UK GOVERNMENT BACKS LEADING-EDGE SABRE ENGINE: MEANTIME, YOU CAN FLY HIGH WITH THE HERPA 1:250 SCALE MODEL

SKYLON UPDATE: The UK Government is investing £60m GBP ($92m USD) on the Skylon's revolutionary Sabre engine, to enable a full-scale prototype to be built - so maybe this special edition model isn't pie-in-the-sky. 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE DOUGLAS DC-3

SMN report
The Douglas DC-3 flew for the first time on December 17, 1935, 32 years after the Wright brothers made their epic first heavier-than-air flight in the biplane Flyer over Kill Devil Hill in North Carolina.

Design evolution
The all-metal DC-3 was a design step on from earlier Douglas Commercial designs, the DC-1 and DC-2, though it looked very similar. Two Pratt & Whitney radial engines allowed the DC-3 to carry 21 passengers up to 2382 km (1,480 miles) at some 313 km/h (195 mph). The range and speed allowed an eastbound flight across the US to be made in some 15 hours - by far the fastest time for a commercial flight.

Thousands of DC-3s built
The DC-3 was a runaway success and had a decades-long manufacturing life, with more than 10,000 being built as C-47 military transports during World War II. There are plenty of DC-3s still flying today, though we can't find a reliable source for an exact number.

Kits by the dozen
For the Douglas-Commercial fan, there’s choice aplenty out there, in all sorts of scales. Whether it’s diecast or plastic kit, there’s something to please. For something exotic and different, the Guillow’s see-through balsa model to 1:32 scale makes an interesting choice. It’s a biggie though, with a wingspan nearly a metre wide. At the other end of the scale, the tiny 1:500 scale Herpa DC-3 is something small enough for any desktop. The Berlin Airlift Scenix edition offers a trio of 1949 DC-3s, complete with a mini-diorama of Templehof Airport. The transparent box includes sound effects in German, but sorry, we don’t know what the script is!

The Dakota Association of South Africa has a terrific (if somewhat slow-loading) page, in which many kits are listed. It’s fascinating stuff, and you can visit the listing here.

See DC-3 kits and stuff here.

Inspect Guillow’s balsa DC-3 here.

Visit the Herpa Berlin Airlift here.

The pictures show:
1  Airfix 1:72 scale original box.
2  Esci R4D with skis 1:72 scale.
3  Guillows balsa kit 1:32 scale.
4  Herpa models 1:500 scale.
5  Monogram with paratroopers 1:90 scale.
6  Flight deck of the real thing.

AIRBUS IS 40 YEARS OLD

At the weekend, Airbus celebrated the 40th anniversary of the Franco-German agreement that launched its first aircraft, the A300. The twin-jet’s maiden flight was in October 1972, with Air France putting it into airline service two years later. Production continued until 2007 after more than 800 had been built.

Perhaps the A300’s most unusual role is as a zero-g weightless trainer for European Space Agency (ESA) astronauts (top picture). The aircraft climbs, then gently pitches over in a parabolic arc that gives trainee astronauts some 20 seconds of weightlessness for each manoeuvre.

Changes to the aircraft include fitting out the interior with padded walls to cushion floating astronauts during zero-g flights. For a model project, the markings are the main items to be changed.

You can find details of the zero-g special at the ESA site here.

There are quite a few A300 ready-builts available, include those made by Herpa, Gemini Jets and Dragon Wings in 1:400 or 1:500 scale. Try the Scale Model Store here.

The old Airfix 1:144 kit can still be found on eBay and some retail outlets. Currently there’s an eBay offering at a Buy It Now price of £18.00 GBP ($29.00 USD), which sounds fair, especially as the A300 is no longer marketed by Airfix. Visit here.