FLIGHT TEST: ALTITUDE RADIAL ROCKET

Piston engine fighters with big round engines have an off-the-chart coolness rating. The snag is they are beyond expensive to operate and, truth be told, they don’t fly very nicely. Few even have enough rudder authority to keep it straight under full power on takeoff.

MOST OF THE WORLD WAR 2 fighter replicas are 80% scale versions with automotive derived engines – that will often let you down. Notable in this regard is the Titan Mustang which became a ‘Beachcraft’ when its engine stopped due to an oil pipe failure.

Other scale versions of WW2 fighters often have controls that are not up to modern standards and for the sake of trying to keep original proportions, have tiny cockpits. I am amazed by how slow the roll rates are of these fighters compared to modern day aircraft – especially those build for fun, such as RVs.

The Altitude Radial Rocket is a near perfect solution to these ‘challenges’. It’s not trying to copy a WW2 design and so is not compromised in aerodynamic design and scale.

Radial engines sound sexy – and best of all, a perfectly sized and thoroughly proven engine is available in the form of the Vedeneyev M-14P nine cylinder, air-cooled, radial. It’s the aviation equivalent of the AK-47. This engine is good for 360 to 430hp – more than enough to give knuckle clenching performance in a purposebuilt light but strong modern composite airframe that handles well, has a proper full-sized cockpit, and modern avionics.

Read more in this edition..

Nigel Hopkins getting airborne from a wet Krugersdorp runway.