Tough planes were designed to take a beating

The FHC is fielding some of its biggest bruisers for Paine Field Aviation Day this Saturday, May 16. Flying in the Pacific Theater was the F6F Hellcat. Flyers joked that Grumman made the plane from discarded steel girders from New York’s recently-dismantled Second Avenue elevated railway. In Western Europe, the P-47 Thunderbolt roamed the skies, looking for trouble. There are accounts of a P-47 striking a church steeple and coming home. Another plane even flew into a German truck it was strafing and still made it back to base. Finally, on the Eastern Front, the Soviet Il-2 Shturmovik attack plane flew thousands of missions. Unlike most aircraft, the whole front of the Il-2 is made from armor plate instead of aluminum. The hardened shell protected the pilot, engine, and gas tank as the aircraft worked close to the ground, blasting tanks, troops, and supply trains. You can see this entire “tough trio” at Paine Field this Saturday. The FHC planes fly at noon!