John Thorp

For other people named John Thorpe, see John Thorpe (disambiguation).
John Willard Thorp
Born 20 June 1912
Died 18 April 1992
Known for Aerospace Engineer

John Willard Thorp (June 20, 1912 April 18, 1992) was an American aeronautical engineer who made significant contributions to aircraft design throughout his life.[1]

Born in French Camp, California, John Thorp grew up from age four in the historic Locke family home in Lockeford, California. He was educated in the Lockeford and Lodi public schools, and the Boeing School of Aeronautics in Oakland, California. Thorp worked on the Boeing 247 final assembly line and then returned to teach at the Boeing School. Starting flying in 1929, he received his private license in 1930 and by 1935 had flown 30 different types of aircraft in over 200 flying hours. By 1946 he had over 600 flight hours in 62 different aircraft types. Thorp started designing personal aircraft at the Boeing School. As Lockheed Assistant Preliminary Design Engineer, he was responsible for the preliminary design of the P2V "Neptune", Naval patrol bomber. In 1946 the famous P2V "Truculent Turtle" set the unrefueled distance record of 11,236 statute miles (18,083 km). This record stood for more than ten years, until finally broken in 1962 by a Boeing B-52H Stratofortress from Minot AFB, ND.[2]

Aircraft designs

The following light aircraft were designed by John Thorp during his career:

1930s

1940s

1950s

Thorp T-211 Sky Skooter on display at the IndUS Aviation booth at Sun 'n Fun 2006

1960s

1970s

References

  1. "John W. Thorp Designer And Builder". Sport Aviation. March 1972.
  2. http://records.fai.org/pilot.asp?from=c&id=4596