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P-47N Performance Test


With the exceptions of climbs with external drag items installed, the test airplane compares reasonably well with the technical order. At high power settings considerable maintenance was involved because of oil leaks, cracked vacuum pump housings, exhaust collector rings burning out and oil leaks. At war emergency power these malfunctions become excessive and operation was restricted at this power. In military power climbs high oil and cylinder head temperature above 30,000 ft. were experienced and made it necessary to reduce power after ten minutes of operation to cool the engine. III Condition of Aircraft Relative to the Tests

A. The P-47N airplane, AAF No. 44-88406, had a bare metal finish. Wing racks were installed, and it was loaded to 1640 lbs at 30.7& MAC which includes 267 rounds of ammunition per gun, (eight guns with full fuel, oil and water). The airplane was also flown with two 165 gallon wing tanks at a take-off weight of 19,250 pounds at 30.6% MAC, the third configuration tested was with two 165 gallon wing tanks and one 110 gallon belly tank at a take-off gross weight of 19,880 pounds and 30.0% MAC. Details of these three drag configurations may be seen in the photographs included in Appendix III to this report. B. The power plant is a Pratt and Whitney R-2800-57 air cooled engine. In addition to the internal blower, a General Electric type GH-5 turbo-supercharger is installed. Automatic controls are provided for supercharger, carburetor-air, cylinder head and oil temperatures. An injection type carburetor type PR-58E2 is installed. C. Test Equipment.

Cockpit instruments calibrated for the test included altimeter airspeed indicator, engine tachometer, manifold pressure gage, torque meter, exhaust back pressure gage, free air temperature, carburetor air temperature, fuel flow indicator, oil temperature and cylinder head temperature. In addition to the cockpit instruments a photo panel was installed which included a clock, altimeter, torque meter, carburetor air temperature, carburetor deck pressure, fuel flow meter, turbo-tachometer and exhaust back pressure gage. IV Flight Characteristics A. Taxiing and Ground Handling.

Forward visibility is poor although no worse than D models and S turns are necessary when taxiing. The tail wheel is not steerable so that turns are made by the use of brakes. No difficulties were encountered in taxiing and ground handling in cross winds up to ten miles per hour. B. Take-off and Initial Climb.

After lining up on the runway prior to take-off the tail wheel may be locked in the forward position. This helps to keep the airplane going straight until enough speed is obtained for the rudder to become effective. With about 5 right rudder trim the torque effect is unnoticeable . A slightly longer take-off run is necessary for this airplane than is needed for the average fighter type and with a full load of fuel including two wing tanks of 165 gallon capacity each and one bely tank of 110 gallon capacity practically the entire length of a 6000 ft. runway is needed fro take-off with 54 manifold pressure. Depending on the load, the airplane will take-off between 115 and 120 mph IAS with no undesirable take-off characteristics. If more than 54.5 Hg manifold pressure is desired on take-off, the water injection switch should be placed in the manual position (above 30 Hg) at the beginning of the run to prevent a slight loss of power when the water automatically cuts in. Ordinarily no flaps are used for take-off but under adverse conditions such as muddy of short runway, 20 to 30 degrees of flaps will shorten the take-off run. The initial climb is poor and below 150 mph the airplane feels sluggish so that it should be allowed to accelerate to at least 150 mpg before a climb is attempted. C. Handling and Control. The handling and control characteristics of the P-47N were similar to earlier models of the P-47.

There were o control force reversal tendencies noticed over an IAS range of 150 to 400 mph. Below 150 mph IAS and with high power, uncoordinated use of aileron and rudder will cause the rudder forces to decrease and in extreme cases will become negative. Recovery is accomplished by coordinating the controls, reducing the power and increasing the speed by nosing down. D. Stability.

Qualitative stability tests were not made but there appeared to be no undesirable static or dynamic stability characteristics. With full external wing tanks the directional stability seemed decreased. With full auxiliary tank the longitudinal stability appeared to be neutral especially in the climbing attitude, becoming normal again when auxiliary fuel is used up. E. Trim.

Flight Adjustable trim tabs are provided for all three controls and there is sufficient trim for all normal flying. Above 54 Hg manifold pressure, right rudder trim is insufficient for speeds below 150 mph IAS but the forces are not great and may be maintained by the pilot. As in earlier model P-47s, large changes in trim are necessary for changes in airspeed. F. Maneuverability and Aerobatics.

Maneuverability and aerobatic characteristics are similar to earlier P-47s in the clean configuration. With wing tip tanks filled the rate of roll and radius of turn of the P-47N is poor. No aerobatics were performed at the high gross weights (wing and belly tanks), but the rate of roll was slow for this condition. G. Stalling Characteristics.

There was no bad stalling characteristics noticed on the P-47N. All stalls were preceded by slight buffeting 6 or 7 mph above the stalling speed and as speed decreased the buffeting increased until the stall which usually resulted in dropping the left wing. There was no tendency to spin after a stall and the airplane would recover by itself after airspeed was regained. H. Longitudinal stability of the P-47N decreases with an increase in altitude and becomes objectional at high altitudes. I. Noise and Vibration.

The noise level of the P-47N was low for a fighter type of airplane and was not objectionable. Slight vibration was noticed at 2250 rpm but at rpms above or below 2250 rpm the vibration was negligible. J. Approach, Landing and Wave-off.

Approach is made with 50% rated power, full flaps, 0 rudder and aileron trim and approximately 5 nose up elevator trim. Recommended IAS for approach is 140 mph with a minimum of 120 mph. There is no ground looping tendencies due to the locked tail wheel. Going around is not dangerous but flaps should not be raised below 400 ft. and then gradually. K. Vision.

Visibility in taxiing, take-off and climb is poor but no worse than earlier P-47s. Landing visibility is good with the exception of power landings. No distortion was noticed in the windshield, canopy or bullet-proof glass. L. Cockpit Layout.

Access to the cockpit is made from the left side where suitable steps and handles are provided. Controls should be unlocked before entering cockpit because the control lock is a strap latch arrangement which extends across the bottom of the seat and would be difficult to unlock after the pilot is seated. Some difficulty is experienced in unlocking controls before entering cockpit. With few exceptions, the cockpit is similar to earlier P-47s. Pilots of D series Thunderbolts will feel at home in the N model. In general, all the controls and instruments are well laid out for a fighter type aircraft. Some of the differences noted from earlier model P-47s are:

The main switch panel is located on the left side of the cockpit, just above the flaps and landing gear levers. An internal wing fuel and oil quantity gages are provided, the auto-pilot controls and instruments are added to the front panel and the manual primer had been replaced by an electric switch. The P-47N is better than average for comfort since the cockpit is large and does not cranp the pilot. Heating appeared normal although no long range flights at high altitude were made. Ventilation is provided by two cold air inlets, one on each side of the cockpit just below the arms. However, at low altitudes on warm days the cockpit is too hot and air conditioning would be required to provide cool air under these conditions. For long range flight and auto-pilot is provided and for leg comfort the rudder pedals may be folded aft enabling the pilot to place his feet through the spaces thereby provided. M. General Functioning.

Due to the high power consistently used during the tests, considerable maintenance trouble was experienced with this specific airplane. Some of the more common malfunctions were: Oil leaks, exhaust collector rings burning off, tachometer generator leads breaking off and in one instance the valve push rods broke off. With the exception of one burned out generator no trouble was encountered with the electrical and hydraulic system. The emergency system for the extension of gear and flaps is satisfactory. No emergency system is provided for the brakes, For bailing out, the canopy may be jettisoned. V Performance Data

A. All performance data has been corrected to NACA standard atmospheric conditions. Observed flight test data for all tests are tabulated in Appendix II of this report. Performance curves corrected to standard conditions are grouped in Appendix I of this report. B. Airspeed Calibration.

Airspeed calibrations were obtained by flying with a P-51 pacer airplane and were run for each of the three drag configurations tested. The resulting curves are plotted in Figure I of this report. Although there was a slight difference in calibration for the airplane with the auxiliary tanks installed it was less than 1 mph and the position error correction of the P-47N airplane is given in the following table.

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