Townsend Thunderbird

Townsend Thunderbird
Role	Homebuilt aircraft
National origin	United States of America
Designer	Gid Townsend
First flight	1956
Number built	1
Unit cost	$1800 in 1956
Developed from	BT-13

The Townsend Thunderbird is a homebuilt design created by the experienced cropduster Gid Townsend and built in 1956 with assistance of Curtis Pitts.^[1]

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.^[2]

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.^[3]

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

1. experimenter. July 1957. Missing or empty |title= (help)
2. "Townsend sidebar". Retrieved 7 April 2011.
3. "AL HESSELGRAVE'S THUNDERBIRD A-1". sport aviation. September 1980.

External links