Tuesday, June 19, 2012

W.A.R Aircraft Replicas of New Zealand - FW 190

The next type of single seat homebuilt aircraft to be registered in New Zealand was the W.A.R Aircraft Replicas FW 190, of which we have had only one to date.

W.A.R Aircraft Replicas was formed in 1974 to market a range of half size WW 2 warbird replicas. They all share the same basic wooden frame with an overlay of foam to form the required shape and a skin of fibreglass. Several models have flown overseas including the Focke Wulfe FW 190, Messerschmidt Bf 109, Mitsubishi Zero, Republic P 47 Bearcat, North American P 51 Mustang, Chance Vought F4U Corsair and Hawker Sea Fury. Of course, because the original aircraft were different sizes the W.A.R replicas must be only nearly half scale for some (the P 47 was a pretty big aircraft).

The nominal length is 16 and a half feet, and the wingspan is 20 feet. The empty weight is around 600 pounds and MAUW is 900 pounds. Engines can be 80 HP to 140 HP and nominal performance includes a stall speed of 55 mph and a maximum speed of 165 mph.

The photos are from the Keith Morris collection.


W.A.R Aircraft Replicas of New Zealand - FW 190

FW 190 replica ZK-FWI (c/n AACA/309) was built by Roger Jordan and was completed in Wellington. It was first registered on 12/9/90 and it first flew at Paraparaumu on 7/10/92. Roger made a nice job of the aircraft and the lines are quite authentic. It is photo'd here at Paraparaumu quite early on in its life.


W.A.R Aircraft Replicas of New Zealand - FW 190

It was sold to Bruce Harvey of Taupo on 29/9/00 and it is photo'd here at Taupo in 2003. It was sold to Bay Flight International of Mt Maunganui on 30/9/09, with whom it is still current.

The registration ZK-LBW (c/n AACA/179/3) was reserved for a W.A.R Aircraft Replicas F4U Corsair but it was never completed. I doubt whether we will see any more of these replicas in New Zealand as they have been overtaken by other more modern (?) replica types.

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