Samiksha Jaiswal (Editor)

Townsend Thunderbird

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First flight
  
1956

The Townsend Thunderbird is a homebuilt design created by the experienced cropduster Gid Townsend and built in 1956 with assistance of Curtis Pitts.

Contents

Design

The Thunderbird is powered by a 245 hp (183 kW) Jacobs radial engine with a constant speed propeller. The horizontal stabilizer and aluminum wings are the outer panels of a Vultee BT-13 trainer. The engine cowl is from a Cessna UC-78. The fuselage is welded tubing with fabric covering. The landing gear is from a Cessna 180.

Operational history

By 1974 the prototype was unflyable. The aircraft was later metalized, the turtledeck was removed, and it was converted to use a Pratt & Whitney R-985 Wasp Junior radial engine.

Specifications (Townsend Thunderbird)

Data from Experimenter

General characteristics

  • Capacity: 2
  • Length: 21 ft 2 in (6.45 m)
  • Wingspan: 27 ft 5 in (8.36 m)
  • Height: 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
  • Wing area: 120 sq ft (11 m2)
  • Empty weight: 1,800 lb (816 kg)
  • Fuel capacity: 35 gal (133 litres)
  • Powerplant: 1 × Jacobs R-755-9 radial, 245 hp (183 kW)

    • Performance

  • Maximum speed: 174 kn; 322 km/h (200 mph)
  • Cruise speed: 132 kn; 245 km/h (152 mph)
  • Stall speed: 65 kn; 121 km/h (75 mph)
  • Rate of climb: 1,500 ft/min (7.6 m/s)

    • References

    Townsend Thunderbird Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA