The Pope Thunderbird is an American homebuilt biplane designed by Leon Pope.
Design and development
The Pope Thunderbird P-2 is a single engine, conventional landing gear-equipped, open cockpit biplane. The aircraft was designed by Leon Pope of Plymouth, Michigan and made its maiden flight on June 18, 1959.
Data from Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1961–62
General characteristics
Crew: 1Length: 15 ft 0 in (4.57 m)Wingspan: 18 ft 3 in (5.56 m)Height: 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)Wing area: 120 sq ft (11 m2)Aspect ratio: 5.7:1Airfoil: S-1AEmpty weight: 800 lb (363 kg)Gross weight: 1,080 lb (490 kg)Powerplant: 1 × Lycoming O-235-C four-cylinder horizontally opposed piston aircraft engine, 100 hp (75 kW)Performance
Maximum speed: 135 mph (217 km/h; 117 kn)Cruise speed: 115 mph (185 km/h; 100 kn)Stall speed: 55 mph (89 km/h; 48 kn)Rate of climb: 1,000 ft/min (5.1 m/s)