Hawker Typhoon (oz6162)

About this Plan

Hawker Typhoon. Scale model fighter for .46 - .60 power and 4 - 5 channel RC. Designed by Marc Sharpe. From RCModeler Nov 1999.

Quote: "On September 3rd 1939, twenty-five years before I was born, final completion of the first Typhoon took place. In my opinion, it was one of the most intimidating looking aircraft produced during WWII. Its large radiator chin cowl and four 20mm cannons protruding from the leading edge gave it such an aggressive look, it quickly became one of my favorites in a long line of the WWII planes I find so intriguing.

Originally the Typhoon was designed to replace the Spitfire and the Hurricane as a 400+ mph high altitude fighter. It was much larger than its predecessors and came with a newly developed 24 cylinder, 2200 hp Napier Sabre engine, nearly twice the horsepower of the Spitfire's Merlin. With the outbreak of war, the Typhoon project was rushed into service before a number of major problems had been corrected which gave the plane an early reputation that was less than flattering.

The first of the two major problems was the new Sabre which required tremendous maintenance and had a rather nasty habit of quitting for no apparent reason. For a time, the pilots nick-named the Typhoon the 'Tiffie glider.' The second, and more serious problem, was the complete structural failure of the rear fuselage which took the lives of some 26 RAF airmen. These problems, coupled with the fact that the Spitfires and Hurricanes still performed better above 20,000 feet almost spelled the end of the entire Typhoon project.

Persistence paid off as the engine difficulties were worked to acceptable ranges and the cause of the structural failure was traced to an improperly balanced elevator which induced flutter that caused the rear of the fuselage to break apart. With these problems solved, and the realization that what had been created was a superb low level combat/attack aircraft, not a high altitude fighter, the Typhoon came into its own.

The Typhoon proved to be a very stable platform for rockets (carrying as many as twelve), bombs (up to 2000 lb'ers), making it ideal for search and destroy missions over enemy territory. It was used for close support, anti-shipping strikes, buzz bomb interception, and in low level aerial combat it could out-run, out-turn and out-gun its German rival, the Focke Wulf 190, playing a major role in the lead up to and support of D-day operations. The Typhoon was also incredibly rugged. able to withstand damage that would down most other fighters, returning its pilots safely to base. Numerous accounts exist of ground crews removing the tops of trees from the chin cowls collected during very low level 'activities,' with one recorded incident of a Typhoon actually skipping off the channel waters during a shipping attack and returning home with its propeller tips bent at 90°. The eventual success of the Typhoon led to further evolutions, which are known to most as the Tempest and Sea Fury.

That being said, I liked the plane and couldn't find much in the way of a kit in the .40 to .60 size range, so I decided to make my own. I was just starting my 4th year in the hobby so my experience rested with four or five planes I had built from plans, some reading, and an invaluable Chuck Cunningham article found in an old October '89 issue, entitled 'R/C Design Made Easy.' I originally wanted the plane to fly on a .46 sized engine, but to be larger than your average-sized .40 sized plane and fly like my favorite sport plane, Fred Reese's Cloud Dancer (oz6512). The plane ended up with a 68 in wingspan and came in slightly under 8 lbs with retracts. This put the wing loading at a very comfortable 23,5 oz per sq ft.

As far as power, anything that will swing an 11 x 7 prop in the 11,000 rpm range will work fine. I used a simple O.S. FP .60 and the Typhoon has been clocked on radar around 80 mph, straight and level and close to 110 mph after a dive. One of the new .46's would do just as good a job and I think 0.S.'s new .52 4-stroke would be ideal. You will not do this plane justice by strapping some oversized power plant on the front. As is, it exceeds all my performance expectations, so fight the urge to send it on an unlimited vertical. It's relatively light for its size and could be lighter if someone wanted to do an electric conversion. Let's get on with it, shall we.

Construction. As usual, the smartest thing to do would be to study the plans and cut out all the parts prior to spilling any glue. (I might even follow this advice myself some day.) Wing: First thing you must do is decide on fixed or retractable landing gear. Personally, I have trouble watching a warbird fly with the wheels down, so I went with the Spring Air's 103 HD set with the 3/16 wire, I found them easy to install and have had no difficulties with them. That decided, use your favorite method to cut the wing ribs out..."

Supplementary file notes

Article pages, text and pics, thanks to hlsat.

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