Hi Matt, thanks for your reply. I suppose the best place to start is with the kit and a little about why I designed it in the first place. The decision to design the Hammerhead came about after a long layoff from aeromodelling.
As I wanted to build something quick to get me airborne asap but not wishing to go the ARTF route. I headed off to my local model shop to make my purchase. Unfortunately the selection on offer left a lot to be desired. As almost all the kits on the shelf were ARTF kits, all from China. Then I spotted an old favorite. The acrowat designed by Chris Foss. I had built and flown several acrowats over the years and thought, this will do.
Only to be told that this too was now made in China.
This news made the decision for me. I had to design and build my own kit, just to show that we Brits still had it in us haha
My original brief to myself was to design a club flier or hack model if you like.
1. It had to be relatively easy enough to build and poses the stability of a good low wing trainer to appeal to the newbie looking to build and fly their first low wing model. Yet be interesting enough for the more experienced modeller to enjoy building and lively enough to carry out most aerobic schedules.
2. It had to be competitively priced to compete with the cheap in port's from China.
3. It had to be robust enough to fly well in the typically blustery flying conditions we often experience up here on the frozen north east coast of England. Yet delicate enough to enjoy on those rare flat calm summer evenings.
Finally after a couple of months and many changes of materials, configurations and sizes of the model, which often had me feeling like I was stuck between a rock and a hard place. I came up with the hammerhead in three sizes. 75" 62" and a baby one at 55 inch wingspan. The first was a 75 inch model which flew very well, as did the smaller versions.
Then came the hard part. How to produce the model in kit form, that is easy to build. For that I decided that self jigging wings and fuselage using a slot together construction method was necessary. Many more months later and I think I've cracked it.
I have sold several pre production test kits in the UK for evaluation and the response from those who have built and flown the hammerhead has been excellent.
I know there is a market for my designs in the UK. I just thought I'd try to see if there was still the same interest in building kits in the USA.
Cheers
Richie