FEATURES

• Two piece construction
• Top and bottom wing alignment is built into model
• Carbon rod spars and laser cut plywood trailing edges
• Scale number of ribs
• Laser cut balsa for built up cowl
• Laser cut plywood landing gear fairings in scale outline
• Laser cut IP and cabane struts from laminated plywood and hard balsa
• laminated Laser cut tail parts included with semi-scale horizontal stabilzer construction
• Balsa and plywood wheels with Neoprene foam rubber tire material included
• Balsa Dummy machine gun and pilot figure
• Fuselage construction features crossed threaded reinforcement similar to scale construction
• Nearly all wood needed to complete model

 

HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE

The SPAD S.XIII was a French biplane fighter aircraft of World War I, developed by Société Pour L'Aviation et ses Dérivés (SPAD) from the earlier highly successful SPAD S.VII. It was one of the most capable fighters of the war, and one of the most-produced, with 8,472 built and orders for around 10,000 more cancelled at the Armistice.

The S.XIII differed from its predecessor by incorporating a number of aerodynamic and other refinements, including larger wings and rudder, a more powerful Hispano-Suiza 8B engine fitted with reduction gearing, driving a larger "right-hand" clockwise-rotation propeller, and a second 0.303 Vickers machine gun for added firepower. The sum of these improvements was a notable improvement in flight and combat performance. It was faster than its main contemporaries, the British Sopwith Camel and the German Fokker D.VII, and was renowned for its ruggedness and strength in a dive. The manoeuvrability of the type was however relatively poor, especially at low speeds. A steep gliding angle and a very sharp stall made it a difficult aircraft for novice pilots to land safely.

From Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SPAD_S.XIII