Wringing out the new, 1/4-scale Red Petrel above the verdant fields of Wiltshire, in southern England.

Red Petrel Redux

Part I: Variations on a Theme

I have been a victim of Petrel fascination for more years than I can possibly remember — see Resources below for my previous article on the subject. When I was a strapping, virile young stud, I used to make ’em to a fairly large size, but time and gravity are taking their toll, and the Petrels coming out of my workshop are now more OAP-friendly in their proportions and avoirdupois. There are only two full-size in existence now, out of the original three, and my recent ¼-scale version of the White Petrel was such a satisfying performer it was decided that to build another version, based on the pride of the British vintage fleet (the Red Petrel) would be a jolly good idea.

Left: View of the Red Petrel’s conventional tail feathers. | Right: The all-moving-tale of the White Petrel which has now been restored to varnished wood in the US. Click on any picture in this article for a high resolution version.

Sometime during its existence, this full-size example had its all-moving tailplane removed, and a conventional type fitted instead. This, then, was the main task in re-drawing the existing plan, plus the decision to make the ailerons knuckle-hinged instead of top-hinged in order to keep the Scale Police at bay.

Close up details of the new Red Petrel.

Other than that, the construction was identical to that of the previous version, so it was with a sense of familiarity that I whizzed through the building process.

Left: The before maiden photo. | Right: Author gives scale to the Petrel.

The flying surfaces are covered with Hobbyking film: matte clear in the translucent areas, and red trim for the rest. The fuselage is covered with some of my dwindling supply of Solartex, and 2K primers and paints.

Left: The Petrel above the Central Model Flying Club (CMFC) patch in Wiltshire, Southern England. Middle, Right: In action at the recent White Sheet Radio Flying Club (WSRFC) scale fly-in.

It’s early days yet, but so far she seems to have all the desirable flying qualities of her predecessor, and I look forward to us becoming more acquainted. I’ll keep you posted.

©2022 Chris Williams

Resources

• Petrels I Have Known and Loved — The author’s photographic review of examples of the iconic Slingsby Type 13 Petrel which appeared in the August 2021 issue.
• White Sheet Radio Flying Club — From the website: “White Sheet Radio Flying Club (WSRFC) operates from the White Sheet Down National Trust property located in West Wiltshire, England. We have a broad range in flying interests, from Large Scale Replicas, Thermal Soarers, DLG, F3F, F5J and more…”
• Central Model Flying Club — From the website: “The CMFC welcomes all pilots of fixed wing, glider, and electric models…the club field is situated in rural Shropshire, near to the Severn Valley Country Park…”

All images by the author. Read the next article in this issue, return to the previous article in this issue or go to the table of contents. A PDF version of this article, or the entire issue, is available upon request.