When it comes to the scale aircraft we see at RC competition events, there is always a back story. One aircraft that we’ve noticed over the years is the work of Sean Curry of Lakeland, FL in the form of his impressive Hawker Tempest. We caught up with Sean, who works closely with his father Bob Curry, who is one of the Static Judges for the Top Gun Scale Invitational, to get the lowdown on his WW II warbird.
SPECIFICATION
Model: 1944 Hawker Tempest
Wingspan: 96 in.
Length: 81.5 in.
Weight: 45 pounds
Power: 75 – 85cc 2-stroke gas
Hey Sean, You’ve been competing at Top Gun with your beautiful Hawker Tempest for several years. Can you give us some background?
Sean Curry: The Hawker Tempest was a British fighter aircraft used mostly by the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the Second World War. The Tempest was an improvement of the Hawker Typhoon, originally being named the Typhoon II, which was intended to address the Typhoon’s unexpected decrease of performance at high altitude. Having a considerable improvement in performance over the Typhoon, it was decided to rename the aircraft Tempest, which ultimately became one of the most powerful fighters of the World War II, it was also the fastest propeller-driven aircraft of the war at lower altitudes.
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