Monday, March 12, 2012

Prowler Kit #13 For Sale

This is a special blog post dedicated to Roy's Prowler Kit #13.  Roy is forced to sell his airplane, and I thought posting the information here might help him accomplish this.
Here are some of Roy's Comments:

 Ron Chamblin from Jacksonville, Fla.  purchased kit #13 in the mid 1980’s after seeing the prototype at Oshkosh.  He was advised (full-time) by an A&P to help him build it.   After 5 years of full time work, he was getting tired of working on it.  The orignal Prowler Aviation had closed its doors and Jaguar #1 (the kit prototype) came up for sale.  Ron then also bought the 1st company aircraft (the RW&B airplane).

Work began to repair the RW&B but was halted at some point, and no one seems to know why.  Both aircraft sat idle in Ron's shop/barn for many years untouched. I had contacted him a few times about buying the kit but he would not sell.

A few years later Rick Pellicciotti (from Memphis) was able to strike a deal with Ron to purchase all the Prowler/Jaguar stuff that he had.   Rick really wanted Jaguar 1 and will be restoring it to flying condition.  I eventually purchased kit 13 from Rick.

This is a unique and interesting airplane. It is for the serious builder as there will be some fabrication required. What you see is what you get. There are numerous parts that are missing and/or were never supplied.  Except for the fairings and inner gear doors, the basic airframe is there and mostly complete.   Just add engine, instruments and go fly!

I have not touched the airplane except to put it together so I could look at it and drool.  Here is what is included with Prowler Kit #13:
  • Ailerons are completed.
  • Flaps are completed (see note below).
  • Vertical Tail is completed.
  • Rudder is completed.
  • Horizontal Stabilizer is completed.
  • Elevators are completed.
  • Fuselage is mostly completed from the firewall aft. Landing gear, including the retractable tail wheel is installed. Most of the hard line hydraulic plumbing is complete, but no hydraulic cylinders or hydraulic hoses. The hydraulic pump is installed. There is also a lot of wiring already in place.
  • The outer wings are mostly completed. The top skin riveting is not complete since there is some fuel tank work that still needs to be completed.
  • The Radiator Assemblies are mostly complete.
  • Canopy and Windshield are included.
  • Canopy frame included.
  • Elevator Push Pull Tube included.
  • A few boxes of assorted parts.
NOTE: There are two damaged spots that were on the airplane when I purchased it. 1st spot - One of the flaps has a dent in the trailing edge. I was going to re-skin the flap, but several people tell me they would cut it out, patch it, and then fill it so it doesn’t show. Skinning the flap is my choice and not that big of a deal.  2nd spot - There is damage on the lower fuselage at the tail wheel retract area. It looks to me like the tail wheel (at some time) unlocked and retracted into the wheel well.  Maybe when it was being moved or something.  It has caused a crack about 1 ½" long on both sides of the wheel well cutout.  My plan was to cut this area out and make an access panel. It’s a simple fix and would provide better access to the tail wheel retraction mechanism for inspection and maintenance.

Here are several pictures of the airplane to view.  I will be glad to take any additional pictures you would like and send them to you.  My name is Roy.  Please send me an email at: 
(insert my first name here)farris1(_at_)comcast(_dot_)net.










If you are unable to contact Roy at the email address above, you can contact me at the Prowler Feedback Contact Page (HERE) and I will forward your message/information to Roy.

If you are interested (or know someone interested) in a Prowler project that is off to (what appears to be) a great start - contact Roy.  Thanks.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

As Roy said, the only way Ron would sell #1 is if I bought both airplanes. I brought them to Memphis. Bryan Davies and I looked this airplane over in great detail and it is really well built. Someone is going to get a great start on a Prowler Jaguar with this airplane!

Rick Pellicciotti

Unknown said...

I posted a lot of detail pictures of #13 to the Prowler Jaguar photo gallery. You can see the excellent workmanship in these photos and the high degree of completion.

http://www.rocket-boys.com/images/prowler/gallery/main.php?g2_itemId=3130