The Whirlwind Project.

The Whirlwind Project

After numerous chats with Damian at a local hobby shop, we got to talking about an aircraft that he was absolutely passionate about and one that I have for a long time wanted to see in die-cast metal. He holds it's designer Teddy Petter, who also designed the English Electric Canberra and Lightning as well as the Folland Gnat, in very high regard.

For him it’s been a 30 year epic that has finally resulted in him taking the bull by the horns and building himself his own Westland Whirlwind!!! If you were to spend any amount of time with him he’d tell you that every Whirlwind profile he’s seen is wrong! His solution? Draw his own! Drawing up his own aircraft plans and scratch building them is nothing new.

Damian has been aero modeling for 30 years as well doing plenty of radio control piloting, be it powered aircraft or gliders. In fact he loves slope soaring, often using radio controlled planes without their engines!

It was while doing his slope soaring that he came up with the idea of “Combat Sloapies”. Being a keen WWII warbird enthusiast his idea was to create some tough slope soarers that were rugged and strong enough to take a beating. The aircraft are then used in combat on the slopes in both Axis and Allied colours knocking each other out of the sky!!! Not something you’d ever consider doing with your powered airframe.

Using EPP foam, the profile of the aircraft fuselage is cut out of a block as well as the wing plan forms. The fuselage is then carved and shaped with provision made for the rc equipment. 

The fuselage is then securely taped up and then covered with fiberglass thread. This is what makes the model so rugged. The wings are done in the same manner and similar provision made for rc controls.

The horizontal and vertical stabilizers are made using a tough yet flexible correx material. The models are then painted in warbird markings. What has been discovered though is that authentic schemes are often hard to see so artistic license is often used to make the aircraft more visible.

Using this construction technique Damian proceeded with his plans to build his Whirlwind to approximately 1:5 scale. Since the aircraft was initially planned to be entered into a Power Slope Scale (PSS) competition, it had to wear an authentic scheme.

The idea is to use it both for powered flight and as a slope soarer. To this end, it will have different nacelles to suit each requirement. The Whirlwind has had its fuselage carved, the canopy is in the process of being shaped, and the wings, one of which had a wingtip warp and had to be redone, is now ready to have the radio control equipment fitted. Once the cockpit plug is done, a Perspex cockpit canopy will be molded.

Damian insists that it should be noted that the Whirlwind was the first combat aircraft to sport a bubble canopy. There are plans to add cockpit detail as well as part of a pilot figure. I will be providing updates as the project progresses.