Durham firm soars with landmark aircraft model

A County Durham specialist manufacturer has delivered its most ambitious custom-built model aircraft to date for an international client.

Fighteraces, a radio-controlled aircraft builder based at Drum Industrial Estate in Chester-le-Street, spent more than two and a half years designing and constructing the largest model airliner in its history.

The bespoke commission, valued at £100,000, involved the design and construction of a highly detailed Fokker 70 airliner for a high-profile American filmmaker based in Atlanta, Georgia.

Measuring five metres in length with a 4.5-metre wingspan and weighing 65kg ready for take-off, the aircraft replicates a late-1990s Fokker 70. 

Unlike traditional model builds, it was constructed predominantly from carbon and glass fibre to achieve a balance of strength and lightweight performance.

With no existing kits or plans available, the Fighteraces team designed and built the aircraft entirely in-house, investing around 5000 hours into the project. 

Only the engines and electronic flight systems were sourced externally.

Phil Clark, owner of Fighteraces, said: “The scale and complexity of this project was unlike anything we’ve ever done. 

“It challenged us, but seeing the finished model ready to fly to the US makes it all worthwhile.”

The scale and quality of the work impressed the client so much that a second model, twice the size of the first, was commissioned before the initial aircraft was completed and is now midway through construction.

The project has attracted global attention online, generating new enquiries from international clients and further cementing Fighteraces’ reputation for specialist, high-end model engineering.

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