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| Specifications: | ||
| Wingspan: | 165 cm | 64.9" |
| Length: | 126 cm | 49.6" |
| Wing surface: | 85 dm² | 1317.5 sq in |
| Wing loading: | 63.5 g/dm² | 20.8 oz/ft² |
| Weight: | 5400 g | 11.9 lbs |
| Engine: | .60 - .90 ci (10-12.5cc) 2-stroke | |
| .80 - .91 ci (13 - 15 cc) 4-stroke | ||
| Radio: | Min. 4-channel with 4 servos | |
The name SPAD, acronym for Societe pour
l’Aviation et ses Derives, evokes visions of a fast
and rugged biplane dogfighting with German Fokker
machines high above the muddy trenches of northern
France. The SPAD series of aircraft were the machine of choice for WWI aces like Georges
Guynemer, René Fonck, Charles Nungesser,
Raul Lufbery, Luke, and Eddie Rickenbacker, who
all helped build its reputation as one of the finest
fighters of World War I.
SPAD was originally formed as the
Societe pour les Appareils Deperdussin in 1910. After the outbreak of World War I, the company
was taken over by Louis Bleriot and renamed Societe pour l’Aviation et ses Derives,
and the acronym, SPAD, remained the same.
Louis Bechereau, Deperdussin’s technical
director and an innovative designer, conceived the SPAD fighters. Much of
the credit for the success of the SPAD series goes to Bechereau
and Marc Birkigt, a Swiss engineer and the designer
of the Hispano-Suiza engine .
SPAD XIII was a larger, improved version
of the SPAD VII with among other
changes, two fixed, forward-firing Vickers
machineguns; a more powerful Hispano-Suiza
eight-cylinder engine (220 horsepower for the XIII
versus 150 horsepower for the VII); aerodynamic improvements. The airframe was very rugged, and in many cases saved pilots' lives by its inherent strength.
The SPAD XIII prototype
made its first flight on April 4, 1917, and by the
end of the following month the production aircraft
had made its way to the front. By the end of the
war, the SPAD XIII had proven itself in combat,
particularly over the Western Front in 1918, and
it was largely responsible for Allied air superiority
over the Central Powers.
The SPAD XIII was manufactured and used in
great numbers. In all, 8,472 of the sturdy fighters
were constructed. At the end of the war,
contracts for an additional 10,000 machines,
6,000 of which were to be built for the United
States, had to be cancelled. By the Armistice,
almost every French pursuit squadron had them,
as did most of the newly formed U.S. Army Air
Service squadrons. During the war, SPADs were
used by the British, the Italians, the Belgians,
and by the Russians.
The K&W RC model has all controll surfaces hinged and connected in scale fashion. The ailerons are activated with vertical rods connected to bellcranks in the lower wings that are moved by pushrods going to the servo in the fuselage. The elevator controll is via pushrod from the stick, and the rudder by pull-pull cables, very much in the same manner as on the full-size machine.
K&W models 1:5 scale:
Austria-Hungary
Phönix D-III
Finland
Thulin D
France
Morane Saulnier L
Morane Saulnier H
Bleriot XI
Nieuport 17 C-1
Antoinette VII
SPAD XIII
Voisin Bi-plane
Breguet CU-1 RNF
Germany
Albatros C-1
Focke Wulf FW44
Fokker D-V
Fokker D-VII
Fokker E-III
Junkers CL-1
Pfalz E-I
Pfalz E-III
Great Britain
Avro 504 K
Blackburn Mono D
Bristol F2B
R.A.F. SE5a
Sopwith Tri-plane
R.A.F. BE2a
Vickers Vimy
Italy
Macchi M7
Nieuport 17
Japan
K5Y2 Willow (Float)
K5Y1 Willow
Sweden
Focke Wulf FW44
Macchi M7
Phönix D-III
Sk1 CFM Albatros 120
Thulin K
Ö1 Tummelisa
USA
Standard J-1
Wright Flyer
Thomas Morse
Ryan NYP
AIRCO DH4B
Douglas World Cruiser
Curtis JN-4 Jenny
Stearman PT17
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© 2007 Macca's Vintage Aerodrome
