Next to a RR Merlin I guess a big radial brings tears of emotion to most air enthusiast’s eyes. When Andy Sturgess and I heard a couple of models at a show in Germany fitted with the Moki radials the seeds of our damnation were sown. A hearty breakfast on the ferry back to Dover removed all sense of financial constraint (or maybe just sense) and we hatched a plan to build a couple of Hawker Tempest MkIIs, the full size being fitted with the Centaurus radial engine. These would be ready to take to Germany in August 2008!!! After some research the project was modified to focus on the Hawker Fury. Prime considerations were the availability of plans, cut parts and essential hardware. Andy chose the land based Fury while I opted for the Sea Fury. Andy has reported previously on his build. Suffice to say the old model building rule that everything increases by the cube of linear distance. August 2008 came and went without the Furies. I did fly a Sea Fury in Germany though, albeit the 48" span e-flight model (really good actually). The plans presented some "interpretive" difficulties when matched with the cut parts. The undercarriage, special to the model, had a much longer than expected lead time than planned. It is easy to mis-judge the sheer effort to build models of this size; I don’t know how Chris Williams does it with such frequency! Anyway the pictures pretty much describe the state of play (Christmas 2009). Will it be ready for Germany 2010, well don’t hold your breathe, but keep the patch cut!

Pete Hatchett