ScaleBirds’ P-36 Makes First Flights.

One of the most intriguing new planes at Sun 'n Fun this spring was ScaleBirds' P-36, which with a little modifying, can be built as a few different warbirds. The Curtiss P-36 Hawk isn't a well-known model. It made its first flight in 1935, as the world was marching toward another war. The pretty fast-back fighter wasn't particularly fast or agile, but it inspired the creation of the Curtiss P-40, which was a critical fighter for the Allies in the years leading up to the war and then some.

ScaleBirds announced that it made two flights of the new bird this weekend, with test pilot Ed Seguin at the controls, and both flights were, based on the company's Facebook post, somewhat problematic.

In that post, the company wrote that the flight "gave us good initial information on how the engine and aircraft are set up," but added, "right away it is apparent some tuning under the cowl and spinner are in order, and a good inspection to look for any hidden issues that weren't obvious during the flight."

If it was experiencing cooling issues, which sounds likely, then that is part and parcel of small plane development. The airframe, on the other hand, "!seems to be holding up and shows real promise as a fun flying machine for its size and power."

Check out this video of the Verner radial getting run up!

Plane & PilotStaff