Reshared post from Sakura Samurai:

Original Post from Sakura Samurai:

                                                      TWINS

If you look closely, you can determine which of these was the last American piston-engine fighter ordered into production by the USAAF. It was to be used as a very long-range (VLR) escort fighter. The F-82 made the longest nonstop flight ever made by a propeller-driven fighter in a flight from Hawaii to New York without refueling. A distance of 5,051 mi (8,129 km) in 14 hours and 32 min at average speed of 347.5 mph (559.2 km/hr). The non-fighter is Grady Thrasher’s Twin Ercoupe built in 1946 to be flown in the “Thrasher Brothers Aerial Circus.” It could loop and spin and was handy on family trips. Father and son in one cockpit, mother and daughter in the other. 

F-82 photo from Wikipedia. Ercoupe photo from ercoupe.com.

#Planes #Flying #Ercoupe #Aviation #Airplanes