Townsend Thunderbird

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

Design

The Thunderbird is powered by a 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 Aircraft [fabric covering|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|Wright R-975] radial engine.