Townsend Thunderbird

Townsend Thunderbird
General information
Type	Homebuilt aircraft
National origin	United States of America
Designer	Gid Townsend
Number built	1
History
First flight	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 Wright R-975 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: 50 gal
• Powerplant: 1 × Wright R-975 radial, 450 hp (340 kW)

Performance

• Maximum speed: 210 kn (240 mph, 390 km/h)
• Cruise speed: 132 kn (152 mph, 245 km/h)
• Stall speed: 65 kn (75 mph, 121 km/h)
• Rate of climb: 1,500 ft/min (7.6 m/s)

References

1. Experimenter. July 1957.{{cite journal}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
2. "Townsend sidebar" . Retrieved 7 April 2011.
3. "AL HESSELGRAVE'S THUNDERBIRD A-1". Sport Aviation. September 1980.