Many years ago, while still using glow motors, I built a Typhoon. It was not particularly close to scale I have to admit, but the pugnacious look of the nose held a certain brutish appeal, which lingered on with me for many years. What used to be a 48″ span model powered by a cheap .35 glow motor is now 42″ span using an even cheaper 500 'can' motor and 7-cell battery pack. It's also a lot lighter and easier to transport and get airborne, and it doesn't need wiping down at the end of every flying session! The Real Thing The Tempest first flew in September 1942. Powered by the 2180 hp Napier Sabre engine it had a maximum speed of 426 mph and was one of the types called upon to tackle the V-1 flying bomb menace. Tempests also took on the Luftwaffe's Me262 jet fighters, having destroyed 20 by VE day. After the war several were converted to serve as target tugs. These were named TT5s. The Tempest Ⅵ, a tropicalised version of the Ⅴ, was too late to see action during the war but served in Europe and the Middle East, while the Mk.II (the radial-engined version), served on in the Far East until replaced by Vampires in 1949.
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