Aeronca Champ past over....

oldhooker:

Very nice job on that Mite ! Looking forward to seeing it finished. There used to be a couple of MItes out at the local ( Corona CA.) airport - what neat little airplanes ! I remember the Aero Commander and Aztec models - I think they were from Comet originally, and acquired by Aurora. There was also an early Cessna 310 - straight vertical tail and tip tanks - a la Sky King.

And speaking of homebuilts, was planning to build an RV-3, but....

Jim

Thanks for the Airshow Models link; that company definately is worth watching!

Ahhh... the Cessna 195! Wouldn't that be a beautiful addition to my collection... as well as the Monocoupe and Ballanca's... maybe even the Swift!

Funny you happen to mention the Lindberg Mooney Mite and Ercoupe with the solid window panels; I had an old Mite model that had found it's way into one of my spares boxes over the years, but I used the solid canopy to do my very first experiment in Desk-Top Vacuforming, then proceeded in fixing up the interior.... as the in-progress photo shows:



It turned out to be a pretty nice kit after all...

Aurora use to make an early Aero Commander and Piper Aztec, which you can find every now and then on E-Bay, but they generally close quite high.... (wonder if Polar Lights couldn't re-do these kits?)

I remember some of my first models back in the early and mid 1950's were 1/48th civil aircraft kits from Lindberg. They had no clear parts - the canopies and windows were molded as part of the fuselage - you had to paint them to "look like glass". The ones I remember are:

J3 Cub ( I think )
Mooney Mite ( neat little airplane ! )
Ercoupe
Republic Seabee
Bonanza
Navion
Stinson Station Wagon
Knight Twister
Midget Mustang ( drool ! )

There were probably others, but the above nine are all I can remember right now. They were molded in silver plastic, but I seem to remember the Cub being yellow, and the Stinson a dark red.

Darrenbb : was at an EAA fly-in about a year ago and there were two C-195's there - natural aluminum with factory color trim, and very highly polished. Just gorgeous !

Jim

I don't think anyone mentioned the Cessna 195. Absolutely the most elegant aircraft they ever made. I love that cowling with all the bumps on it to clear the pushrod covers. Also the Navion, that's another one of my favorites.

I restored a 7AC several years back. I got it completely disassembled in boxes. Talk about a 1:1 scale model! It was a lot of fun.

Darren

Airshow Models will be bringing out a 1/32nd resin Decathalon sometime in the future ( the Citabria/Decatalon is just a glorified Champ ! ). They already have 1/32nd resin kits of the Pitts S-2 and Christen Eagle. They will also be doing a Pitts S-1, Extra 300, Super Chipmunk, and a Stearman that can either be built stock or as an airshow airplane.

Would love to see a Cessna 120/140 kit. I owned a 120 for a very short period of time :


Speaking of Champs, do any of you remember the Robin Williams movie "The World According to Garp"? When I first started learning to fly at Corona airport in 1980 the school had a blue/white Champ on the line - the same Champ that was later flown into the house for that movie.

Jim

My first flight was in an old J-3 Cub. I was about ten or twelve and my uncle took me up. What I could not understand is why we didn't fall out of the sky because it looked like we were standing still. There was no feeling of speed. In later years I flew the C-180 to get my pilots licence. I have a model of both types, un-built.

The Waco Taperwing.... Piper Colt, Pacer, and Tri-Pacer... Fourney F-1 Ercoupe.... yes, yes, yes; all these types of light General Aviation aircraft stir memories and emotions at the very mention of their name!

As much as I like and can relate to the CH-47, which most of my aviation experiences revolve around, even they don't stir the same viseral reaction as the "Smell" of a 7AC! I remember the very first time I looked down at the left wheel rolling to a stop and the Champ silluette falling away, and, no one was in the back seat that time..... I remember my inability to BREATH!

And what about the "Experimental" aircraft? My goodness, haven't any model manufacturer ever looked at pictures of the massive crowds that gather at Oshkosh or Sun-n-Fun? Haven't they noticed the faces of the people when a "Breezy" flies by, the little smile that always appears... that little smile is what's commonly referred to as a "DREAM" and a "WONDER".... why haven't the manufacturers ever noticed that, and capitalized on it?

A couple years ago, someone suggested to "Polar Lights" to manufactur some of the "Classic" stock cars.... now they can't keep them on the shelves, not because they're such fantastic models, but because the picture on the front of the box makes appeals to the sentimental side of a public that has been generally ignored..... the SAME THING would happen if one day you walked into your local Hobby Shop and saw a Classic and Modern General Aviation section! They'd go like Hotcakes at IHOP, wouldn't they?

"Never hurts to dream"
Frank

Frank,
Yeah, there's a plethora of military aircraft models, or civilian airliners made these days - but there's not a helluva lot of GA (general aviation) aircraft models around. That's a real shame, because there are so many types, many of which are either synonomous with civil aviation (light planes - Cessna, Beech, Piper, Gulfstream, Aeronica etc) or there are amazing experimental things with wings (Pitts, Chipmunks, the Rutan stable for example) that are almost totally ignored in 1/72 or 1/48 scale. Bugger. Then there are the Ultra Lights - I have a mate who has a Jabiru - what a sweet little plane.........
As a 9 year old, my very first excursion above the earth was in a friend's Aeronica Champ. Boy, did I feel 10 feet tall and like a million dollars when my dad's friend said "C'mon mate - let's go!" - and up we went!! Many years later I got a ride in a beautifully restored Tiger Moth. Loops, barrel rolls, tight turns - what a buzz!!
I wish there were more GA models around.......
Cheers,
LeeTree

I've always liked the Cessna Aerocoupe, and a sentimental favorite is the Tri-Pacer (my dad flew one for the CAP).

Did someone mention the Aeronca Champ?!?!?
I'll buy ten Aeronca 7AC kits if you could talk someone into bringing a kit out. I have a couple hundred hours on the Champ. What a great a/c to fly. We finally sold it and it went to Colorado. It was just too expensive to keep. Now I wish that we had it back.
You are correct about kit manufactureres not civy a/c like the Champ, the Citabria and Decathalon. Can I suggest a Waco Taperwing? I was flying a 1929 Taperwing just last week. What a beautiful a/c. That would be a great model to see. While on the subject, let's suggest the prettiest civilian a/c of them all...The Beech Staggerwing. It can also be done up in military livery. I have the old AMT kit but it is pretty lame.
Cheers
Bob S.

Yeah, the manufacturers seem to overlook a lot of civilian aircraft except airliners. There are so many good-looking training and private aircraft out there. I don't know if any exist outside of Voyager, but I would LOVE to see some of Bert Rutan's planes in kit form. Sad, but true, I guess.