[Stock] Double Scale P-47 Thunderbolt

[Servo]

Republic P-47D Thunderbolt

Powerful, Rugged, and Reliable

The P-47 was an iconic workhouse fighter aircraft created by Republic Aviation, and first flew in mid 1941. It was first delivered in late 1942, to units serving with the Eighth Air Force in England. It was initially conceived as a high-altitude escort fighter (a role which it excelled at), but thanks to its powerful Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp engine it also excelled in the fighter-bomber role, as well as the ground-attack roles. It could carry larger loads than contemporary fighters, and faster than contemporary bombers.

The reason for the P-47's success lies with the combination of the powerful engine with an exhaust-driven turbo supercharger, allowing it to keep pace with supercharged bombers for escort duties and outpace much smaller fighters at high altitudes. All of this contributed to a high performance, but the Jug's selling point was its high survivability. The P-47 was built to keep its pilot safe and get home safely. It featured armor plating (in addition to the supercharger itself) to protect the pilot from rearward shots, and the engine was highly robust and absorbed fire from the front. Additionally, the wings and control surfaces were reinforced against damage, the fuel tanks were self-sealing, and the razorback P-47s (A and B models) featured roll cages, and later-model P-47s had a skid underneath for belly landings.

All this is to say that the P-47 could get you to the fight in time, and get you back home safe.

 

If you want to fly the P-47 for yourself, enjoy this 2:1 scale replica of Republic's Jug. The video above goes over launch procedures and flight techniques, which are repeated below for thoroughness.

Takeoff Procedures

1. Lower flaps with 0. Action group 9 toggles the outer flaps separately.
2. Stage the engine, trim it up using alt+q
3. keep the fuselage level, with the tail wheel just off the ground
4. to take off, use 0 to retract the flaps
5. gain about 10m altitude, then tab back to the engine. Use action groups 1 and 2 to put the propellor in cruise trim
6. accelerate up, and start flying for real.

To land, do the same in reverse, with the additional step of using alt+x to cancel the propellor thrust and wheelbrakes to stop.

The guns are operated using the staging sequence

 

About the Replica

I was initially inspired by my first replica the P-47, which left me a bit disappointed in the small amount of detail I could pack in a normally-sized craft, so I wanted to go big. Additionally, this craft was inspired by @kapteenipirk's UCS style planes, built at a large scale, but highly detailed and functional. Additionally, I will credit @Kronus_Aerospace for building the engine used in the first iteration of the craft (it was later rebuilt with my own design, however I would have never taken on this challenge without it).

This was a fun build to make, and it put me outside my comfort zone a couple times. In my usual style, it is highly detailed, but this P-47 also features many of the mechanisms that the real P-47 had (to toggle the cowl flaps, use action group 3). I also am pushing my boundaries a bit with the video, so I'd like feedback on it as well. 

Download Link:

https://kerbalx.com/servo/P-47-Thunderbolt_2

Enjoy, and happy flying!

[Flying dutchman]

Love it! Can't imagine what a pain it must have been to get the shape Just right..