ScaleBirds Flies Its P-36 Replica

Scalebirds P-36 Makes First Flights.
Gemini Sparkle

Key Takeaways:

  • ScaleBirds' P-36 "faux warbird" sport plane, a replica of the Curtiss P-36 Hawk, successfully completed its inaugural flights.
  • Test pilot Ed Seguin's flights revealed "rough spots in the engine setup" that the ScaleBirds team plans to address.
  • Though smaller than the original, the P-36 replica is highly detailed, including rivet lines and military markings, and drew considerable attention at the Sun 'n Fun Fly-In.
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Scalebirds P-36 Makes First Flights.

ScaleBirds made the first flight of its faux warbird sport plane modeled after the Curtiss P-36 Hawk, an early-World War II design that inspired the creation of the Curtiss P-40 Warhawk. The two inaugural flights, both flown by text pilot Ed Seguin, according to ScaleBirds, revealed rough spots in the engine setup the team says it will begin working to smooth out. While it’s much smaller than the original, the ScaleBirds P-36 attracted a great deal of attention earlier this year at the Sun ‘n Fun Fly-In in Lakeland, Florida, with its impressive look and feel, including attention to detail on such features as rivet lines and military markings.

Isabel Goyer

A commercial pilot, Isabel Goyer has been flying for more than 40 years, with hundreds of different aircraft in her logbook and thousands of hours. An award-winning aviation writer, photographer and editor, Ms. Goyer led teams at Sport Pilot, Air Progress and Flying before coming to Plane & Pilot in 2015.
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