De Havilland Hornet

Hi Guys,

If you've been wondering what I've been up to, well here she is! 2m wingspan scratchbuilt De Havilland Hornet with retracts and two Mamba Electric engines. The real aircraft came out in 1945 just to late to see action in WW2, so was the last piston engined fighter of the RAF as well as the arguably fastest. As she was to be mostly carrier based (against the Japs) she performs well at slow speeds. Single seater with 4 x 20mm cannon in the nose, she is the younger sister to the famous Mosquito. The real plane had 2000 Horsepower Rolls Royce Merlin engines each side (compare that to a 150 HP skiboat engine or a Beachcraft Barren 7 seater twin with only 450HP a side.

I am in the process of cladding the Nacelles (not easy!) and then have only the engine farings to make as well as the undercarriage doors, cockpit & canopy. I will be giving her a resin coat before spray painting. I started in March this year but will only be finished some time in the new year.

Electric power is a big learning curve. I have chosen 2 Scorpion Brushless Outrunners with 70A speed controller turning 15 x 8 props. batteries are 3000Mh 14.8V Lipo's. The total aircraft weight will be around 6kg's.

Building a monster like this is not for sissys......!