Construction of 30% Breitling Stearman models numbers 3 and 4 (Foxtrot 1 and 2)

Foxtrot 1 in its original colour scheme

Richard has just finished the third and fourth Stearmans to add to the collection. They were made from two airframes orginally built by Colin Bond. Steve had been flying one for a couple of years with a different colour scheme and the other one had never been flown.

It's always a good idea to have a spare plane - in this case we have two spares. There were some modifications to make so that they were more like the full size Breitling Stearmans. 

Foxtrot 1 with 2 of the full size Stearmans

Richard left most of the fuselage on number 3 (Steve's plane) Only the area forward of the front struts was changed. The firewall was pushed back because these Stearmans have the Beech cowling. 

New fairings were put on the undercarriage and wheel spats were fitted. The tailplane, fin and wings were stripped and the wings modified to create top ailerons. A headrest was added. 

On the full size, numbers 3 and 4 have shorter bottom ailerons than 1 and 2 so the bottom ailerons were shortened slightly to match the full size. Fittings were added to link the top and bottom ailerons. 

The paintwork on 3 and 4 has been modified to reflect the 2012 alterations to the full size paintwork on the wing.

Foxtro 4 with smoke and light

The same modifications to the ailerons, wheel spats and undercarriage fairings were made on number 4, plus a few additional changes. The fuselage was virtually rebuilt to match the shape of the other three planes. The rear cockpit was moved back slightly and the front cockpit made longer. A cowling was made. The hinge points were changed on the elevators.

The original construction of these models has a different way of attaching the tailplane and there are also different connectors on the wires between the wings.

Windscreen detail

Both planes have had some changes that will be copied on the original two models.  Thicker aluminium was used for the windscreen fairing as it wasn't strong enough on the first two models. Finally, lights have been added to the underside of the fuselage and on the tail.