This model was designed by using various diagrams of Spitfires found in aircraft books and adjusting the meaurements scaled from the diagrams so that they were 1/12th the size of the full size aircraft.  It was designed to be powered by a 1cc. Fox diesel model aero engine driving a single pitch three bladed propeller and as a four channel radio controlled model, the radio channels controlling ailerons, elevators, rudder and retractable landing gear.  The retractable landing gear was designed and built from scratch and uses a 1.5 volt reversible electric motor driving an actuator based on a car scissor jack arrangement to raise and lower the landing gear.

The fuselage ws made from 1/8" thk. plywood formers with 1/8" x 1/4" balsa stringers.  The main wing ribs were individually cut from 1/8" balsa sheet, the tailplane ,tail fin and rudder were shaped from 3/32" thk balsa and sanded to the required aerodynamic profile.

The details of the model are as follows :-

Wing span    3 feet 7 inches         Length  3 feet 3 inches         Weight    2.5 lbs.

The most difficult part of the design was the landing gear as the wheels of the Spitfire had to be horizontal and swept back when retracted and aligned fore and aft with the fuselage of the aircraft when lowered.  The design necessitated calculating the angles which the ends of the yoke had to be bent to to achieve this , the final angles being 27 degrees from the vertical and 11 degrees offset from the main spar of the wing. The electric motor and the gearbox for the landing gear, wheels, propeller and engine were the only proprietry items purchased for the model. All other parts were made from either balsa wood or scrap aluminium.