1/48 Kitty Hawk XF5U-1

Gallery Article by Eugene E. Madara, Esq. on Mar 23 2016

 

      

The Vought XF5U-1 was a late World War II design by famous Vought designer Charles H. Zimmerman designed to meet a U.S. Navy requirement for a carrier-borne aircraft with low takeoff/landing speeds but with very high operating speeds. It accomplished that performance objective by being what later became known as a "lifting body" with landing speeds as low as 40 MPH but a 475MPH top speed and a 3,000 ft/min climb rate. It was powered by two 1,350HP Pratt & Whitney R-200 radial engines buried in the fuselage and air-cooled by the prominent intake "fans" on either side of the cockpit. With the coming of jet-powered planes, the Navy cancelled the project in 1947. It took a wrecking ball to break up the XF5U-1 airframe.

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The Kitty Hawk kit is accurate and an "easy build." All parts fit well (except for the four tail mass balances which seem to have the ability to detach themselves from the leading edge if looked at the wrong way) - recommendation: drill larger leading edge holes prior to gluing. Given the plain but proper for-the-time late-War overall "Sea Blue Gloss" uniform paint scheme, the mahogany propellers "steal the show." After experimentation, I found that Grumbacher Academy Watercolor "Burnt Sienna" painted over light gray primer, then covered with an acryllic clear gloss does create the proper wooden color, especially highlighting the prop decals supplied in the kit.

Author's Note: 
I am volunteer President of the
Connecticut Air & Space Center, Stratford, Connecticut, USA, a non-profit aviation heritage museum restoring and displaying a number of historic aircraft, including the Chance Vought Corsair, the only full-scale replica of the Gustave Whitehead Flyer No. 21 (about which there is an increasing body of evidence substantiating claims that Whitehead flew in Connecticut two years before the Wright Brothers), and the Sikorsky S-60, the first "flying crane" and Igor Sikorsky's last personal design. The XF5U-1 was made and tested on the Connecticut Air & Space Center's site. ARC readers are most welcome to visit and volunteer. Find us on Facebook. 

Eugene E. Madara, Esq.

Photos and text © by Eugene E. Madara, Esq.