Airfix 02043V Lockheed F80C Shooting Star

Part of the vintage classics range of Airfix kits.  Boxes feature original paintings by an impressive range of artists.

The development of the Shooting Star leant heavily on early jet technology supplied by the British, as the Americans were lagging behind both Britain and Germany regarding jet propulsion.  Initially developed around the British Halford H.1 engine taken from the de Havilland Vampire prototype, the project advanced under the strictest secrecy, with a team from Lockheed's 'Skunk Works' producing an airframe in an impressive 143 days.

The Shooting Star showed great promise during testing, attaining a speed of 500mph in level flight, the first turbojet powered USAAF aircraft to do so.  The F.80C would be used extensively during the Korean War, but by then this elegant early jet was already beginning to be outclassed.  By the end of its production run, over 1700 Shooting Stars of all variants had been produced.