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 was the winning aircraft of the 1938 and 1939 Thompson Trophy races.^[1]

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 is a conventional geared mid-wing monoplane with a radial engine built in California. It was modified in 1936 by Mattie Laird at the E. M. Laird Airplane Company in Chicago with three-foot longer wings, wing flaps, a longer fuselage and a 50 U.S. gallons (190 L; 42 imp gal) fuel tank.^[4] In 1938 wheel pants were added for the Oakland races.

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)
• 1938 Oakland Air Race - Second place^[8]

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]

• In 2003, Tom Wathen built a replica of the LTR-14, demonstrating it at the 2003 EAA Airventure airshow.^[13]

Data from Smithsonian

General characteristics

• Capacity: one
• Airfoil: symmetrical
• Fuel capacity: 50 U.S. gallons (190 L; 42 imp gal)
• Powerplant: 1 × Pratt & Whitney Twin Wasp , 1,000 hp (750 kW)
• Propellers: 3-bladed

Performance

• Maximum speed: 300 kn (350 mph, 560 km/h)

Related lists

• List of racing aircraft