History of the 1/2 scale P-47

Dedication and Hard Work

Left click any photo to enlarge

This man-rated flying machine is one of only a handfull in the world and is about 40 years old.  The story is it was almost trashed two times before it was given to EAA Chapter 48 at Moraine Airpark. 

A core group worked on the aircraft for a couple of years.  No one else in the chapter had any interest so, with the approval of EAA headquarters at Oshkosh, the chapter president assigned ownership of this craft to the group that built her.  This core group became Ohio 48 Sq.

Gabe Vacca, a WWII P-47 pilot, started this project and passed away before it's completion.  The parts sat in a barn since the 70's.  Gabe, as requested, is buried in France.

This was a "build from plans" and the plans were changed "on the fly" by the OHIO 48 SQ so this aircraft would be more suitable for display.  The Fiberglas skin was replaced with aluminum and the wings were clipped so the aircraft would more readily fit inside buildings.  The wings are removable to facilitate ease of movement.

The prop turns via a Cessna flap motor and there's a speaker system installed that would blow your socks off.  There are sounds of engine start, idle and shutdown, machine guns blaring, and Glenn Miller music of the 40's. We are considering adding smoke from the guns for effect. 

This craft was displayed in the Moraine City Building for three months. City officials say they want it back.  The last two pictures at the lower right show the aircraft inside the city building.  One of those large windows has to be removed to get the P-47 in and out of the structure.

The aircraft has been displayed at the Dayton International Air Show and many other events in the Dayton, Ohio area.  It's a big hit no matter where it is and that became a problem. 

Every kid on the block wanted to climb all over it and most parents allowed it.  Could you blame them?  I bet the parents wanted to climb all over it too. 

As a matter of fact, one of our members had to stop an 80 year old man from climbing into the cockpit!  The cockpit isn't finished and he would have sat on a battery.