Guillows sheetwood flying models - the Zip nocals.

[flash52]

When were these Guillow's Zip kits made? I'd guess the early sixties. Have you tried the Guillow's Dawn Patrol or Flying Circus biplane gliders?

[simpleflyer]

Thank you Scott, for posting the picture of the Banshees. I like the color scheme. The version of the Banshee that Guillows kitted was the earlier version, where the horizontal tail was mounted higher on the vertical tail. The tail of the F-89 is similar and has been the weak point in my Zip model of the F-89. When I build the Banshee model I will use the lower mounted horizontal tail.

Al

[simpleflyer]

Flash, the Guillows zip gliders were made in the early to mid 1950s. I have not tried the Dawn Patrol and Flying Circus gliders, but we did try a Guillows Jet Fire glider. It flew OK by swing control. At this time we are building mostly the scale nocal gliders.

Al

[Scott]

Thank you Scott, for posting the picture of the Banshees. I like the color scheme. The version of the Banshee that Guillows kitted was the earlier version, where the horizontal tail was mounted higher on the vertical tail. The tail of the F-89 is similar and has been the weak point in my Zip model of the F-89. When I build the Banshee model I will use the lower mounted horizontal tail.

Al

I look forward to a pic of your Banshee when you complete it,Al.

[simpleflyer]

We've built a couple more 'zip' gliders for swing control flight, a C-119 and a C-46. As a teenager in the CAPC we had the fortune of getting a flight in each of these aircraft.

Here is a pic of kitting the C-119. We found a 3 view online and scaled it to size and copied it to cardstock and cut out the main parts of the aircraft structure. Using the card patterns we cut the balsa parts from 1/32 and 1/16 balsa.



Then we marked the parts with a ballpoint pen and glued them together.



The assembled C-119 'zip' model. Ten inch wing span.



The C-119 in flight.



SF

[Scott]

That C-119 looks great,looks good in flight too.

[simpleflyer]

Thank you, Scott, for your comments. Here are pictures and data for the C-46 'zip' model. Our fifth airplane ride was in a C-46, courtesy of the USAF and the Civil Air Patrol. We were in high school and a CAP cadet. The CAP along with model airplanes provided us with some of our happiest and most memorable experiences during those years. The drill team that we belonged to won the state and regional competition in 1957. The national competition was at Mitchell Field in New York. The USAF generously provided transportation to and from Mitchell. They flew us there in a C-119 and the return flight was in a C-46.

We were able to snap this picture of the C-46 that flew us from Mitchell Field to England AFB, Louisiana.



The kitted C-46. We made two copies of the fuselage to get a pattern for the nacelle. Once the patterns are made, construction is quick. We save and file the patterns for future reference. For many of these small models, we enlarge the wing and horizontal tail for better flying ability.



Gluing up the fuselage and wing. Most of the markings are applied with a
ballpoint pen prior to assembly. The Electra will be our next 'zip' model.



The slots cut in the front of the fuselage and nacelles will contain the lead
pellets used for balance. When the doublers are glued in place, the slots
become pilot holes and are drilled out with a hand held drill bit to accept the pellets.



The C-46 ready for final assembly.



Presto! The C-46 almost ready to fly: drill out the holes for the lead pellets, preliminary balance job, add the thread to the wing tip, and off to the back yard for a test flight. The slots for the wing and hor. tail are snug enough, so test flights will be made without gluing them in place.



The C-46 in flight. One can almost imagine one of these hauling a load of
freight over the 'Hump' during WW2.



While not as popular as the C-47, the C-46 could haul more weight and did a great deal of resupply work in the far east. After WW2, Claire Chennault used these aircraft for his airline in China. Later, Air America also used the C-46.

Building this model was a pleasurable wander down memory lane, enjoy.

Al

[Scott]

Nice work on that C-46 Model,Al.Looks good in the air too.
Flying in those full-size Aircraft in your CAP days would
make for some great memories.

[simpleflyer]

Flying in those full-size Aircraft in your CAP days would
make for some great memories.

I apoligize for not replying to this post earlier, Scott. Yes, these flight expeiences did nurture a strong interest for aviation, together with childhood model building activity, that has led to a lifetime career in aeronautical activities and interests. The flights in the radial powered aircraft and a job at the Spartan engine overhaul shop for 3 years has given me a special appreciation for "round engines".

Al

[cliffm]

My dad flew c-47's and it seems he said the 46 was pressurised too, lending itself more suitable for the higher mountain routes. It was also a bit faster than the 47. The military did'nt warm up to it as well as the Douglas because of it's high production cost,maintenance, landing gear that did'nt stand up to the rugged conditions it was put in. Anyways have fun with the models.

[simpleflyer]

Decided to bring this thread back to the front page of the 'forum'. Here are a couple of our most recent Zip models that are flown as swing control models. A F-100 and a F-105. Both are aircraft that we became acquainted with while on a brief tour in the USAF during the early 1960's.

[dbcisco]

Thanks. I couldn't find this thread with the search function.

[simpleflyer]

Often, when we scratch build a ZIP model, we make our wood cutting patterns from a 3-view. For the F-100, we used an old one drawn by Walter Jefferies and published in the old American Modeler magazine. The 3-view was printed to a sheet of paper. The needed parts were cut out and scanned, sized, and then printed to cardstock.



Using the patterns as a cutting guide, the parts were cut and here we have 'ZIP' kit of the F-100.



The parts are assembled and a few addiitional pieces were added at the wing and tail attachement point to allow for a removeable wing and horizontal tail.

[simpleflyer]

We added a swing line to the F-100 and took it out for a test flight and it flew well.



A couple of weeks later, Norma and I took a trip to Louisiana to visit relatives. While there, we were able to visit Camp Beauregard where a F-100 is on display. We were able to get this photo op, flying the model F-100 next to the display aircraft. The model is in the upper left corner of the pic.

[Squishyp38]

Cool! you guys should do a flying wing model. You guys could also try modding them for full contact, swing line combat! I like that idea! I would definately do that if I had a good enough design.