"Aerosan" means "aero sleigh" in Russian. A variety of aerosan designs were built and used by Eastern European countries during the first half of the 20th century. But it was Russia that made the most use of these propeller-powered sleds.
The Aerosan RF-8 was built by the Gorky Automobile Factory under the name GAZ-98 and entered service in 1942. It was used in variety of roles including, recon, patrol, communications and raiding, often in support of ski troops and often behind enemy lines. Some 2,000 were built.
The GAZ-98 was powered by a GAZ truck engine. In the winter 1942-43, many of them were refitted with water-cooled inline aircraft engines and redesignated RF-8 or GAZ-98K.
They were built of plywood on a wooden frame, rode on independently sprung wooden skis, carried a crew of two, and mounted a single 7.62 mm DT machine gun. The RF-8 was fast, stable, and effective in its various roles. It continued in service until 1950 for border patrol.
The model is a free download from Paper Diorama. I built this one as a gift for a friend who was a product engineer in the snowmobile industry. It's a nice little model and an easy kit to build.
