This page contains pictures of models of LMA members commercial aircraft.
Handley Page HP 42
If any aeroplane could be described as
a stately galleon of the airways, it was Handley Page’s H.P.42. This extraordinary
biplane was the first four-engine airliner in the world to go into regular passenger
service and was commonly known as the first million mile airliner. Eight H.P.42s
were built, four of each version. They were all given classical names beginning
with H. The prototype was “Hannibal” which had its first flight
on 17th November 1930 at Radcliffe Airfield. First flown in 1931, it was used
exclusively by Britain’s Imperial Airways. This model, Heracles, was a
38-passenger H.P.42W (Western) version operated to Europe from Croydon Airport
in Surrey, it flew a total of 1,318,990 miles and provided safe carriage for
more than 160,000 passengers. The H.P.42E (Eastern) model which carried 24 passengers
and Royal Mail travelled the more exotic route from Cairo to Karachi and Kisumu.
The Warren-girder system of struts between the wings permitted the elimination
of bracing wires, but the aircraft’s design showed a haughty disdain for
streamlining. The airliner had a metal airframe covered in fabric, apart from
the fuselage which was corrugated. It ploughed through the air at a leisurely
95mph on the power of its four uncowled Bristol Jupiter engines, providing a
slow but relatively comfortable service. It was 92’0” long, had
a wingspan of 130’0” and was 27’0”high.
The H.P.42s remained in service until the outbreak of World War 2, by which
time they were looking distinctly antiquated among the modern monoplanes on
airport aprons, but they were nonetheless outstanding in their endurance and
reliability. One aircraft was destroyed in an airship hanger fire in 1937, the
rest were all destroyed while in Royal Air Force service mainly due to them
not being secured down in the wind.
THE MODEL
Built by Mike Eccles to a scale of 1/8 off a set
of genuine Handley Page drawings.
Construction: totally built up.
Covering: corrugated cardboard to the fuselage,
Seconite to the rest.
Engines: 4 x Zenoah 26cc.
Weight: 45 kilogrammes
Radio: Futaba 15 servos
Crashed 25/07/09 in Hastings due to battery failure.
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| This
is Dick Whittington's model of a Dornier D28D Sky Servant. The model is approximately 25% scale with a wingspan of 13ft and weighing 28kg. It is powered by Zenoah 38s using JR radio. |
This is Derek Martin's model of a Heston Phoenix. | Phil Clarke's
model is based on G-BFJR stationed at East Midlands Airport. The wingspan is 10ft 4in and weighs 21 kg. It is fitted with a 45cc Tartan Twin engine in the front and a Moki AW30cc at the rear. |
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New for
the 2004 show season was Tony Hooper's 14ft Britten Norman |
An old photograph of Jeremy Shaw's Super Widgeon |
This photograph
was also taken a few years ago and shows Jeremy Shaw |
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Andy Johnson's 10ft wingspan Cessna 310 powered by two Zenoah 23cc engines. |
A nice looking
Dakota by Bill Scott. Built from the Nick Ziroli plan it |
