AeroModeller – June 2018

be top-notch but it doesn’t matter – you

want these angles for outline shapes,

not detail.

Frogfl ite Bird Dog

Andrew Darby has put me on to a

website and a technique that were both

new to me. Wanting a new model for his

son to build for Kit Scale along the lines

of last year’s successful entry, Andrew

chose the A A Hales Frogfl ite Bird

Dog. The Frogfl ite series were all-sheet

and brightly-printed, and they are all

represented at the Downloadable Plans

section of Paul and Ralph Bradley's

Model Airplane Hangout:

http://www.parmodels.com

For each design there are two full

sets of coloured parts plus the other

essentials like wire patterns. Why two?

The fi rst set is intended for those whose

printer will print straight onto balsa

sheet. The second is printed in reverse

because it is intended to be used on

iron-on T Shirt fi lm. Full instructions

are given on the website and I got

quite excited to fi nd there was a Puss

Moth, until I saw how Frog dealt with

the undercarriage! It’s an interesting

technique with plenty of possibilities.

Fokker DII

I’m getting to the back of my cupboard

now in my determination to fi nish all

the abandoned projects around the

house. This one was started as part

of my desire, once again, to fl y power

models at Old Warden like we did in

olden times. Times have changed,

however, and the days of big, heavy

models being sent up to crash into, or

through, the trees are gone – as are the

trees. The need is now for smaller and –

more importantly – more lightly-loaded

models that can be fl own safely when

conditions suit.

The origins of this 36” model are a

Peter Rake design which appeared

some years ago in Aviation Modeller

International. Many of Peter’s designs

are suitable for conversion to FF but

they need some structural modifi cation,

mainly because they are one-piece

radio models. Here, I changed the

single ‘Tomboy’ spar for paired spars

at the strut locations and made the

wings detachable via carbon rods and

aluminium tubes, but the rest was

mostly unchanged.

The wings will ride up in fl ight for

dihedral. The built-up rudder has been

replaced with a sheet version fi xed to

the sternpost, with the back inch hinged

as a tab purely for practicality. The CG

symbol has been stuck on in exactly

the right place so the fl ying weight will

55

This is your columnist ́s uncovered big rubber Fw47, dwarfi ng his electric

indoor version.

This is Peter Rea’s Auster Aristocrat, modifi ed from an old CR Moore plan in

Model Aircraft magazine. (Photo by Lindsey Smith)

Here are all the parts for Andrew Darby’s Frogfl ite Bird Dog – see the text for

how he did it. (Photo by Andrew Darby)

The Fokker DII structure is based on a smaller Peter Rake RC design in AMI.

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