VMC Polaris 2 - 20" Wingspan
Based on the original KeilKraft Polaris kit from the late 1940s, designer Chris Long had brought modern CAD techniques to the kit with a newly drawn plan and much more accurate laser cut parts.
The Polaris 2 has a 1/4" balsa wood, laser cut fuselage which is formed by laminating two 1/8" sides and then must be sanded to form a streamlined profile.
As the fuselage tapers towards the tail, some modellers may wish to "sandwich" an optional carbon fibre rod along the length of fuselage to provide extra strength.
The wing parts are laser cut from balsa wood which again must be sanded into an aerofoil - this is true for the tail parts too.
A plywood dihedral brace helps you to align the wings.
Although assembly is very fast and relatively simple, please be aware that there is A LOT OF SANDING TO DO!
Make sure to wear a dust mask and have a vacuum cleaner handy to periodically clear the dust from your workbench.
Flying the Polaris (and any chuck glider from this era) is a bit of an art form as there is a very fine line to tread between getting the model balanced correctly, launched well and built as light as possible.
Needless to say, there's hours of fun to be had!
KIT CONTENTS
- Plotted plan with annotated instructions
- Precision laser-cut parts in balsa and ply
- Tissue to cover nose-weight slot
- Sanding paper
CHRISTMAS 2024 DELIVERY INFORMATION
The workshop will be closed from 12pm Friday 20th December 2024 until 9am Monday 6th January 2025.
Any orders placed while the workshop is closed will be despatched in the week starting Monday 6th January 2025.
We will monitor emails during the period we are closed, but replies may take longer than usual.
Thank you for your custom over the past year - we look forward to serving you again next year.
Wishing you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
The VMC Team
UK SHIPPING
Most orders are shipped via Royal Mail’s Tracked 48 service.
We are in a very rural location 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 APC 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.
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 APC Next Working Day.
NORTHERN IRELAND
Unfortunately, for the purposes of the new EU GPSR regulations introduced on 13th December 2024, Northern Ireland falls under EU jurisdiction.
Until we have worked out how to comply with the new rules, we will not send items to Northern Ireland.
We are really sorry about this and hope to have a solution in place sometime in 2025.
SCOTTISH HIGHLANDS & UK ISLANDS
Royal Mail considers the 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, 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
EU COUNTRIES
On 13th December 2024, the EU introduced new regulations with respect to product safety called GPSR.
There was very little publicity or notice given to small UK businesses about the new regulations, but needless to say, to comply will be time-consuming, onerous and probably expensive.
Unfortunately, until we have worked out how to comply with the new rules, we will not send items to EU countries.
We are really sorry about this and hope to have a solution in place sometime in 2025.
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 £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 £60 to send to the USA.
