SPAD XIII (oz5377)

About this Plan

SPAD XIII. Peanut scale model.

John Walker's Spad XIII from Model Builder magazine issue 05-96.

Quote: "Construction. SPAD XIII, by John Walker. A WWI favourite.

A particular airplane can be so well known and popular that it gets completely overlooked! Reprinted from the March 1916 Model Builder.

The Spad XIII was preferred by such famous Allied aces as George Guynemer, Rene Fonck, Eddie Rickenbacker, Frank Luke, Phineas Pinkham and G-8, because it was a solidly built fighter that did not shed wing fabric in a long dive, as did the more lightly built Nieuports. Sixteen pursuit squadrons of the AEF were equipped with Spad 13s.

Designed in France by the Societe pour Aviation et set Derives (headed by Louis Bleriot), the fighter was developed from the earlier Spad A.2 and Spad 7.

The craft had a span of 26 feet 11 inches, a length of 20 feet 8 inches, and was powered by a 200 horsepower Hispano-Suiza engine. It is thought to have been the first French plane fitted with twin synchronized machine guns.

Spad 13s flown by Guynemer and Fonck were fitted with a single-shot 37mm cannon that fired through the hollow propeller shaft. Top speed was 130 mph at 6,500 feet, with a maximum service ceiling of 22,300 feet.

After the war, many of the 8,500 Spad 13s that were produced could be found in flying services around the world (including the US) as first line fighters, well into the 1920s.

BUILDING THE MODEL: Mount the plan on a flat building board. Protect it with clear plastic sheet. We save the leftover backing from MonoKote for this purpose.

Start by constructing identical fuselage sides from firm 1/16 square balsa. Hot Stuff or Zap CA adhesives greatly speed up construction. Assemble the finished sides starting at the nose. Make sure your work is square. We use aluminum blocks to keep the sides square during assembly.

Add the formers and stringers. Strengthen the area in the tail where the dowel holding ihe rubber will be mounted. One advantage of using Hot Stuff or Zap is that excess adhesive adds little extra weight, and is absorbed into the wood to make it stronger. Lightly sand the fuselage structure before covering. Bond paper or 1/64 balsa may be used around the cockpit area.

Construct the landing gear legs and cement them in place. Hard balsa or basswood should be used. Don't forget to round the edges of the landing gear struts before assembly. Williams Bros vintage wheels were used.

Assemble the tail surfaces - keep them light. Remove sharp edges by careful sanding.

Last, but not least, we come to the wings. Use care so that they will be warp-free. Curved sections are shown on the plans cut from solid sheet wood, but weight can be saved by fabricating them from thin strips of balsa formed over cardboard patterns. They may even be formed from bamboo, if you want to track down the wood. We found that some shoe stores use a good grade of bamboo strip to hold display shoes in shape..."

Direct submission to Outerzone.

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