Guillows Basic Trainer II

[Steve Dwyer]

How many remember the Guillows Basic Trainer II? This was my first model build, I painted it using Testors with one of dad's old trim brushes. I still have the Fox 15. An older guy let me use his U-Reely at the Flying Aires CL flying field in East Greenbush, New York. I have since traveled back to that field which was alongside a grass airstrip airport. Nothing left there now of my flying days, except a school and a housing development. I still can vividly remember that summer evening in 1957 making the first flight...memories. 

Steve

[Dave_Trible]

I have one now I picked up on eBay as a kit a few years ago.   It is still a pretty good trainer.   The problem I have with it is the motor mount block is way too soft.  You can almost pull blind nuts all the way through the wood before ever feeling the engine is very tight.  In it's last ground encounter the engine pulled right out of the mounts.  At some point I'll cut away a hunk of mount block and imbed some hard wood to screw the engine to.  The airplane will mostly take off, fly and land itself if you tied it to a post.  Very easy for a beginner to handle.  I've wanted to have the bigger one but never found a kit.   

Dave

[Dan McEntee]

I have one now I picked up on eBay as a kit a few years ago.   It is still a pretty good trainer.   The problem I have with it is the motor mount block is way too soft.  You can almost pull blind nuts all the way through the wood before ever feeling the engine is very tight.  In it's last ground encounter the engine pulled right out of the mounts.  At some point I'll cut away a hunk of mount block and imbed some hard wood to screw the engine to.  The airplane will mostly take off, fly and land itself if you tied it to a post.  Very easy for a beginner to handle.  I've wanted to have the bigger one but never found a kit.   

Dave

   I think the " bigger one " was often used for entry level carrier and may have what inspired the profile class?? just have a foggy memory of reading that somewhere. I have the 1/2A kit or maybe this one in my collection. I think the plans for these show all the parts and a sample could be built from each. I'll have to check the usual sources for plans.
  Type at you later,
   Dan McEntee

[Ty Marcucci]

A few years back, say 2010, I built (assembled) four of them as club trainers.. 2 are still around.. I replaced the motor mounts with some made for me by Ronnie Thompson, of harder wood. They are pretty much for level flight, but I did loop two of them successfully.. Just to see if they could. 

[Steve Dwyer]

Some years back I scratched built a Guillow's Trainer III thinking my original was a III later realizing it was actually a 15 size II. I laminated the wings for the airfoil and built the front mount from pine wood. It is a tank no doubt from my using epoxy and heavy balsa to build the wing. I built it for my grandson calling it the Evan flyer. It has a Green Head Torpedo 35 on it, it does the circle but that's about it. It now hangs taking up space. I don't remember much about flying my original II except you could cartwheel it on landing with no damage. The next in line in the early 60s was a Super Clown.

Steve

[Windwalker]

The Guillows Basic Trainer II was my entry into larger models. I built mine when I was about 12 - 13 years old. Bought it from Don Still. I flew that model for Years, never breaking it. I was drafted into the military in 1964 at the age of 21. I packed up the Trainer II along with all my other models and put 'em away in the attic of my Dad's house.. During the next 3 years, he moved 4 times, leaving all those models in the attic.. I never saw any of them ever again...