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| FC Ltd Bf 109CR
racing plane |
| was Academy 1/48 |
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As usual sometimes a kit is bought and
then stored for building in the future. And then it rests for decades. But the
attempt to sell it was futile. Nobody wanted to have a rare Messerschmitt Bf 109
C (even not for 5 €!). As the kit wasn't bad I did not want to throw it into the
waste bin. So I imagined what somebody would do when getting knowledge of a real
Bf 109 C found in a Russian barn. Though without motor. Let a museum get it or
bring this cute little aircraft into air once more? - As the needed early
DB-Motor isn't available, the solution was to fit another, easier to get one and
make an aircraft for the Reno air races. This necessitated:
- As a RR Merlin Motor is
heavier the wings have to be moved forward to restore a correct center of
gravity.
- As torque is much
stronger the vertical tail has to be larger.
- The main problem -
cooling - (the Bf 109 C didn't have the underwing radiators of later variants)
without too much loss in speed was solved by inserting an evaporation cooling
(He 100 fashion) into the inside of the wings. The original large air scoop
under the nose was changed into a small retractable one (secondary cooling).
- For higher speed the
wings were shortened and aerodynamic wing tips ("Hoerner" tips) added. The
surcace was smoothened to a high gloss.
- Struts of the horizontal
tail removed, structure strengthened.
- Modern cockpit and new
aerodynamically improved cockpit hood.
- Airscrew P-51 style with
shortened blades to get enough ground clearance.
- Tail wheel retractable
with covers, also covers for the main wheels.
- As the aircraft should
remind of the real Bf 109 C a somewhat subdued paint job was necessary.
For the model a Hasegawa P-51 kit
supplied P-51 the nose (it needed only slight trim to fit) and the airscrew
(propeller). Rudder, wing tips and auxillary air intake were made from plastic
card, the cockpit hood from clear PVC (heated over a toaster and bent over a
form from polyester, see page C).
