Kit Plane Receives Official Handover

 Wing Commander Martin Haswell, Officer Commanding Sussex Wing, has formally received the first of two large scale kit planes, which were officially presented at Shoreham Air Show.

The one third scale Spitfire, built by model enthusiast Robbie Swan and sponsored by Dave Perkins, Director of the Apollo Motor Group in Chichester, West Sussex, was proudly on display to the thousands of visitors at the show.

The initial idea for the project came from a conversation between Sussex Wing staff during a Cadet 150 event last year at the South of England Show, when the three cadet services were competing against each other in a Kit Kar Competition.

Built of wood and fibreglass, the kit plane contains approximately 4,000 nails, measures 22 foot at the wings and weighs an unbelievable quarter of a ton.

Mr Swan, who visits 461 (Chichester) Squadron from time to time to assist with model making, will shortly begin the challenge of creating a second plane – a scaled model version of a Hurricane.

Once both Kit Planes are fully complete, air cadets will take part in competitions to dismantle and re-assemble the both the Spitfire and the Hurricane in a race against the clock.

The scenario will feature two teams of cadets in authentic uniforms, loaned by the RAF Museum, sitting outside a Dispersal Hut, just as they would have during the Battle of Britain.

To begin the competition, a staff member will shout “Scramble” and the two teams will run out and attempt to reassemble the Kit Planes. Once complete, a pilot will get into the plane and press a button which will set off smoke generators on the sides, announcing that team as the winner in spectacular fashion. .

Speaking about the project, creator Robbie Swan said, “When I first started to think about this project, I began using a set of plans from an American firm’s 24-inch Spitfire model, but had no idea how big the final version should be, until my wife Mary came up with an ingenious idea.

“With her help, I copied the plans onto overhead projector film sheets; projecting the plans onto the wall. By literally pulling the projector backwards, I was able to enlarge the image to the average size of the shoulders of a cadet, which turned out to be a scale of two thirds.”

On receiving a Sussex Wing Crest as a thank you from Wing Commander Haswell, Dave Perkins said: “It is so good to be able to give something back into our young people and to see them doing something so rewarding and obviously enjoyable.

“I am looking forward to seeing the Hurricane completed and the first competition between the two teams”.

The Kit Plane Team is led by Pilot Officer Mark Ring of 461 (Chichester) Squadron and Sergeant Nick Moran of 2351 (Bognor Regis) Squadron, who have planned that all cadets in Sussex will have the opportunity to be a team member at future public displays across the County.