Armstrong Whitworth

Armstrong Whitworth FK.8 by PEGASUS, 1/72 scale short run injection mold.

Designed by Fredrick Koolhoven (FK), the plane first saw service in late 1916. Although the FK8 was used by only five squadrons on the Western Front, the plane was strong and well liked by its crews. Over 1700 of the planes were built by Armstrong Whitworth and Angus Sanderson. It was withdrawn from service in 1918 and used in the middle east and for training. Two Victoria Crosses were awarded to FK8 aircrews.

This model depicits B-870, a SARD rebuild (hence the hyphenated serial number), operating with RAF Headquarters Communication Squadron 1918. A photo of the plane and decription of the color scheme can be found on pages 34 and 35 and the back cover of Windsock Datafile 64.

Armstrong Whitworth FK-10 by Wings 72. 1/72nd scale vacuform

Conceived by Dutchman Frederik Koolhoven, the FK 10 was a quadruplane with 390 sq feet of wing area and only 16 sq feet of tail plane. The four wings were intended to produce good maneuverability due to eight ailerons. Also the compact wing span offered a high rate of climb and good visibility for the crew in almost every direction.

Designed and built by the Sir W.G. Armstrong Whitworth Co, eleven airframes were flown by the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Naval Air Services. Both the 110 hp Le Rhone and the 130 hp Clerget were used but both produced lackluster performance with a top speed of 94 mph and requiring 23 minutes to climb to 10,000 feet. The service life was short and all of the FK10s were scraped in 1917. There is no evidence that the FK10 left Great Britian.

Don Bratt produced some very interesting and unusual vacuform models, the FK 10 being one of them. The kit consists of one sheet of parts with the option for a single or double thickness wing. The are 10 metal parts but no decals. I used the single thickness wings, scribing the lower wing to represent the ribs. I do remember the alignment was very difficult and drilling the rigging holes to look good was quite a battle. The kit was built about 1990.