LEGENDS OF FLIGHT SE5A AIRFRAME ONLY KIT (ADD YOUR OWN ELECTRONICS & RADIO GEAR)
Designed for 3-channel radio control, this kit builds into a beautiful scale model of the legendary British WWI fighter, the SE5A.
We've included all of the laser cut sheet wood parts and additional airframe components to build the famous SE5a WW1 fighter plane, allowing you to source your own custom hardware, onboard electronics, battery and transmitter should you choose to build the model for radio control.
The 24" (609mm) wingspan makes the model just big enough to withstand light winds when flown outdoors, yet small enough to store and transport easily.
Although pretty straightforward to build, this is definitely not a model for a radio control beginner, but if you're a confident flyer and have some experience flying slightly smaller models, you'll have no trouble with the SE5A.
You could, of course, simply build the model as a static display model too!
This is a full kit with coloured heat-shrink polyester covering, water slide transfers and fully illustrated instruction booklet with full scale plans - it simply does not include electronics or radio gear but you can add these using the links on this page.
HISTORY OF THE ROYAL AIRCRAFT FACTORY SE5A C1149/W
Introduced towards the end of WWI, the agile yet stable Royal Aircraft Factory SE5a, helped the Royal Flying Corps to gain air superiority over the German Luftstreitkrafte.
This kit is an authentic representation of the SE5a (C1149/W) flown by Duncan Grinnell-Milne, Commanding Officer of No.56 Squadron RFC from 1917. It featured a one-off colour scheme and carried the name "Shweinhund" - a reference to how German guards would address him and fellow POWs when he was captured in 1915.
The first release in our "Legends of Flight" range of RC models, the SE5a makes the perfect introduction to true "aero-modelling" if you demand more than just foam "ready to fly" models.
READ THE AEROMODELLER MAGAZINE REVIEW OF THIS KIT
Aeromodeller Magazine gave this kit a glowing review in 2019.
Download and read the review here:
Page 1
Page 2
Page 3
INCLUDED IN YOUR KIT
Kit contains over 350 parts and materials including:
- 19 sheets of precision laser-cut parts in balsa wood, plywood and hardwood
- Oralight polyester iron-on heat shrink coloured covering in red, cream and olive drab
- Full set of water-slide decals
- Accurate, heavily annotated plans
- Fully illustrated, step-by-step instruction booklet
- Carbon rod
- Piano wire
- Aluminium tube
- Silicon cord for tyres
- Flocked mylar hinges
- Neodymium magnets
- M3 Bolts, nuts and washers
- Z-bend wire control linkages with heat shrink tubing
- Velcro battery strap
- Servo mounting tape
- Balsa dowel
- Wheel beads
- Faux-leather tape for cockpit coaming
- Acetate for windscreens
- Pre-bent undercarriage wire
- Vacuum-formed wheel covers
- Cyanoacrylate adhesive (super glue)
- PVA wood glue
- 2-part Epoxy Resin
- Modelling putty for ballast
- 180/400 grit sandpaper
WHAT YOU WILL NEED TO COMPLETE THE MODEL
- 6 x 3 Propeller
- Household items such as scissors, pliers, pins
- Soldering iron
- Iron/heat gun for shrinking the covering
UK SHIPPING
Most orders are shipped via Royal Mail’s Tracked 48 service.
We are in the middle of nowhere and so our Royal Mail collection is at around 1pm.
Example:
An order placed before 12pm on Monday should be with you on Wednesday.
An order placed after 12pm on Monday should be with you on Thursday.
For larger or heavier orders, we use UKMail/DHL to deliver your package on a Next Working Day service.
Example:
An order placed before 10am on Monday should be with you on Tuesday.
An order placed after 10am on Monday should be with you on Wednesday.
For larger or heavier orders, we use UKMail/DHL to deliver your package on a Next Working Day service.
Shipping is free to UK Mainland addresses for orders over £30.00, otherwise we charge £6.00 for Royal Mail Tracked 48 parcels and £12.00 for UKMail/DHL Next Working Day.
NORTHERN IRELAND, HIGHLANDS & ISLANDS
Royal Mail considers Northern Ireland, Scottish Highlands and UK Islands as part of the UK and so does not charge a premium for deliveries.
Pretty much all other UK couriers have surcharges for deliveries to the following postcodes: IV, HS, KA27-28, KW, PA20-49, PA60-78, PH17-26, PH30-44, PH49-50, ZE, BT, IM, TR21-25
If you live in one of these postcodes and the parcel size of your order is outside Royal Mail's dimensions, you will have to pay a surcharge.
Our system is not clever enough to work this out and so if your order attracts a surcharge, we will contact you before despatch to see if you would like to pay the surcharge and proceed with the order or cancel and receive a full refund.
INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING
Smaller items
Items that fit within Royal Mail International Tracked Medium Parcel parameters (59cm x 17cm x 15cm weighing less than 2kg) can be sent to most countries outside the UK.
For example up to 3 of our smaller 18” wingspan kits can fit into one of these parcels.
A parcel like this currently costs around £14 to Europe and around £18 to send to the USA and will take up to 3 weeks to arrive. This is because Royal Mail hands over the parcel to the local Post Office service for your country who have to clear it through customs and then deliver it to you.
The Royal Mail tracking code also transfers over to the tracking for your country’s postal service.
Larger items
For items that do not fit within Royal Mail International Tracked Medium Parcel parameters, we use standard international couriers such as DHL, FedEx and UPS.
These companies use something called volumetric weights to calculate the cost of shipping.
For example, a Balsa Basics RC bundle kit that measures 102cm x 34cm x 16cm and weighs 2.5 kg is actually calculated at 14kg!
This makes these very expensive to send outside the UK - a large kit can cost nearly £40 to send to France.
