Ever heard of "Laird Aircraft Company"? Or of ‘Sky Buzzard’? But of ‘Jimmy Doolittle’! All three have written an amazing story: Laird Super Solution!

The Bendix Trophy

Jimmy Doolittle, Aemilia Earhart, Jaqueline Cochran, Paul Mantz... - there is a place and a time where all these greats of the ‘golden era' of US aviation can be found: the races of the Bendix Trophy of the 1930s not only brought together the greats of aviation, but also made many an aviation star shine!
The competition, organised since 1931 by industrialist Vincent Bendix, was a transcontinental distance race flown between Burbank, California and Cleveland, Ohio. Bendix's aim was to further develop the safety, reliability and performance of aviation. In 1939, when another deadly competition had taken over as the driving force, the competitions were suspended, only to be resumed in 1946. After interest in racing aviation in the USA began to wane in the light of the ‘space race' and NASA's record-breaking machines, the era of Bendix racing came to an end with one last major competition in 1962. Significantly, the victory was flown by a USAF team in a Convair B-58 Hustler.

About the Laird Super Solution

The LC-DW300 Laird Super Solution ‘Sky Buzzard' presented here, on the other hand, takes us right back to the beginning of the Bendix Trophy. With this aircraft, which was specially designed for the competition by the renowned manufacturer Laird Airplane Company under the direction of Emil Matthew Laird, Jimmy Doolittle achieved the glory of first place in the first race in 1931 and, not unimportantly, the prize money of 7500 dollars. The impressively short time from 8 July 1931 to 22 August of the same year, which the conception, design and construction of the Super Solution had taken, can essentially be explained by the fact that the Laird Solution was already available as a proven predecessor aircraft.
Equipped with a 535 hp nine-cylinder Pratt & Whitney Wasp Junior 52A radial engine and weighing in at around 2800 kg, its dimensions were reminiscent of the legendary ‘Gee Bee': a length of 5.9 metres and a wingspan of 6.4 metres illustrate just how small and compact the Laird Super Solution was.

The time in which the Laird Super Solution was active was also meant to be short. A short time, but one characterised by victories and records! Jimmy Doolittle, whose name would be associated ten years later with his role in the ‘Doolittle Raid' and, subsequently, his duties as commander of the 8th Air Force in Great Britain, was already a well-known pilot and racing pilot at the time.
With the Super Solution built for him by Laird, he won the first Bendix race in 1931: with a flight time of 9 hours, 10 minutes and 21 seconds between start/finish in Burbank/Cleveland and an average speed of 223mph/ 358.9 km/h, he left the competition far behind.
In October of this year, Doolittle set another record with his Super Solution: 12 hours and 36 minutes of pure flying time was a new record for the route from Ottawa, Canada, via Washington to Mexico City.

The striking green and yellow racing machine was now well-known enough for Shell Oil to agree to cover the costs of converting it to retractable undercarriage in 1932. However, the modification was not to bring the aircraft any luck: in a belly landing, Doolittle damaged the aircraft, which was then taken to Shell Oil in St. Louis. In 1948, the Laird Super Solution finally went to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, where it is still kept today. In addition to the original, which is currently undergoing restoration, there is now an airworthy and wonderfully authentic replica on display at the Fantasy of Flight Museum Florida.

About the kit and building process

The Williams Brother kit dates back to the depths of the last century, but was reissued in 2012. Even though the model presented here was created from this new edition, the age of the design behind it is always more or less charming to remember! In the meantime, I have accumulated enough models from this esteemed manufacturer in my building stock and in my building experience that I can say: the Super Solution is a typical kit from Williams Brothers!
. In the meantime, I have accumulated enough models from this esteemed manufacturer in my building stock and in my building experience that I can say: the Super Solution is a typical kit from Williams Brothers!

The selection of models is unique and highly welcome. Who else can offer a whole range of classic racing aeroplanes from the ‘golden era' in an attractive 1:32 scale?
However, the rather sparse cockpit equipment is also typical. Even if it wasn't exactly crammed full in the original, you could still expect one or two details. I helped out a little on my Super Solution and used etched parts from the leftover box and suitable wire to add one or two details. Eduard also donated a set of matching harnesses. On the other hand, I really liked the reproduction of the Wasp Junior. Here I only had to retrofit the ignition cables with pieces of wire.
I would like to praise the first-class accuracy of fit. Even if some of the component moulds are perhaps a little blurred, everything fits together wonderfully and blends quite quickly and without any major problems into the sturdy, powerful shapes of the Laird Super Solution.

The wires were made from special ‘aerodynamic' flat wire from R&R Productions. This was placed under tension in my usual way: one end is glued into a hole, the opposite end of the wire is pulled through another opening so that it can be gripped and placed under tension. In this state, the drill hole with the wire is filled with superglue and the opening sealed. After the adhesive has hardened in a matter of seconds, the wire is set in concrete under tension, as it were. All that remains to be done is to trim and sand one end and perhaps apply a little filler.
The only real problem was with the decals: they turned out to be so brittle that a friend had to help me with masks that he had skilfully created himself on the PC - thanks again to Georg! All the markings on the upper and lower wings and the two ‘400s' on the fuselage are therefore also painted on.

Conclusion

I was so inspired and motivated by building the Laird Super Solution by Williams Brothers that as soon as the project was finished I set about acquiring all the available 1/32nd scale racing aeroplane WB-kits. Even though - or should I say precisely because - a certain amount of initiative and improvisation was required, this build was a real pleasure. In an astonishingly short time, the manufacturer has produced a well-researched and largely correct reproduction of an unusual but nonetheless important aircraft that will add colour to any model collection, both literally and figuratively!

34 additional images. Click to enlarge.