Last June, we published an article about the Planes of Fame Air Museum of Chino, California, beginning an extensive overhaul of their Curtiss-built P-47G Thunderbolt, US Army Air Force serial number 42-25254 (which you can read HERE). Now, the museum has made a major milestone in this project by reinstalling the Thunderbolt’s freshly overhauled Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp engine.
As mentioned in the prior article, the Planes of Fame’s Thunderbolt, built under license from Republic by Curtiss-Wright in Buffalo, NY, was acquired by Planes of Fame’s founder, Ed Maloney, in 1952 and has been flown and maintained in airworthy condition by the museum since 1963. During this most recent overhaul, the aircraft had its landing gear completely refurbished, and its R-2800 engine was sent to Anderson Aeromotive of Grangeville, Idaho for a complete overhaul. Nine months have passed, and the engine has at last been completed and has since been reinstalled on the aircraft.
The cowling has also been repainted from the red brand it had worn in its last flight demonstrations to the white band associated with its time portraying P-47D 42-8487, the aircraft flown in WWII by 56th Fighter Group ace and later Planes of Fame pilot Walker “Bud” Mahurin. The Planes of Fame has not announced any definitive date for when the aircraft will return to the skies, but it is a priority for the museum to have the Thunderbolt flying again as soon as possible. Many at Planes of Fame are just as eager to have the aircraft back in the air again as the rest of the warbird community, and we look forward to reporting on the POF Thunderbolt’s return to the skies. For more information, visit the Planes of Fame’s website HERE.
