This is the Curtiss P-40N Kitty Hawk from the Jerry Bates plan;
the model is 1/5th scale, which gives it a wingspan of 82”.
The model will be powered with an MVVS 36cc petrol engine complete
with custom homemade silencer.
The fuselage is mostly made from balsa except for the extremely large
fibreglass cowl; the wings are also built up featuring landing and
navigation lights. All the formers and ribs have been cnc cut.
The landing gear was purchased from unitracts, with the mains being
pneumatic airs and the tail wheel mechanical. Dubro 5” wheels on
the mains shall cushion the landings.
A JR PCM receiver is installed in the fuselage with 2 battery packs
(one for the receiver and one for the ignition for the engine).
This project was started in May 2003 and I’m hoping to have it
completed for May 2004.
The first mass-produced US single fighter, the Curtiss P-40, together with the Bell P-39, constitued
more than half the USAAF fighter strength for the first half of the war, in addition to being supplied
in considerable numbers to the Raf and other Allied Air Forces. The Curtiss P-40 was the USAAF
standard fighter when the US entered World War II in 1941. The P-40 was superb at low level, but
was ourtlassed at medium and high level due to lack of development of the Allison engine’s
supercharger. However, it acquired a justifiable reputation for ruggedness and dependability and was
the subjet of considerable development as the war progressed. The P-40 earned its fame when
Maj. Gen. Claire Chennault formed the American Volunteer Group later better known as
the Flying Tigers. This mercenary force, consisting of three P-40 squadrons, operated in China to
protect the airfields and supply lines prior to the Japanese invasion of Indochina. Outmatched by the
Japanese Zero, the P-40 relied on surprise hit-and-run tactics and despite poor support against a vastly
superior ennemy, the Flying Tigers were able to claim 286 Japanese aircraft for the loss of only eight
P-40s. Early orders for the P-40 came from the USAAF and the French Air Force but France was overrun
by the Germans before deliveries commenced. Desperate for aircraft to slow down the German military
advance, the RAF took delivery of the French P-40s which they operated as the Tomahawk. When
production was wound down in November 1944, a total of 13,783 P-40s had been built.
