Canada's Famous Bush Planes by Unionville Hobby

Unionville Hobbies produces a fine line of classic built up model airplanes and I have owned several over the course of my model building life.

Noorduyn Norseman

40 Size finished in its Royal Canadian Mounted Police Air Division paint scheme (CF- MPL)* 

 When I purchased this model I was very disappointed with it. The cabin windows were fake stick on silver colored decals.

 I spent a lot of time studying the structural details around the cabin to find the least invasive way to cut out the sheeting for the windows without having to remove or alter the covering material.

 Eventually it was decided to cut out the openings with a sharp exact o knife and slide strips of thin model train window material between the covering and the balsa sheeting and fix them from shifting by a couple of drops of zap adhesive.

 Those small modifications transformed this model for me from an ugly little plane into one that is suddenly pleasing to the eye, especially from 30 feet away.

This image of me piloting the Norseman during a landing was taken by a miniature camera shooting through the new cabin windows.

* Norseman Mk V, Constructor's No. N29-40, Canadian Reg. CF-MPL.  Aircraft sold to Royal Canadian Mounted Police Feb. 11, 1949.  Paint scheme: Wings and tail surfaces, yellow, fuselage and undercarriage dark blue.
Subsequent owners (dates of sale):
   5/20/59 to Bradley Air Service, Carp, Ontario
   9/26/60 to Arnold E. Bradley, Chicoutimi, Quebec
   10/10/61 to Bradley Air Service, Carp, Ontario
   11/20/64 to Mattagami Skyways Co. Ltd., Moonbeam, Ontario
On May 5, 1965, MPL crashed at Cooper Lake (49/02N, 20/59W during a landing in a rainstorm.  The pilot and two passengers were killed.  Two other passengers were injured.
Note: Dates of sales obtained from DOT Canada and given to us by Bob Noorduyne.

60 Size Norseman
This trustworthy Norseman which he built about 25 years ago.
The model is from a Unionville Hobbies Norseman semi scale kit. Hank modified the plans to more closely resemble the full scale airplane. The color-scheme he chose is of a plane which is at the National Aircraft museum in Ottawa.
The Noorduyn Norseman is a Canadian single-engine bush plane designed to operate from unimproved surfaces. The partial streamlining of the landing gear, in the form of two small "wings" extending from the lower fuselage, is a distinctive feature of the design which makes it easily recognizable. Originally introduced in 1935, the Norseman remained in production for almost 25 years with over 900 produced. A number of examples remain in commercial and private use to this day. Norseman aircraft are known to have been registered and/or operated in 68 countries throughout the world and also have been based and flown in the Arctic and Antarctic regions.
Watch a short video of the model flying at our field on June 16.

This model was constructed from a Unionville Hobbies kit more than 20 years ago and was modified by the builder to more closely resemble the original aircraft which is on display at the National Air Museum in Ottawa Canada

Those changes are principally confined to the tail surfaces and landing gear strut arrangement as well as the cowl shape

The wing panels are attached with bolts at the fuselage sides where the shear loads are reacted, the wing bending moments are carried by the wing struts, just like the full size airplane

The same model shown in the next video flying at 1/2 speed.




deHavilland Bever DHC 2

This old model airplane was rescued from mouse infestation and put back into service just for old times sake. The Enya 46 4 cycle engine's carburetor was badly seized and had to be heated with a blow torch just to get things moving again. The high aspect ratio wing is equipped with flaps which I was at first a little reluctant to deploy in the air because of their extreme deflection but after trying them we were happy to discover that they made a big improvement in the model's flying performance.  Especially in the takeoff and landing events.


E-Flite Electric Beaver

We were able to log the maiden for our new Beaver on the second day of flying for us this season (24th. May 2016). Summing up: we have to say that we were pleased with the way she performed and looking forward to many flights with this minimum fuss scale flyer.



  

Bristol Scout

"Vickers Challenger synchroniser (Bristol Scout)" by An unknown member of the Australian Flying Corps, 1916 - Roberts, e.g. Boxkites and beyond, Melbourne, Hawthorn Press, 1976. Licensed under Public domain via Wikimedia Commons.

After its first public appearance, by May 1914 what would later become known as the "Bristol Scout A" had been refitted with a longer span - at 24 ft 7 in (7.49 m) set of wing panels that were rigged with 1 3⁄4° of dihedral, replacing the initial 22 ft (6.71 m) span panels, a larger surface area rudder, and a much more conventional open-front, ring-style, "six segment" cowl to house the 80 hp Gnôme Lambda rotary engine. The British military first evaluated the Scout A aircraft on 14 May 1914, at Farnborough, when the aircraft achieved a top airspeed of 97.5 mph (157 km/h).[1] The Scout A also entered two air races in the summer of 1914 after being purchased by British Lord Carbery for £400 without its engine. Flying with an 80  Brianhp Le Rhône 9C nine-cylinder rotary installed by its purchaser, it was ditched in the English Channel during the second air race it participated in; a round trip from Hendon in the UK to the French Buc aerodrome (near Versailles) and back, due to its running out of fuel. While in France, the tanks had been only half-filled by mistake.


General characteristics Crew: One, pilot Length: 20 ft 8 in (6.30 m) Wingspan: 24 ft 7 in (7.49 m) Height: 8 ft 6 in (2.59 m) Wing area: 198 ft² (18.40 m²) Empty weight: 789 lb (358 kg) Loaded weight: 1,195 lb (542 kg) Powerplant: 1 × Le Rhône 9C rotary piston engine, 80 hp (60 kW) Performance Maximum speed: 94 mph (151 km/h) Service ceiling: 16,000 ft (4,900 m) Rate of climb: 18 min 30 sec to 10,000 ft (18 min 30 sec to 3,048 m) Power/mass: 0.067 hp/lb (0.11 kW/kg) Combat endurance: 2½ hours

Model 35% scale of BRISTOL SCOUT 1C Construction Number 1060 by Brian Perkins, Ottawa, Canada.

  Model was expertly flown in a "Hot-dog" fashion at the annual DRCF picnic airshow. 

RC Modeler's Yardstick - The Humongous Model Airplane Built Entirely of Yard Sticks

Yardstick

A model made completely of surplus yardsticks

 This model was so large that it makes the Quadra 40 engine on the nose resemble an 049

RCModeler's Yardstick

Yardstick.

Plan 910.

Type Model RC Sport Trainer.
Wingspan 108in.Highwing.
Engine Glow Fox .60
Control 3 channels.
Designer George Thompson.
Magazine RCModeler Apr.1984.

The wing was made up of 2 - 6 foot panels joined at the center and supported by two struts made from tent poles. To watch it drone overhead you almost could image that it eclipsed the sun. Actually the model was designed to fly on a healthy sixty size glow engine. I flew this plane at first with an Eagle 61 Fox engine driving a Byron propeller speed reducing apparatus swinging an 18 X 6 inch propeller. This prop was much too small for this power setup; even at full speed the model would catch up to the engine and the thrust dropped accordingly. The result was, after takeoff the planes altitude could not be increased to much more than a couple of wingspans above ground level. I remember that first flight very well: how scared I was at the time frantically attempting to negotiate this big beast around the field. The flight ended when the engine power began to sag and the forced landing was made in the rough off the runway. The cause of the power loss was abundantly clear as soon as we approached the downed Yardstick. The high revolutions caused the screws holding the cylinder to the crankcase to loosen to the point that the members were on the verge of separating. The problem could have been solved with a bigger and higher pitch propeller but as I recall I couldn't bring myself to spend thirty dollars for a propeller that may have lasted no more than one flight.

One day while flying the model with the large Quadra 40 Gas Engine installed, it suffered a nasty accident when it was caught in a tail wind and hung vertically by the propeller. Foolishly I immediately reduced power, instead of trying to power out of the problem and it settled heavily onto its tail feathers. In the end this was the final straw for my old Yardstick, not worth repairing and too large to store in the limited hanger space.

Yardstick Plans

Get all the details by watching the video below.

Unionville Hobby's Norseman - Canadian Famous Bushplane

Unionville Hobby's Norseman semi scale kit was modified to more closely resemble the full scale airplane which is at the National Aircraft museum in Ottawa.

The Noorduyn Norseman is a Canadian single-engine bush plane designed to operate from unimproved surfaces. The partial streamlining of the landing gear, in the form of two small "wings" extending from the lower fuselage, is a distinctive feature of the design which makes it easily recognizable. Originally introduced in 1935, the Norseman remained in production for almost 25 years with over 900 produced. A number of examples remain in commercial and private use to this day. Norseman aircraft are known to have been registered and/or operated in 68 countries throughout the world and also have been based and flown in the Arctic and Antarctic regions.

This model was constructed from a Unionville Hobbies kit more than 20 years ago and was modified by the builder to more closely resemble the original aircraft which is on display at the National Air Museum in Ottawa Canada

Those changes are principally confined to the tail surfaces and landing gear strut arrangement as well as the cowl shape

The wing panels are attached with bolts at the fuselage sides where the shear loads are reacted, the wing bending moments are carried by the wing struts, just like the full size airplane

Watch a short video of the model flying at our field on June 16


Another more recent video of the same aircraft.