The Laird-Turner RT-14 Meteor, also called the Turner TR-14, Ring Free Meteor, PESCO Special, Miss Champion, Turner Special and the Turner Meteor is the winning aircraft of the 1938 and 1939 Thompson Trophy races.[1]
Design and development
The aircraft was commissioned and designed by Roscoe Turner in 1936.[2] The Meteor would be the last of the Matty Laird race planes as well as the last race plane flown by Roscoe Turner.[3]
The aircraft was known by many names. Initially the RT-14 for "Roscoe-Turner 14 cylinder".[5] The air commerce bureau labeled it the Model No. LTR-14, Serial No. 11, Type 1 POLM.[6] The first sponsor was the Ring-Free Oil company, naming the aircraft the Ring-Free Meteor.[7] The 1938 sponsor, Pump Engineering Service Corp renamed the aircraft "The PESCO SPECIAL". In 1939, the Champion Spark Plug Co borrowed the name from its 1931 Pitcairn PCA-2 autogyro, giving the aircraft the name "Miss Champion".
1937 National Air Races - Turner placed third after missing a pylon in the sun at 253.802 mph (408 km/h). A fire from a leaking fuel tank prevented Turner from racing in the Bendix Trophy race and required the fabric to be recovered before competing.
1938 National Air Races - Turner won the Thompson Trophy Race at 283.416 mph (456 km/h)
The original aircraft was put into storage at Weir Cook Airport for 29 years until it was restored, then donated to the Crawford Auto-Aviation Museum.[9] In December 1972 the plane along with many of Roscoe Turner's trophies were transferred to the Smithsonian.[10] The aircraft retired with less than 30 hours flying time.[11]
The Cook Islands minted a $2 Coin in 2008 featuring the Laird-Turner Meteor LTR-14 as part of its 1930s Air Racing Collection[12]
Variants
In 2003, Tom Wathen built a replica of the LTR-14, demonstrating it at the 2003 EAA Airventure airshow.[13]
