Sea Fury FB MkIIOwner/Builder: Allan Whitby
Span: 64" This model has quite a history. While the photographs shown here were taken in 1990, this Sea Fury was orginally built in 1974 by Allan and his sons. The construction was of the then-traditional method of fuselage bulkheads with balsa strips planked around the edges to form the curvaceous shape of the 'Fury. The wings are a standard (even now) rib-and-spar built-up design with a thin balsa skin. The Sea Fury featured the then novel retracting undercarriage, but the gear doors fell victim to the rough strip and didn't last very long. The problem with the Sea Fury was that it came too early in Allan's learning curve as a pilot, and was badly pranged. Several years passed...then lots more...then the Sea Fury is resurrected from the top shelf and brought back to life. It looks great, and flew just like a combat fighter aircraft - fast and finicky. How the Fleet Air Arm jocks put these things down on a pitching flight deck defies imagination, because our 'deck' doesn't move and it was still bloody difficult!!
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| Pre-flight engine check | Climbing out. Undercarriage is on the way up |
Gear up and flat out | |
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Text by Peter Whitby |
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