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Slingsby T31M (86″) Short Kit (Set)

Short Kit (Set) includes Plan, Laser Cut Wood Pack & Additional Wood Pack for Peter Millers Slingsby T31M an 86″ wingspan scale motor glider that is unusual yet alluring

£199.00

Short Kit (Set) Saving: 10%Usual Price: £222 (when purchasing component parts individually)
Made to order

Specification

  • Name: Slingsby T31M
  • Model type: Scale motor glider
  • Designed by: Peter Miller
  • Wingspan: 86”
  • Fuselage length: 47”
  • Wing area: 682 sq. in.
  • All-up weight: 5 lbs
  • Wing loading: 17oz / sq. ft.
  • Functions (servos): Aileron (2); elevator (1); rudder (1); throttle (1)
  • Rec’d engine: .40cu. in. four-stroke
  • Originally featured in the February 2010 issue of RCM&E

Full Description

Back in 1947, Slingsby Sailplanes produced a single-seat powered aircraft by hanging the wings and tail of the pre-war T8 Kirby Tutor (or Cadet Mk.II as the RAF called it) on a new fuselage with either a JAP or Scott engine up front. The result was the T29 Kirby Motor Tutor. You don’t remember it? No, well there’s no reason why you should, really: the Kirby Motor Tutor was a rather half-cocked bid for a share of the power training market. It did fl y, but the little ultralight scarcely made it over the hedge of the CAA’s certification process before settling heavily back to earth with no prospect of ever going into production.

Putting this sorry episode behind them, Fred Slingsby and his factory got on with better things – things like the Slingsby T31 Tandem Tutor, or the Cadet Mk.III as you’ll remember it if Peter Miller models an unusual but oddly alluring phoenix you learned to fly with the Air Training Corps. Given Slingsby’s post-war successes, the T29 might have remained a forgotten family.
embarrassment – Fred apparently described it as a “foolish and wasteful venture” – if it hadn’t been for the fact that, when the RAF sold off its T31s in the 1980s, home-builders remarked on the similarity of these trainers to the old T29 Motor Tutor, and set about fitting undercarriages and bolting in engines where the front cockpit used to be. All this effort turned the stolid sailplanes into T31M Motor Cadet IIIs whose configurations display all sorts of variations but which share one important common denominator: they all offer large measures of low-cost flying fun.

So much for full-size history, then; what’s the background to this model? Well, several years ago I built a 73” span electric-powered T31M for an acquaintance who flew gliders and vintage models but wanted something a little more advanced. It was a lovely model to fly and inspired me to build one for myself around an old pre-Surpass O.S. FS40. I based my model on G-BSHM (now PH1121) because I liked the look of the angular front deck and its colour scheme. The result is a model that’s accurate in most respects, save for a couple of omissions: I wasn’t sure whether ‘HM has the spoilers that are fitted to some T31Ms, so I didn’t put any on the model – which makes the build easier, of course – and the cowl has been simplified slightly by omitting the bump that hides the self-starter.

Building the model is quite straightforward – very much like a vintage design, in fact – indeed the only area that calls for care and great accuracy is the strut assembly and wing mounting, but we’ll come to that in the fullness of time.

What’s in a Short Kit? – A short kit usually contains, where available, the plan, the laser/CNC cut wood pack, additional wood pack, canopy, cowl or any other available Glass Fibre or plastic moulded items.

What’s in a Laser or CNC Cut Wood Pack? – A CNC or laser cut wood pack contains most, if not all, of the intricately shaped parts shown on the plan, which would be difficult or time-consuming to cut out by hand. It does not contain any sheet or strip wood, which you will need to buy separately. Alternatively, you can purchase an Additional Wood Pack, if available. Our Laser or CNC Cut Wood Packs only contain balsa, ply and lite ply and do not include other materials that may be required to complete the model, such as hardwoods, metals and GRP sheets.

What’s in an Additional Wood Pack? – Our Additional Wood Packs contain MOST of the necessary sheet and strip wood needed to complete a model being built from a Sarik Hobbies plan and using the associated laser cut wood pack, if available. We stock a wide range of balsa, ply and spruce in popular sheet and strip sizes but even so we cannot guarantee to be able to supply all the wood necessary to complete each model. So some additional purchases may be required from other modelling wood stockists if not available from Sarik Hobbies. Our Additional Wood Packs only contain balsa, ply and spruce wood in the stock sizes as used by our suppliers and do not include other materials that may be required to complete the model such as hardwoods, metals and GRP sheet.

What’s in a Short Kit?

A short kit usually contains, where available, the plan, the laser/CNC cut wood pack, additional wood pack, canopy, cowl or any other available Glass Fibre or plastic moulded items.

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