Fairey Delta 2 Experimental Research Aircraft (1954)
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Scale: 1/72
Initial Release: 2001 Medium: Styrene Kit Rarity: 3 |
About the Design
The Fairey Delta 2 (FD2) was a British research aircraft designed to test flight controls at subsonic and supersonic speeds. Powered by a Rolls-Royce Avon engine with afterburner, the craft flew numerous missions between 1954 and 1960, at which point it was renamed the BAC 221 and used to test concepts for the civilian Concorde SST, then under development. Like the eventual Concord, the Fairey Delta 2 had a "droop nose" to improve the pilot's visibility during take-offs and landings. The first plane to fly more than 1,000 mph in level flight, the FD2 was retired in 1973.
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About the Kit
Like many Russian-made injection-molded kits, the Maquette Fairey Delta 2 posed numerous challenges to even veteran model-builders. Kit pieces with heavy with flash, fit was often difficult, the forward clear plastic windscreen was far too large (requiring significant sanding to fit into place), and there were no clear plastic pieces for the smaller cockpit windows. Oh, and the RAF wing and fuselage roundels were at a good 30% too large.
This model was built from an original issue. |