I've recently become enamored with the aircraft of the 1920s and 30s. As that is a fairly limited category and there were some who were hoping for a Knights of the Sky 3 GB, I thought it would be practical to open it up to a pre-WW2 aviation GB. 35 years is a nice round number and 1938 offers a fairly clean cut off from WW2 without dismissing it completely.
If the type flew between Dec 17, 1903 and Dec 31, 1938 it qualifies. Wright flyer, WW1 aircraft, yellow wings, Spanish Civil War etc. There are even a few WW2 aircraft that had early versions flying, including Spitfire, Hurricane, P36, B-17, Me109, He-111, I-16, Ki-27 Nate.
In addition to combat aircraft there are lots of General aviation, racing, exploration / record breaking, and early airliners. It was also a golden age for the seaplane.
As aftermarket for many of these planes is limited or non-existant rivet counting for markings will not be in effect. As long as the variant was in use before Jan 1, 1939, later markings are ok (so a Gladiator in BoB or Winterwar Finn markings is acceptable). An exception is prototypes that flew in 1938, but did not enter service until 1939 (or later). These are acceptable but must be done as a prototype (so no sneaking in an AVG P-40, since the first flight was in 1938, but production of the P-40 didn't began until 1939).
There are quite a few Airfix, Matchbox and Revell / Monogram kits available for this period, so this can easily be a cheap quickie build for people looking to add something different to their collection. Limited run and resin kits open up many more exotic subjects.
So anyone interested in a group build highlighting the first 35 years of powered flight? I'm hoping for maybe a Feb or March start date? I'm flexible on an end date Sept/Oct or maybe run it to Dec 17 (Wright brothers first flight).