JayD & khodges,
First, I wanted to let you know that the SIG Waco SRE ARF kit is being built as this message is being written. It is due to ship around the 15th of May and should arrive at SIG about the 15th of June. To all of you who have patiently been awaiting the availability of this beautiful model, we sincerely apologize for the delay. However, the delay was completely out of our hands.

Now a little correct history of the actual airplane might be interesting to some of you. The specific Waco SRE aircraft that the SIG kit was modeled after - NC1252W - was originally built by Waco as a Model E "Aristocrat", designated as a Waco HRE. When production of the Model E Aristocrat aircraft commenced in 1939, Waco offered four different engine options. Each engine option was identified by the factory with a 3-letter designation as follows:
ARE - 330hp Jacobs L-6MB, 7 cyl.
HRE - 300hp Lycoming R680-E3, 9 cyl.
SRE - 450hp Pratt & Whitney Wasp Jr. SB#, 9 cyl.
WRE - 420hp Wright R975-E3, 9 cyl.

The most popular of these engine options was the SRE with the powerful Pratt & Whitney 9 cyl. radial. In level flight the SRE could fly in a little in excess of 200 mph at full throttle and cruise a little less than this. This performance could be achieved while carrying 4 passengers and luggage. For the time, the Waco Aristocrat Model E aircraft were expensive, priced at anywhere between $14,000. to $19,000., depending on options and engine choices. Only 29 Model E aircraft were built between 1939 (the prototype rolled out in October of 1939) and February 1942. Production was ceased in February of 1942 to convert the Waco factory over to the production of the famous military cargo gliders.

Our orignial Waco HRE was among 15 Waco Aristocrat aircraft "drafted" by the USAAF for military purposes. The USAAF designated these aircraft as the UC-72 Light Transport. Our original HRE aircraft carried the military serial number of 42-68341. Seven of these "drafted" Model E aircraft survived the war and our particular Model E was sold to civilian ownership and registered as NC50857. It was then resold and re-registerd as N1252W. Mr. Claire Nutting then purchased this aircraft and registered it as NC1252W. Mr. Nutting rebuilt and re-engined the airplane with a Pratt & Whitney Wasp Jr. 9 cyl. radial, making it an SRE by definition. During the rebuild, Mr. Nutting gave his airplane a beautiful brilliant yellow overall paint scheme, with the typical Waco trim scheme done in gloss black with white pin-striping. Mr. Nutting owned and flew this drop-dead beautiful airplane for 34 years! Fortunately for all of us, this beautiful aircraft has been very well documented and part of this documentation is available from Bob Banka's Aircraft Documentation service in California - Photo Pack #5283. I used this documentation package, along with other very valuable information and photographs contained in the well-known and incredibly accurate International Plastic Modelers' Society (IMPS) Quarterly Publications; Fall 1982 and Winter 1982, in the development of SIG's Waco SRE ARF kit.

Beauty is always in the eye of the beholder but I firmly believe that even the ugliest Waco aircraft was none-the-less beautiful. And, in my humble opinion, the Waco SRE was truly one of the most beautiful of all Waco aircraft. I can also tell you without exaggeration that our SIG Waco SRE ARF model is maybe one of the absolute best scale model aircraft that I've had the pleasure of flying in my long career. It is honest in virtually any flight attitude and light and responsive on the sticks. In the air it is truly beautiful and I simply can't stop making those low, slow flap-down fly-bys. In the pits, let's just say that it never fails to draw a crowd.

I aplogize for interupting this thread but I wanted to make the above information available to anyone who might be interested in a truly beautiful and historic aircraft.
Scott Christensen
SIG Mfg. Co., Inc.