Pacific International AF5U Flying Pancake Wood Model Airplane

AXFSU Vought XF5U Flying Pancake

This collectable model Vought AF5U Flying Pancake represents one of the most unusual experimental aircraft ever built – an early flying wing. Painstakingly built from Philippine mahogany by our skilled craftsmen, this 1/32-scale model TBF/TBM-3 Avenger makes a great pilot gift or a present for any veteran, aviation enthusiast or history buff. The brainchild of Charles H. Zimmerman, a noted aeronautical engineer, the A5FU was designed to use its twin propellers to cancel out induced drag at its wingtips. The disc-shaped aircraft was also designed to operate from very low speeds – even able to hover, some engineers hoped – with tops speeds approaching 500 mph. Although development of test models began in the early 1940s, progress was slow. Vibratrions in the complex gearbox that connected the two large props to the single engine were a particular issue. The design proved to be easy to fly and maneuverable, but by 1946, the Navy – its intended customer – was already looking to jets for the next generation of aircraft. The prototype, the V-173, made its final flight in 1946 and is now in the collection of the National Air & Space Museum.

AXFSU Vought XF5U Flying Pancake

This collectable model Vought AF5U Flying Pancake represents one of the most unusual experimental aircraft ever built – an early flying wing. Painstakingly built from Philippine mahogany by our skilled craftsmen, this 1/32-scale model TBF/TBM-3 Avenger makes a great pilot gift or a present for any veteran, aviation enthusiast or history buff. The brainchild of Charles H. Zimmerman, a noted aeronautical engineer, the A5FU was designed to use its twin propellers to cancel out induced drag at its wingtips. The disc-shaped aircraft was also designed to operate from very low speeds – even able to hover, some engineers hoped – with tops speeds approaching 500 mph. Although development of test models began in the early 1940s, progress was slow. Vibratrions in the complex gearbox that connected the two large props to the single engine were a particular issue. The design proved to be easy to fly and maneuverable, but by 1946, the Navy – its intended customer – was already looking to jets for the next generation of aircraft. The prototype, the V-173, made its final flight in 1946 and is now in the collection of the National Air & Space Museum.