Used primarily by the Royal Air Force and Navy, the Gloster Gladiator was the last British biplane fighter. Introduced in 1937, this single-seat day fighter was used during World War II by Britain and the armed forces in 13 other countries; 756 were produced. The Gladiator was a vital stopgap fighter ahead of the forthcoming Hurricane and Spitfire projects being designed. It appeared at a time when monoplanes were already eclipsing biplanes and yet the Gladiator achieved wartime fame in the hands of skilled pilots fighting some of the most dramatic battles of the early war years.
During the siege of Malta in 1940, the entire island of Malta was protected by a small force of Gladiators, giving rise to the myth that only 3 Sea Gladiator aircraft, unofficially named FAITH, HOPE, and CHARITY formed the entire air defense of the island. There were actually 18 aircraft from the 802 Squadron Fleet Air Arm (FAA), some of which were being used for spare parts while the others flew in rotation.
The Gloster Gladiator kit is a 1:22 scale, flying model. This kit is based on a wonderful plan and printing plates found in the Easy Built Models' archives, dated 1939. Redrawn in CAD by David Niedzielski for reissue as a LASER CUT kit, the plan has been updated to present day construction techniques. It is eligible for Society of Antique Modelers (SAM) and Flying Aces Club contests.
This free flight rubber powered kit contains a full-size rolled CAD drawn plan, LASER CUT balsa parts, hand-picked balsa strip wood, FAI rubber motor, E-B propeller, EBM thrust bearing, vacuum-molded canopy, wheels, wire, Easy Built Lite tissue in olive, dark brown, black and white, and TissueCal™ markings. To build this model you will need a building board, hobby knife, fine sandpaper, and glue.
CUSTOMER BUILDS & INFO
Kit includes a fixed pitch prop. Variable pitch prop shown in the photos of the protype is not included. The prototype used a single loop of 3/16" FAI SuperSport rubber. Flying weight was 34 grams.
"I converted it to micro rc with throttle, rudder, elevator control. It flew right off the board (note that there is no cg location on plans, so I just tried it with no extra weight and it worked). It weighs approx 1.5 oz. Main problem I had was covering without warping. I preshrunk tissue on wings and tail, but still ended up with a few wrinkles. On body I did not preshink, but had trouble with all the contours. I'm just way out of practice. I used the old dope method rather than white glue or glue stick." - David Salguero
This plane built by Jim Choquette for display, representing the J8 Gloster Gladiator used by the Swedish Air Force in defense of Stockholm during World War II.
