General Information

The Supermarine Spitfire is one of the greatest and most famous WWII fighters. It earned its fame in the legendary "Battle of Britain". It was a light, very maneuverable fighter. Its design history goes back to the early 30s. Many modifications and upgrades evolved from the prototype through the first production unit, the Mark I, up to Mark XXIV, built long after the war ended. The Mark IX (Mark 9) was one of the most famous and most widely built versions, powered by the old-faithful 12-cylinder Rolls-Royce Merlin engine.
 
CARF Models decided to pick up an old "FiberClassics" project and revive a kit designed and built in 1993, resembling a Mark V at the time. Modifications and refinements made the kit a state-of-the-art, all-composite Mk IX, matching the precision, prefabrication, and completeness of our newest warbird creations. It can be powered by a 60-80 cc single-cylinder engine, and it is currently only available as an all-silver kit.

History

The fog starts to lift.  Within minutes, the 12-cylinder Merlin is breathing fire from its exhausts. Taxi out, last run-up, brakes released, and off they go.  Wheels up, then a final pass over the airfield, the roar of its exhaust sending chills down the spines of the few watching, now off to the skies over the Channel, where danger is lurking.
They disappear from the view of those left behind, waiting, hoping for their return…

Features

The CARF-Models Spitfire Mk IX features a lot of design details that make building and flying enjoyable and successful:

• The fuselage is made in total area vacuum sandwich (TAVS), is therefore extremely light. This addresses the CG problem the old FiberClassics model was known for.

• An engine dome is now molded in, along with an air-cooling channel, so that any 50-80 cc single-cylinder engine can be mounted without huge standoffs or support boxes. Still, you can mount an inline engine after cutting this motordome shorter.

• The two-part wing is joined with a high-quality alloy tube. It is already mounted and aligned to the fuselage, formers, and nuts; holes and bolts are ready to install. A recess for a canister muffler is molded into the wing's top center.

• The flaps are split-flap type, skin-hinged, and ready to work. Ailerons are pin-hinged and readily installed.

• The stab is one piece to save further weight in the tail. The customer will slide it into a readily milled slot from the back, then align and glue it. Since it is typically quite small for a Spitfire, it is not a huge burden for transport or storage. The elevator and rudder are pin-hinged, with factory-installed hinge posts and pin bearings.

• The cowling got a bit lengthened so that it matches the Mark IX version, last but not least for one reason: to get the nose longer and ease the CG position even more.
• Of course, additional scale accessories such as dummy exhaust stacks, a spinner, and a dummy scale propeller are available, as well as state-of-the-art CNC-milled landing gear, scale wheels, and lightweight tail gear.

ARF KIT

Here are six views of the all-silver Standard Scheme Spitfire.

Wings

The Spitfire's wings join under the fuselage with a 40 mm high-quality aluminum tube, and attach to the fuselage with 4 bolts. The factory builds formers, mounts, nuts, and sleeves in the fuselage and wings. The wings and stab are aligned before the kit is packed in the box. All control surfaces, except the split flaps, are hinged with hinge posts and steel pins. They are factory-installed and aligned. This is a precise, lightweight solution. Most control horns and servo mounts are included in the hardware and will be installed by the builder in a very short time. However, the elevator control horn, due to its tricky geometry, was already installed in the factory for you.

Engine Choice

The Spitfire is fitted with a nice, strong motor dome, prepared for a common 60-85 cc engine; we recommend the DA-85.  The fuselage front end and top wing area are designed to mount a canister muffler inline behind the cylinder. We also offer a canister set with a header for the DA-85. Cooling requires a small hole in the front of the cowling, but thanks to the good airflow, it can remain very small. If you decide to install a twin inline engine, it is as easy as cutting the motor dome to the correct length and gluing a plywood firewall from the inside in the right place. Structurally, no problem at all. The heavier twin-cylinder engine lets you place RC components further back in the fuselage, where they're easier to access for installation and maintenance.

This is how the finished model could look...

Flying Characteristics

Many tend to badmouth the Spitfire's characteristic design features, such as the small horizontal stab, the narrow, far-back landing gear, and the elliptical wing itself… We at CARF have no idea what bad habits they're responsible for. With the correct airfoil and CG, the small stab has no negative effect at all. A solid landing gear, slightly cheated in position and angles, makes the ground handling as easy and safe as with any other warbird, and the elliptical wing itself- we are at a loss as to why this should cause any problems if the CG is set right.

The model has the same flying characteristics as the real thing! Aerobatic maneuvers are smooth and flowing, creating an incomparably realistic impression as the CARF Spitfire performs in its element. Military and barrel rolls, huge loops, slow passes with extended flaps, all seem effortless. Almost like the fewer the control inputs, the better she flies! Ground handling is surprisingly good despite the narrow wheelbase and non-steering tailwheel, with little tendency to nose over on landing.  As long as the CG is within its limits, the aircraft shows no adverse effects from its small stabilizer; its nearly stallproof, uncritical elliptical wing is nearly stallproof. Once you've flown a CARF Spitfire, you'll know it sets the standard other warbirds aspire to.

Color Schemes

We will offer the all-silver scheme as a standard. We also produce custom schemes; for those, you'll need to request one so we can finalize the price based on the specific scheme.

Accessories

Much more comprehensive than before, the new CARF Spitfire kit includes a complete hardware package with many additional, helpful wooden parts, plus high-quality accessories such as linkages, clevises, ball joints, screws, nuts, servo screws, and mounting hardware for the horizontal stabilizer and wings. In addition to the basic kit contents, we offer a wide range of accessories, including an electric scale, landing gear, tailwheel gear, and scale wheels. Spinners and engine installation kits for the most powerful multi-cylinder inline engines on the market are also available. We also offer Mac Gregor servos paired with our own CARF-Models servo arms.

Conclusion

The CARF Models Spitfire has been an old plane converted into a new project, which has heightened excitement across the whole CARF team. That is because not only is it full-scale, but the model also has a colorful history. It is a great, proven design with breathtaking flying characteristics. Low weight means low wing loading, which brings great slow-flight characteristics, easy landings, and easy takeoffs.

The CARF Spitfire, a dream airplane, resurrected with our most modern production technology, featuring proven design elements and legendary flight characteristics… many have waited a long time, hoping we would bring it back; here it is. Call a rep, get a quote – or “Buy It Now”!

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