ScaleBirds has been hard at work on their variable-frame LiteFighter, to the point they opted to keep working through aviation’s own Spring Break and skip Sun ‘n Fun altogether.
As it happens, building a new aircraft design from the ground up is hard, and sometimes things get to the point you just need to buckle down and focus. So that’s exactly what ScaleBirds is doing. In the days leading up to Sun ‘n Fun 2025, Sam Watrous updated fans of the project, describing a busy shop finding their way around their frame. Some LiteFighter kits have been handed off to members of the beta builder program, but Watrous & company aren’t content to keep things as a Version 1 forever. He told followers about their recent work on the frame. Originally, the P-36 prototype had an aluminum tube frame with gussets, riveted and bolted together.
“It worked and was easy to build,” he said, “however, it took a lot of gussets! This made for some tricky riveting in places.” Unfortunately, the aluminum frame wasn’t worth the squeeze. Originally, the team hoped it would be lighter and faster than the original box frame design, but were proven wrong when “it really didn’t go any faster and was not any lighter.” In the end ScaleBirds is back to the original box design, with a focus on “designing it to be easy building and as light as possible.” Now, the forward fuselage frame will be welded 4130 steel tubing and welded gussets, with an aft aluminum frame. They hope that will serve as better crash protection, and offer better structural load paths. The LiteFighter is built around that multi-model frame, so in the end, the structural strength from skins are just an added bonus, a cherry on top of an already sufficiently robust frame.
“We have a lot riding on this load test,” added Watrous. “So much so, we decided to forgo attending Sun ‘n Fun 2025. Too much of a distraction from the effort required right now. Our top priority is making progress on getting to production and delivering. Sun ‘n Fun has always been a fun show to attend - gets us out of the late winter weather up here in CT. But, it is a good week of effort before, the week during and another week after the show. That’s a minimum of a three week investment of time, effort and energy. [We] Love SNF, but just can’t this year. I am hoping we will attend in 2026. With a P-40E and the P-36 on hand.”
FMI: www.scalebirds.com
