I am dedicated to providing professional aerobatic instruction, and to promoting safe air show and competition flying. |
©2003 All rights reserved.
Keoki Gray, 2807 Ocean Mist Drive, Amelia Island, FL 32034 |
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The LOOTM (pronounced LOOT-em or LOOT-um) is the Lust Object Of The Month. It is simply our current aircraft infatuation. Since it's an "Object," it has to be inanimate (though one could argue that aircraft come alive for us), and has to be special in some way. It is only our opinion, and is completely subjective, so any argument, while perhaps amusing, will not really sway the decision. Thanks, and enjoy.
What does one do when, from the long list of LOOTM possibilities, nothing speaks out at all? Go BIG! Republic Aviation had a designer who was tasked with developing a replacement for the Seversky P-35. Kartveli* came up with the P-43 Lancer that begot the P-47 Thunderbolt. It is the P-47 that finally spoke up as a LOOTM. The P-47 was a big fighter in its day, and remains one of the larger single-engine piston fighters ever fielded by a military air power. With 2000+ HP (some later models could produce 2800 HP!) from the outstanding Pratt & Whitney R-2800, eight .50 caliber machine guns, and an unnatural ability to absorb punishment and damage, the Thunderbolt became an iconic aircraft, helped by the fact that some many countries operated them. The May LOOTM The Republic P-47 Thunderbolt--speaking to you. Enjoy! |  | | The heart of a fighter! This view shows the engine and the turbocharger ducting. More from the Wiki entry here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_P-47_Thunderbolt |  | A nice formation shot of bubble-canopy P-47s. More info here, including some fantastic diagrams of the internals, and a great bit about one pilot's intro to the "Jug": http://www.aviation-history.com/republic/p47.html |  | Well, yesterday's "big" becomes today's "meh, that's not so big." One of the more colorful P-47s flying today, leading an F-15E, proving big is all relative. More great P-47 images here: P47 IMAGES * BTW, Both Seversky and Kartveli were named "Alexander." and the both were born in Tbilisi, Georgia (the European Georgia). |
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