HAWKER HURRICANE - THE UNSUNG HERO
The Hawker Hurricane was designed by Sydney Camm of the Hawker Aircraft Company to comply with specifications issued by the British government as it reacted to the re-armament of the German Luftwaffe prior to World War 2. The other aircraft designed to meet these specifications was the more famous, and arguably more glamorous, Supermarine Spitfire. Both aircraft used the now legendary Rolls Royce Merlin engine, but had little else in common.
Unlike the complicated Spitfire, the much larger Hurricane used basic and established production techniques that made them simple and relatively cheap to manufacture, as well as making them easier to repair by ground crew in the field. Although the faster more elegant Spitfire took more of the plaudits, the Hurricane was the workhorse and in truth it downed more enemy aircraft in total than the Spitfire.
In the fight against Luftwaffe bombing raids on Britain the two planes were an effective combination with the Spitfires attacking the fighter escort and the Hurricanes attacking the bombers themselves. Over 14,500 Hurricanes had been manufactured at the Hawker Aircraft Company and in shadow factories in the UK and Canada by the time production ceased in 1944.
YOUR KIT
This kit is designed for you to build a traditionally constructed, rubber powered, free flight model of a Hawker Hurricane. The kit includes the materials (other than paints) to complete the suggested authentic scheme of a red Hurricane that served in the 527 Calibration Squadron, which flew from Castle Camps, Cambridgeshire in 1943.
This is a simple but striking scheme, but you can decide to do your own favourite or more complicated scheme if you wish. Construction of the model from this kit uses the traditional method of "stick and tissue", that consists of a built up balsa wood skeleton (framework), covered with a tissue skin. The balsa frameworks are built over a plan that is printed at the exact scale of the model, which is in essence a real engineering drawing. Power is provided by rubber strip motor that is wound up before flight.
Free flight means just that - once the model is launched, it is on its own. It must follow a predetermined flight path established when the model is initially adjusted for flight or "trimmed". This type of traditional building technique and flying requires a degree of patience and skill, but is extremely rewarding.
Typically for a small model and in the spirit of the traditional kits, profiles are simplified and adjusted from the original and a relatively large propeller is used. This is done so that the model is light and stable enough to fly on its own, is simple in construction and can work with the rubber motor. These adjustments have been done with care and sensitivity so that the shape and spirit of the original aircraft is preserved as much as possible. Also in the spirit of the traditional kits, additional items required to build the model are things that can be found in the kitchen drawer or are easily available on the high street.
INCLUDED IN YOUR KIT
- Three balsa sheets with precise laser cut parts and strip wood.
- PVA glue for building the wooden frames.
- One 150mm diameter plastic propeller.
- One pre-bent motor hook and shaft.
- Three low friction plastic nose bushings - one for the propeller and two for the undercarriage wheels.
- One vacuum formed canopy and spinner.
- Piano wire for the main undercarriage and tail wheel legs.
- One motor peg (cocktail stick or toothpick). Rubber motor strip.
- Tissue to cover the model.
- Parts reference sheet (W), full size summary plan sheet (X), scheme diagram sheet (Y) and scheme markings (Z) printed on lightweight paper.
Only Suitable For Ages 14+
Choking Hazard - Contains small parts, keep out of reach of children.
UK SHIPPING
Most orders are shipped via Royal Mail’s Tracked 48 service.
We are in the middle of nowhere and so our Royal Mail collection is at around 1pm.
Example:
An order placed before 12pm on Monday should be with you on Wednesday.
An order placed after 12pm on Monday should be with you on Thursday.
For larger or heavier orders, we use UKMail/DHL to deliver your package on a Next Working Day service.
Example:
An order placed before 10am on Monday should be with you on Tuesday.
An order placed after 10am on Monday should be with you on Wednesday.
For larger or heavier orders, we use UKMail/DHL to deliver your package on a Next Working Day service.
Shipping is free to UK Mainland addresses for orders over £30.00, otherwise we charge £6.00 for Royal Mail Tracked 48 parcels and £12.00 for UKMail/DHL Next Working Day.
NORTHERN IRELAND, HIGHLANDS & ISLANDS
Royal Mail considers Northern Ireland, Scottish Highlands and UK Islands as part of the UK and so does not charge a premium for deliveries.
Pretty much all other UK couriers have surcharges for deliveries to the following postcodes: IV, HS, KA27-28, KW, PA20-49, PA60-78, PH17-26, PH30-44, PH49-50, ZE, BT, IM, TR21-25
If you live in one of these postcodes and the parcel size of your order is outside Royal Mail's dimensions, you will have to pay a surcharge.
Our system is not clever enough to work this out and so if your order attracts a surcharge, we will contact you before despatch to see if you would like to pay the surcharge and proceed with the order or cancel and receive a full refund.
INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING
Smaller items
Items that fit within Royal Mail International Tracked Medium Parcel parameters (59cm x 17cm x 15cm weighing less than 2kg) can be sent to most countries outside the UK.
For example up to 3 of our smaller 18” wingspan kits can fit into one of these parcels.
A parcel like this currently costs around £14 to Europe and around £18 to send to the USA and will take up to 3 weeks to arrive. This is because Royal Mail hands over the parcel to the local Post Office service for your country who have to clear it through customs and then deliver it to you.
The Royal Mail tracking code also transfers over to the tracking for your country’s postal service.
Larger items
For items that do not fit within Royal Mail International Tracked Medium Parcel parameters, we use standard international couriers such as DHL, FedEx and UPS.
These companies use something called volumetric weights to calculate the cost of shipping.
For example, a Balsa Basics RC bundle kit that measures 102cm x 34cm x 16cm and weighs 2.5 kg is actually calculated at 14kg!
This makes these very expensive to send outside the UK - a large kit can cost nearly £40 to send to France.
