What's New .... Updated Sept '23
1933 Napier-Railton Racecars Are Complete
For more background and pages click below:
Two 1:8 scale models are now finished.
The Build Story (25MB) is also complete (Dec '22).
1927 Supermarine S.5 Seaplane 1:8 Scale Model Started
The Supermarine S.5 won the international Schneider Trophy race in 1927. It was the first of three consecutive wins by British seaplanes that permanently secured the trophy for Britain.
The Chief Designer for Supermarine was a young R. J. Mitchell. He later went on to fame as the designer of the Supermarine Spitfire.
The model will be scratch built including the use of 3D printed parts and balsa wood. A fully detailed VIIB Lion engine will be part of the model.
At this point, a full set of CAD drawings for all the component parts of both the body and engine is complete. The set includes construction details, as shown below.
Napier Lion Aero Engine
The Supermarine S.5 was powered by the VIIB version of the Napier Lion aero engine. The Lion engine had a W-12 arrangement and was the primary power source for the UK Airforce from 1918 to the mid 1930s.
Major modifications were made to the VIIB engine to lower its profile and help reduce drag. The more normal XIA version powered the Napier-Railton race car.
