P-47 Thunderbolt

P-47 Speed 400

I built the prototype P-47 in the fall of 2000. It took a frantic 18-day death march to have it ready for the NEAT Fair, but it was well worth the effort. The Jug is a beautiful flyer with absolutely no bad habits. Plans and construction notes for the P-47 Thunderbolt are available for $15 including shipping, and vacuum-formed canopies for either the Razorback or Bubbletop versions are available for $10. You can order by mail or click here for fast, convenient on-line ordering. This design appeared in the July 2001 issue of Model Aviation.

The P-47 Speed 400 was featured as a construction project in the July, 2001 issue of Model Aviation magazine. It's designed for a 6V Speed 400 motor on 7 or 8 cells, but it can also be powered by a small brushless motor for even more impressive performance.

The model is of all built-up construction, and the semi-monocoque fuselage is built over a disposable internal crutch to help insure a straight assembly. The plans show both the Razorback and Bubbletop versions, so you can complete your Jug as either variant with absolutely no modifications required.

The prototype shown here is modeled after famed 56th Fighter Group CO Col. "Hub" Zemke's UN-Z, a P-47D-15RE which was his personal aircraft from January to March of 1944. The airframe was covered with .56 ounce glass cloth and finishing epoxy and painted with Testors Model Master paints. All markings were painted with an airbrush using artist's frisket masks.

The powerplant is a stock 6V Speed 400 motor on 8 X NiMH cells. On the prototype, I added rudder control, but the model flies just fine on 3-channel (throttle, aileron and elevator) control.

My latest Jug is a P-47D-25RE Bubbletop from the 325th Fighter Group, known as "The Checkertail Clan". This model too is glassed and painted with Model Master paints. The distinctive tail markings were painted before final assembly, using masks cut from frisket film.

Brushed Power: 6V Speed 400 motor, Graupner #1328 prop adapter, Graupner 6 X 4 prop, 20 amp BEC speed controller, 8-cell NiMH battery or 2200-2S Lipo pack, micro radio gear.

These nice in-flight shots were taken by my friend Ron Daniels at the 2000 Donnelsville Electric Non-Event. You can visit Ron's site here.