Rubber Powered Scale Models
Cessna Bird Dog
Frog issued three scale models in their "Senior Series", of which one was this Cessna Bird Dog. This complete kit has now been sold on,
but I also have another one missing the prop and wheels which I intend to build using the kit wood to see how it performs. I intend
to write this up on the web site, but just don't ask me when!
Here is the plan, which you can download full size below.
Comprehensive contents, with sandpaper, pre-cut glazing material, prop pre-installed in its nose bush,
wheels (why were they always red?), rubber, tissue and upper and lower nose blocks.
The sheet wood is not bad at all - not too heavy, and the die-cutting is neat. At the top is the die
cut wider stripwood, with the thinner stuff at the bottom. Between the two parts sheets you can see the wire,
which looks excessively thick for a model this size.
Download Bird Dog pdf file here (193 KB)
Download Bird Dog bmp files here (276 KB)
The parts sheets are scanned and traced from the die cut wood in the kit, so if the bits don't fit, it is Frog's fault, not mine!
Auster
This model was issued by Frog as part of the "De-Luxe Scale Series" in 1961, together with a D.H.Chipmunk. Thanks very much to Sidney Higgs for
sending me an excellent quality copy of the plan. Construction is rather robust, but this should make it strong enough to suffer punishment at the hands of a beginner, and
the layout should mean a stable flyer.
The parts on the printed wood patterns have been drawn up by myself using the plan as a guide, so I hope they all fit - if not, please let me know!
I am not sure if the wingtips are 3/32 or 1/16" balsa, so I have put the patterns for these on a separate sheet.
Download Auster pdf file here (307) KB)
Download Auster bmp files here (284 KB)
Thanks to Doug Dobbyn for sending me this photo of his model built from these plans. This was his second Frog Auster,
as the first one was built as a practise model for airbrushing and did not come out as well as
he had hoped. Then after initially proving unwilling to fly well, it finally got itself stuck in a tree.
This second one, to Doug's satisfaction, came out much better
and has proved a very reliable performer, flying stable left hand circuits for close to a minute.
D.H.Moth Minor
Here we have another of the Senior Series scale models, released with the Cessna Bird Dog and Short Seamew. It looks like a potentially good flyer to me, and simple to build. I have
included patterns for all the parts except for the strakes ahead of the tailplane, so you will have to take your best guess at those. I suspect the decking pieces will need a bit of trimming
to fit, but that is half the fun! Note the fuselage side frames are only 1/16" thick, as the longerons and uprights are made from 3/32" x 1/16" strip. Not a readily available size, so it looks like you will
have to strip your own.
I would suggest altering the nose to create a removable nose block, and provide some way of adjusting the thrust angle
Download Moth Minor pdf file for printing off on A4 sheets here (232) KB)
Download Moth Minor bmp files for printing off on A4 sheets here (339 KB)
Download Moth Minor plan as a single sheet in bmp format here (226 KB)