the scallops
to follow the rib line. That was a bit of a challenge, due
to the biplane’s swept-back wings and diagonally spaced
ribs. He also modified the name and jumping lion graphic
from a picture on an airplane model box, making its lines
crisp enough to be airbrushed by artist Jamie Matthews.
Mark used Excel software to lay out the graphic for the
vertical stabilizer. That emblem was a creative fabrication
of a “company logo,” in keeping with the early 1930s style.
Mark explained, “The wings are similar to period logos,
part of the Gilmore slogan was the ‘Record Breakers,’ and
the biplane was built in the ‘Buckeye Plant’ because we
live on Buckeye Road. It was manufactured by G&F Wing-works, which stands for Gilmore and Finney—because
Mike Finney’s wife, Sherry, did the rib stitching. That
whole logo is made up.”
Mark asked his mother, Sandy, to sew the upholstery
for the seats, headrest, and smaller items such as leather
The Gilmore-Turner
Connection
Jay Tolbert
When your last name happens to be
Gilmore, you have no choice but to adopt
Roscoe Turner’s theme. Sponsored by
the Gilmore Oil Co. during the 1930s,
the colorful racing pilot emblazoned his
aircraft – and chase vehicle – with the
Gilmore name and symbol – the Red Lion.
Mark’s son Brett helped digitize the Red
Lion graphic so it could be airbrushed
onto the Charger.
