Photo: AirCorps
When a classic vehicle on two or four wheels is fully restored and given all the new-age bells and whistles, we call it a restomod. But when AirCorps Aviation of Bemidji, Minnesota, unveiled a fully-restored Republic P-47D Thunderbolt at the EAA AirVenture Oshkosh in Wisconsin, they were showing off a restomod with wings. To think the restored plane sat in a jungle for decades only adds to the astonishment of their achievement.
As one of the most skilled teams of aeronautical craftsmen anywhere in the country, AirCorps Aviation spends most of its time restoring vintage warbirds under contract for high-paying aviation enthusiasts and custom fabricating new parts for said projects and for individual sale. The company is most notorious for a number of high-profile P-51 Mustang restorations, including a P-51C flown in combat by the former NASA Apollo engineer and staff member at the National Air and Space Museum Donald Lopez, named Lope's Hope. But mixed in with all those gorgeous Mustangs, AirCorps' comparatively chunky P-47 still managed to look graceful as it dazzled spectators over the skies of Oshkosh.
As first reported by General Aviation News, AirCorps was able to fully restore this P-47 airframe that was left abandoned near an airfield in New Guinea after the end of the Second World War. Using cutting-edge AutoCAD software renderings forged from two-dimensional drawings to create new parts where none exist, AirCorps painstakingly revived a plane its pilot, Brigadier General William "Bill" Dunnham, flew with distinction eight decades ago. During his service with the 460th Fighter Squadron, 348th Fighter Group, Dunham received the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Legion of Merit, as well as the Distinguished Service Cross. Today, the finely-polished aluminum of the airplane he flew shines just the same as his medals.
Just as Dunham lovingly named his airplane Bonnie, AirCorps kept this name as the plane dazzled spectators over Oshkosh in Wisconsin. Over 40 thousand individual parts were painstakingly removed, restored, and reinstalled down to every last rivet to get the airframe in the remarkable shape it is today. Everything from Bonnie's striking aluminum skin to the As of August 2023, Bonnie is the only airworthy razorback edition P-47, i.e., with a distinguishing raised fairing behind the cockpit, manufactured by Republic themselves rather than some other sub-contractor as was common during the war.
With AirCorps' pilot Bernie Vasquez at the stick, Bonnie managed to put on a memorable show for the Oshkosh crowd. With a single Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp radial engine as a soundtrack, this was a flight demonstration that didn't need Highway to the Danger Zone playing in the background to sound very special indeed. If that's now the sound of freedom, we don't know what is.
As first reported by General Aviation News, AirCorps was able to fully restore this P-47 airframe that was left abandoned near an airfield in New Guinea after the end of the Second World War. Using cutting-edge AutoCAD software renderings forged from two-dimensional drawings to create new parts where none exist, AirCorps painstakingly revived a plane its pilot, Brigadier General William "Bill" Dunnham, flew with distinction eight decades ago. During his service with the 460th Fighter Squadron, 348th Fighter Group, Dunham received the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Legion of Merit, as well as the Distinguished Service Cross. Today, the finely-polished aluminum of the airplane he flew shines just the same as his medals.
Just as Dunham lovingly named his airplane Bonnie, AirCorps kept this name as the plane dazzled spectators over Oshkosh in Wisconsin. Over 40 thousand individual parts were painstakingly removed, restored, and reinstalled down to every last rivet to get the airframe in the remarkable shape it is today. Everything from Bonnie's striking aluminum skin to the As of August 2023, Bonnie is the only airworthy razorback edition P-47, i.e., with a distinguishing raised fairing behind the cockpit, manufactured by Republic themselves rather than some other sub-contractor as was common during the war.
With AirCorps' pilot Bernie Vasquez at the stick, Bonnie managed to put on a memorable show for the Oshkosh crowd. With a single Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp radial engine as a soundtrack, this was a flight demonstration that didn't need Highway to the Danger Zone playing in the background to sound very special indeed. If that's now the sound of freedom, we don't know what is.
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