REPUBLIC P-47D THUNDERBOLT
"Republic's Cavalry"
  

Wingspan - 6 feet 9 inches
Length - 6 feet
Engine - Zenoah 38cc, 3W-40cc, Zenoah 45cc
Radio - Futaba FF7

The P-47 was scratch built over the Winter of 1993 into the Spring of 1994. It was designed and built with the purpose of being an all weather model for airshow flying. Many of the shows had less than ideal weather conditions and frequently cross winds. The P-47 was a nice stable, rugged design. 1/6 scale was chosen as it gave a model that was large enough for airshow flying, without being too big to transport, and keeping the engine and retract costs to a sensible level. This also made bombers at the same scale practical.

The fuselage is of built up construction, with balsa skinned wings and tailplane, all glass skinned. The drop tank is a 2 litre bottle for the retracts air supply. The wing pylons were functional to carry two 500 pound bombs. It was a great flyer on a well run in Zenoah 38cc engine turning a 22x8 prop at 6500rpm on the ground, giving an almost scale sized propeller arc.

Probably the best photo I have of the P-47, the Elvington '94 press day. In the garden upon completion in May 1994.
A photo shoot at Tunstall prior to the first flight with a scale Hamilton prop added. 
The first flight took place on VE Day, May 8th 1994. It is seen here with the UC-64 Norseman, built as a large trainer for my dad. Longhorsley 1994. My 1/10 scale B-17 can be seen in the background of the picture.
Cosford '95, joined by another P-47 from my plan, built by John Deacon. Also seen is the Norseman and the P-51D of Andrew Crosby. My P-47D and Andrew's P-51D beside the Fighter Collection's
P-47 "No Guts No Glory".
The two 78th FG aircraft at Duxford, home to the 78th FG in WW2. Pete Simpson waiting to crew for the P-47 at Duxford '94. 
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