LiteFighter Coming Along Nicely on Road to Market

ScaleBirds updated a watchful warbird fanbase on the current progress in bringing the LiteFighter to market, along with plans for the summer airshow season.

The LiteFighter P-36A Hawk is coming along quite nicely, with the first sets of tails, rudders, horizontal stabilizers, and elevators being built for early beta builders. ScaleBirds isn't totally done with the whole kit and kaboodle just yet, but they're sending out the elements they have squared away so builders can hit the ground running on their own builds. Currently, the team is focused on ramping up production in a way that will be resilient under larger loads, with Ide and crew focused on formalizing their drawing numbers, optimizing fixtures and jigs, developing build instructions, and identifying the most efficient builder path for buyers. A few more engineering and design changes are being added here and there as they learn more lessons from the prototype, particularly as they make more headway on building a retractible-gear version of the P-36A.

The LiteFighter will one day be much more than just a simple Curtiss Tomahawk homage, too, with its bones acting as the foundation for a whole range of warbird lookalikes in smaller scale. Off the bat, early additions will meander through the Tomahawk family, moving up to the P-40B Warhawk of Army Air Corps and Flying Tigers fame, or a P-40E Kittyhawk and its infamously oversized chin intake.

Between the Curtisses, about 90% of the airframe remains identical from one model to another, with most changes coming down to small details, fairings, and cowlings. Engine selection is pretty wide across the board, too, with the most historically faithful option being the Verner Scarlett 7U or 9S, offering big radial style and up to 158 horsepower. More economical options include the usual range from experimental and light sport units from ULPower, Viking, Continental, Jabiru, AeroMomentum, and Rotax. Ultimately, kits should take about 1,500 hours or thereabouts - ScaleBirds won't quite know for sure until they get more input from the beta builders, in any case. 

FMI: www.scalebirds.com