MH434 - Supermarine Spitfire Mk IXb, RIAT 2015 ©Nigel Key
The Supermarine Spitfire was designed by Reginald J Mitchell, the Chief Designer at Supermarine Aviation Works; he revised the design until his untimely death in 1937 from cancer, aged just 42 years.
The Spitfire was the only Allied aircraft to be produced throughout the Second World War and was manufactured in more numbers than any other Allied aircraft. The Mark V was the most extensively used variation of the Spitfire during WWII and was developed to rival the Messerschmitt Bf 109.
The unique elliptical wing design produced a thin cross-section which produced less drag than a conventional design, resulting in a higher top speed than several of its contemporary fighters.
More ....
Supermarine Spitfire
AB910 (Mk Vb)
AR213 (Mk Ia)
BM597 (Mk Vb)
EP120 (Mk Vb)
MH434 (Mk IXb)
MK356 (Mk IXe)
P7350 (Mk IIa)
P9374 (Mk Ia)
PL965 (PR XI)
PM631 (PR XIX)
PS853 (PR XIX)
PS915 (PR XIX)
TA805 (Mk IXe)
TD248 (Mk XVIe)
TE311 (Mk XVIe)
X4650 (Mk Ia)
Modellers Datafile (Click image)
Modellers Datafile 03 & 05 Supermarine Spitfire
The Modellers Datafiles give a comprehensive guide of aircraft for the scale modeller and the aviation enthusiast.
The first half of the datafile contains text and images describing historical and technical information.
The latter half of the book has numerous information, drawings and reference photographs to assist the modeller in building most versions.
Modellers Datafile 03 has information on Merlin powered Spitfires and Modellers Datafile 05 on Griffon powered Spitfires.
View Spitfire Photo Gallery. 
BE505 - Hawker Hurricane Mk IIb, ©Nigel Key
The Hurricane was designed by Hawker Aircraft Limited's Sydney Camm in 1934 for the RAF as a fighter built around the Rolls Royce V12 Merlin engine.
Prior to the Hurricane the RAF were only equipped with bi-planes, namely the Hawker Fury, Hawker Hart or Bristol Bulldog.
More ....
Hawker Hurricane
PZ865 (Mk.IIc)
LF363 (Mk.IIc)
Z7015 (Mk Ib)
Z5140 (Mk XIIa)
R4118 (Mk I)
BE505 (Mk IIb)
Modellers Datafile (Click image)
Modellers Datafile 02 Hawker Hurricane
View Hurricane Photo Gallery.
Avro Lancaster, RIAT 2007 ©Nigel Key
The Lancaster was designed by Avro's Chief designer Roy Chadwick around the 'failings' of the Avro Manchester which only had two 'Vulture' engines which were unreliable especially for the task of heavy bombing operations.
The Avro Lancaster, initially designated Avro 683 Manchester III, was designed with a larger wing to house four Rolls Royce Merlin engines giving the aircraft a top speed of 286mph.
More ....
Avro Lancaster
PA474 BBMF Lancaster
Modellers Datafile (Click image)
Modellers Datafile 04 Avro Lancaster
 |
 |
 |
 |
Bleriot XI, Old Warden 2010, ©Nigel Key
The Shuttleworth Collection is an aeronautical and automotive museum located at the Old Warden Aerodrome, Old Warden in Bedfordshire, England. It is one of the most prestigious in the world due to the variety of old and well-preserved aircraft.
The collection is unique as it is the world's only exhibition of 'flyable' historic aeroplanes dating back to the birth of powered flight and extending into World War II. Shuttleworth put on several air shows each year which include many of the museum's aircraft.
More ....
Aircraft
Avro 504K
Avro Tutor
Avro Anson
Bleriot XI
Bristol F.2B Fighter
Bristol M.1C
DH.82A Tiger Moth II
DHC-1 Chipmunk
Gloster Gladiator
Hawker Hind
Sea Hurricane
Hawker Tomtit
Miles Magister
Percival Provost
RAF SE5A
Sopwith Pup
Sopwith Triplane
Westland Lysander
View Old Warden Photo Gallery.
Welcome to "A Guide to Models and Military Aircraft at UK Airshows".
This website contains photographs and information of Military Aircraft seen at various Airshows in the UK:-
American Aircraft
British Aircraft
French Aircraft
German Aircraft
Italian Aircraft
Russian Aircraft
Swedish Aircraft
This website also contains information about
1:72,
1:48,
1:32 &
1:24
scale model kits, reference photographs, modelling consumables and hints and tips to help the beginner.
If you would like to send me a photograph(s) of your completed model kit, I will put it on the appropriate page for all viewers to see and comment upon.
An Observer Corps spotter scans the skies of London. Wikipedia
Towards the end of the Battle of France the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) was evacuated from Dunkirk, code name ‘Operation Dynamo’, and brought back to Britain to regroup.
On 18th June 1940, Prime Minister Winston Churchill announced “The Battle of France is over. The Battle of Britain is about to begin”.
On 22nd June 1940 France had no choice but to surrender to Germany leaving Britain alone to face the might of the German onslaught.
More ....
 |
 |
 |
 |
Messerschmitt Bf 109, RIAT 2010 ©Dave Key
The Messerschmitt Bf 109 is a fighter aircraft, which along with the Focke-Wulf Fw 190, was the backbone of the Luftwaffe's fighter force during World War II.
For its time the Willy Messerschmitt/Robert Lusser designed BF 109 was an advanced aircraft with all metal construction, a closed canopy and retractable under carriage.
The air cooled Daimler-Benz V12 engine was also fuel injected giving an advantage over the carburettor engine aircraft of the RAF.
More ....
Modellers Datafile (Click image)
Modellers Datafile 09 & 10 Messerschmitt Bf109
472218 'Big Beautifull Doll' - P-51D Mustang, Abingdon 2009 ©Nigel Key
The North American P-51 Mustang was developed from the prototype, designated NA-73X, which was designed by Edgar Schmued with wings designed using laminar flow air foils, which generate low drag.
The all-aluminium fuselage was made from five main sections, forward, centre, rear and two wing halves, all were complete subassemblies before joining. The complete fuselage was lofted when designed to produce low drag surfaces.
The oil and water radiators were fed from a single duct positioned on the belly behind the cockpit reducing fuselage drag.
More ....
P-51 Mustang
32-5147 "Princess Elizabeth"
41-1622 "Nooky Booky IV"
41-3704 "Ferocious Frankie"
41-4237 "Moonbeam McSwine"
44-84847 "Miss Velma"
47-2035 "Tall in the Saddle"
47-2218 "Big Beautiful Doll"
Modellers Datafile (Click image)
Modellers Datafile 21 & 24 P-51 Mustang
View Mustang Photo Gallery.
Boeing B17G 'Flying Fortress', Duxford 2010 ©Nigel Key
The prototype B-17, designated Model 299, was designed by E. Gifford Emery and Edward Curtis Wells as a multiengine bomber to replace the Martin B-10.
The design combined features from Boeings experimental XB-15 bomber and their 247 transport aircraft.
The Model 299 was designed to carry a payload of up to 4,800 lb (2,200 kg) of bombs and was powered by 4 x Pratt & Whitney R-1690 Hornet radial engines.
More ....
Boeing B-17
Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress
View B-17 Photo Gallery.
Red Arrows - Kemble 2011 ©Nigel Key
Here you will find details about several international display teams as well as smaller display teams along with the Royal Air Force display aircraft, Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (BBMF) and Royal Navy Historic Flight (RNHF).
Display Teams
Aerostars
Al Fursan
B.B.M.F.
Black Cats
Black Eagles
Blades
Breitling Jet team
Frecce Tricolori
Midnight Hawks
Team Orlik
Patrouille de France
Patrouille Suisse
Patrulla Aguila
PC-7 Team
Red Arrows
Royal Jordanian Falcons
R.N. Historical Flight
Saudi Hawks
The Great War Display Team
Thunderbirds
Wingwalkers
Yakovlevs
Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning II, RIAT 2018 ©Nigel Key
The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is a single engine, stealth multirole fighter that is designed for both air superiority and strike missions.
The F-35 has a wing-tail configuration with two canted vertical stabilisers. Control surfaces consist of leading-edge flaps, flaperons, rudders, all-moving stabilators and leading edge root extensions.
The F-35 is constructed from bismaleimide and composite epoxy materials and also has carbon nanotube-reinforced epoxy.
More ....
Eurofighter Typhoon, Kemble 2010 ©Nigel Key
The Eurofighter Typhoon is a twin-engine, canard delta wing, designed as an air superiority multirole fighter.
Construction of the Typhoon consists of over 80% of composite material which are made up of 70% carbon fibre and 12% glass fibre composites.
The Typhoon is highly manoeuvrable at both low and supersonic speeds and due to its inherent instability can only be controlled by fly-by-wire.
More ....
Bell Boeing V-22 'Osprey', RIAT 2015 ©Nigel Key
The Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey is a multi-mission, tilt-rotor military aircraft which has both vertical take-off and landing (VTOL), and short take-off and landing (STOL) capabilities.
The Osprey is designed to combine the functionality of a conventional helicopter with the long-range, high-speed cruise performance of a turboprop aircraft.
The rotors are 38 feet in diameter (11.6m) and are designed to fold for storage along with the wings which rotate in line with the fuselage.
More ....
Fairchild A-10 'Thunderbolt', RIAT 2011 ©Nigel Key
The Fairchild A-10 was designed with a cantilever low-wing and a large surface area. The leading edge has a honeycomb structure which gives strength with minimal weight.
The panels creating the ‘skin’ of the aircraft are non-load bearing, so damaged panels can be replaced relatively easy in the field.
The ailerons are much larger than typical, providing improved control even at slow speeds.
More ....
Sukhoi Su-27, RIAT 2017 ©Nigel Key
The SU-27, known as the flanker, is a Soviet twin-engine multirole fighter aircraft designed by Sukhoi Aviation.
It was designed to be competitive with the United States fighters of the time such as the Grumman F-14 Tomcat and F-15 Eagle.
The SU-27 design is similar to the MiG-29 but larger. The wings blend into the fuselage and are basically a mix of a cropped delta and swept wing. The SU-27 also has a tailed delta wing complete with horizontal tail planes.
More ....
Saab Gripen, RIAT 2017 ©Nigel Key
The Saab 'Gripen' was designed as a multi-role aircraft to replace the ageing 'Draken' and 'Viggen'.
In designing the aircraft, several layouts were studied. Saab ultimately selected a delta wing-canard design with relaxed stability. This configuration provides for a high manoeuvrability along with better take-off and landing performance.
The 'Gripen' also has low drag, enabling it to fly faster, have increased range, and carry a larger payload. The totally integrated avionics make it a "programmable" aircraft, changing the software can provide for additional mission profiles.
More ....
|