We don't need no steenkeeng one-man rig

On Wednesday, March 20, 2013 10:04:44 AM UTC-6, Dan Marotta wrote:
What??? The 1,800 lb wing?



I used to be the only one who *didn't* disappear when Dave R. got his LAK-12

fuselage out of the trailer... So I moved!



"Tom K (ES)" wrote in message

...

Reminds me of my Lak-12...

That P-47 wing had a self-sealing fuel tank, 4, .50 cal gun mounts with ammunition trays and numerous hard points for bombs and rockets. It also had a main gear leg to support all that weight. The fuselage had pilot armor and heavy vacuum tube avionics. "Civilianized" WWII fighters often weighed a ton less than the GI versions after they were stripped of the mil-stuff.

I was surprised to see so few men lifting the propeller. Those had steel blades with silver solder contouring the airfoil. They were seriously heavy.

On Wed, 20 Mar 2013 12:44:01 -0700 (PDT), Bill D
wrote:

[snip]

That P-47 wing had a self-sealing fuel tank, 4, .50 cal gun mounts with ammunition trays and numerous hard points for bombs and rockets. It also had a main gear leg to support all that weight. The fuselage had pilot armor and heavy vacuum tube avionics. "Civilianized" WWII fighters often weighed a ton less than the GI versions after they were stripped of the mil-stuff.


About 10,000 lb empty, 17,000+ MGTOW. Actually the guns, which
accounted for about 350 lb per wing, wouldn't have been installed
until after assembly.

I was surprised to see so few men lifting the propeller. Those had steel blades with silver solder contouring the airfoil. They were seriously heavy.

About 400 lb, IIRC.

On Wednesday, March 20, 2013 2:42:18 PM UTC-6, Ralph Jones wrote:
Actually the guns, which

accounted for about 350 lb per wing, wouldn't have been installed

until after assembly.

Yep. I tried to say just the mounting hardware not the guns themselves but I wasn't clear. The gun mounting hardware is heavy.
I found a reference saying each P-47 blade weighed 110 Lbs so maybe 500 lbs including the hub. That's still a lot for those guys to be lifting as high as they did. Greatest generation indeed.

On Wednesday, March 20, 2013 8:44:01 PM UTC+1, Bill D wrote:

That P-47 wing had a self-sealing fuel tank, 4, .50 cal gun mounts with ammunition trays and numerous hard points for bombs and rockets. It also had a main gear leg to support all that weight. The fuselage had pilot armor and heavy vacuum tube avionics. "Civilianized" WWII fighters often weighed a ton less than the GI versions after they were stripped of the mil-stuff..

Minor detail - P-47s didn't get internal wing tanks until the late-war P-47N model. If this is a C, it wouldn't even have wing bomb/drop tank racks.

Still a big hunk of metal!

Kirk
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