16″ wingspan
Class: Scale flyer
Skill Level: Experienced / Experienced
Oliver Sand’s Westland Welkin
The Welkin Mk. 1 was a 1944 high-altitude fighter. It had a length of 41.5 ft, wingspan 70 ft, and was powered by 2 Rolls-Royce Merlin 76/77 liquid-cooled 1,233HP piston engines. Range 1480 miles, max speed 385 mph, with a service ceiling of 45,000 ft. This altitude required both a pressurized cockpit and oxygen mask for the single-pilot-crew.
This kit is a laser cut pseudo-dime scale twin-engine rubber powered model.
This Free Flight Rubber Powered kit includes a full-size rolled CAD drawn plan, laser cut balsa parts, hand-picked balsa strip wood, FAI rubber motors, E-B propellers, EBM thrust bearings, vacuum-molded canopy, MT. FUJI light sky blue and grey tissue, and TissueCal™ markings. You will need a hobby knife, fine sandpaper, building board set and glue.
Here’s what you get in the kit:
Oliver Sand took time from his engineering studies to design and build this Westland Welkin Mk. 1 pseudo Dime Scale gem. Oliver shared his design with Dave Niedzielski who drew it up in CAD and then created this new laser cut kit.
With a weight of 8.5 grams with handmade contra-rotating balsa propellers, Oliver Sand is about to launch his Welkin at Baron Field in Wawayanda, NY.
Oliver’s Welkin takes flight. Beautiful!
Oliver’s notes: “built pretty light, definitely preshrunk tissue, props are carved about 1.3 P/D if I remember right. About a 10-11” loop of 1/16” rubber per nacelle seems like the limit, 3/32” rubber was way too much power. [Kit comes with 1/16″ rubber.] Does a solid 40 seconds without lift, nice indoor pattern too, and with lift will really get up there! Nice glide with those wood props and I’ve been scared of losing it in a thermal a few times.”
Watch Oliver’s original scratch build and flight.
CUSTOMER BUILDS & INFO:
View the images below in a larger format by clicking HERE
Oliver’s plane.
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Pete Kaiteris saw some beautiful flights from his Welkin. Pete’s notes: “Here are two Whelkin flights at Wawayanda. I timed 34 sec and 40 sec.”
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