The Blackburn Firebrand was the last—and one of the best looking—propeller-driven aircraft produced by the Blackburn Company for the British Royal Navy.
I first saw the Firebrand as a model in the May 1973 issue of AeroModeller magazine. It was designed by Eric Herbert and had a 34-inch wingspan for either Class I or Class II. Eric also produced a 300-square-inch Profile version. Eric’s models used only the small portion of the flaps visible in the top-view drawings.
I designed a model of one for myself, but decided that the Short Seamew had better characteristics as a model for Navy Carrier competition, although it didn’t have the Firebrand’s looks! The Firebrand has a small fuselage cross-section with long tail moment and relatively large tail surfaces—all characteristics favored by many Carrier modelers. It also was equipped with huge wing flaps.
As early as World War I, a tradition of relatively ugly airplanes began with the introduction of the Blackburn Blackburd, many of which were torpedo bombers for shipboard operations.
The Blackburd was interesting because it was designed to take off from a small “flying off” platform of a ship. Because the platforms were too small for recovery, and landing operations were not well developed, the Blackburd was not designed to land on a ship, but to ditch beside it and be recovered. Because of this, the torpedo was carried above the landing-gear axel, which was jettisoned along with the wheels after takeoff to allow for the torpedo to be released.
I feel that the hands-down leader in the competition for ugliest carrier aircraft ever produced is the Blackburn R.1 Blackburn. I have included an image that is an official photo from the United Kingdom Ministry of Defence. If you know of a carrier aircraft that you think can beat the Blackburn in the ugly department, let me know.
Fairey Spearfish
The Fairey Spearfish pictured in this month’s column was built by Pete Chuna, who lives in northern California. Pete originally built and flew the model in New Mexico, and he’s been enjoying the dense air of California while getting the model trimmed and balanced.
The Spearfish is based on the design by Leroy Cordes and Harry Higley that was published in the November 1980 issue of Model Airplane News. Power is an O.S. .32. The model looks great, and Pete reports that it handles nicely.
Navy Mustangs
I received an email from Paul Geders early this year. I first met Paul more than 15 years ago at the Nats while we were both watching some un-Carrier-like activities on the field.
The website listed in “Sources” is for an article by Gaëtan Marie describing the testing of the North American P-51D Mustang as a carrier-based aircraft. The testing was carried out in 1944 at Mustin Field, and later aboard the USS Shangri-La (CVS-38). It’s a good article with excellent photos and drawings documenting the Navy’s testing of the Mustang for carrier operations suitability.
There have been a few Mustangs in CL Navy Carrier competition. The most recent (to my knowledge) has been John Vlna’s P-51, which I saw at the Nats.
The first that I am aware of was a Class I model designed by John Blum and published in the June 1967 issue of American Modeler. It was a small model with a 28-inch wingspan and approximately 135 square inches of wing area. Its small size was typical of Class I models of that period.
The original Sterling P-51 Mustang kit and more recent reproductions are eligible for the historic model bonus of 100 points when flown in the Nostalgia Navy Carrier event.
I first saw a Sterling Mustang being flown in the Profile Carrier event at the Southwest Regionals in Buckeye, Arizona, in the early 1970s. Brodak Manufacturing sells a reproduction of the P-51.
Correction
Apologies to Leon Ryktarsyk are in order. My discussion on the background of the three-line handle in the January 2013 issue listed Leroy Cordes as producing the GS handle and bellcranks after Bob Smurthwaite. It was Leon, not Leroy, who filled that critical void for Navy Carrier fliers. At least my error provided a good excuse for contacting Leon and catching up.
Leon is a longtime avid builder, and his current project is a Blackburn Firebrand for Class I. Leon previously produced a Class II version, and this model will complete the set. I look forward to seeing the results of Leon’s labors.
