New Spitfire squadron being built | Forums

[Low_Flyer_MkIX]

"I want to create a huge community which revolves around a shared love of aircraft."

Fiddling while Rome burns or a great way to commemorate a British icon? Should be done by Christmas. Tally ho!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england...shire-16286762

[Airmail109]

90 percent scale = gay walts

Unless it actually looks, flies and sounds like the real thing buy a bloody Russian military trainer and be done with it.

[Low_Flyer_MkIX]

I confess "This is going to suck." is a phrase never far from my lips when I delve into this. Surely it's not beyond the wit of man to do the bloody things in the right size?

[thefruitbat]

I'm scratching my head as to why 90%.

If your going to all that massive effort already, which it is to build at 90%, just build them at 100%, and have a proper spitfire.

[Cajun76]

I confess "This is going to suck." is a phrase never far from my lips when I delve into this. Surely it's not beyond the wit of man to do the bloody things in the right size?

"Right size"? It doesn't need to have a big engine to intercept Heinkels, Dorniers and their escorts with a combat load. Engine and load help determine size... Imagine trying to do something like this with a P-47. *drool* I wouldn't expect them to make it full size, needing a 2000hp engine and putting the costs out of reach of even more people. If someone can afford a full size, great, but this project is about making them *more* accessible, not less. I wish them the best of success.

[Messaschnitzel]

I agree that if one is to manufacture a Spitfire replica, it should always be at 100% scale of the original. One should never attempt to recreate such a magnificent machine with a stunted 90% excuse in honor of the original. In other words, never try to pass off cheap 90% fat content ground meat in lieu of a genuine 100% Filet Mignon. A true gourmet WW2 aircraft afficionado will not be fooled and can see and taste the difference.


I think the most likely reason for the 90% scale is because of cost and time restraints. Seriously, these folks are planning to build twelve Spitfire replicas by December 2012? Unless they have already secured reliable funding in order to purchase materials, I say lotsa luck, because they'll be having to deal with a lot of headaches and setbacks trying to build these birds by the stated deadline. On top of that, they're going to need to recruit a lot more volunteers like they stated in the article. The trouble with volunteers is that they are exactly that. IOW, they're not getting paid to be dedicated, so Paul Fowler better get used to having his planned schedule get SNAFUed on occasion by folks not showing up for the planned crew roster. As for the cost of a full scale replica versus a 90% scale one is the question of the availability for a suitable powerplant for these planes. If they built a full scale plane, I would think that they'd naturally install A RR Merlin as the originals were. If they built ithe replica correctly, I'd think that the Merlin would slip right in without a hitch. Another potential roadblock would be procuring these 12 Merlins at their retail cost, whether they are already rebuilt or would need to be rebuilt.. My guess is that they already might've taken this into account and settled on the lesser scale in order to be able to use a smaller, less expensive, and perhaps a more modern powerplant. All in all, I wish Paul Fowler and crew the best of luck in their endeavor, but I think they may've taken on more than they can handle where they think they can get this project wrapped up by even the end of December this year.

[Low_Flyer_MkIX]

Yes, a very optomistic schedule.

And....call me a pessimist if you must, but I'm reminded of the Butterworth Whirlwind.