Supermarine Sparrow II 36" N009

Skill Level: Beginner

More than 105  parts

Supermarine Sparrow II 36"

SPECIFICATIONS
Scale: ~1/10
Prop: 9x7
Channels: R/E/T
Wheels: Balsa Ply w Neo Tires
Wingspan: 36"
Airfoil Type: flat bottomed
Wing Area: 220 sq in
Cowl: N/A
Designer: M.K. Bengtson
Weight: 11.4 oz
Spinner: N/A  
Prototype Builder: M.K. Bengtson
Power System: Speed 280 power: geared 4:1
Supermarine Sparrow II 36"
Supermarine Sparrow II 36"
Supermarine Sparrow II 36"
"

 

Instruction Manual

Get Adobe Reader FREE

FEATURES

  • Excellent trainer model
  • One piece construction
  • Fuselage built from formers and side balsa with lightening holes for easy construction

 

HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE

The new Supermarine Sparrow II was entered into the 1926 Daily Mail Two-seater Light Aeroplane Competition held in Lympne, Kent, UK. This event encouraged thousands of new amateur pilots and spurred the eventual private ownership of hundreds of small aircraft. The event has several notable first public appearances for several famous aircraft. Among them are the de Havilland Moth, the AVRO Avian, and the Blackburn Bluebird. The contest was fraught with problems and many of the competitors suffered ill fortunes. The Sparrow II flown by Henri Biard, had to make a forced landing due to bad weather and took off again the next day. The landing was also required due to the fact that the observer traveling with Biard noticed that one of the pins holding in one of the wing struts had become loose. If it came out the whole wing would have come off, of which Biard reportedly said it "would have been very annoying". On the ground, as the crew was getting out of the aircraft, the wind blew over the plane. They righted the craft and reinserted the pin. As it was late, they had to spend an uncomfortable the night out there with their plane. This eliminated the Sparrow II from the competition, which was won by the Hawker Cygnet flown by Flt. Lt. P.W.S. Bulman and only three other aircraft finished the race. The Sparrow II went on in 1927 to be useful in testing out various airfoils (including the Clark Y) for Supermarine under contract with the British Air Ministry.