i had forgotten how small it was

I have a set of plans from 1946 that show a CL scale from the Hobbycraft collection with a 28" span and a Bantam ignition engine. CL scale has changed a little bit, so many more things we can do now.

Fred

I had several of those plans but gave them away a long time ago. They were very nice models. I seem to recall we tried to find out who drew them. I think I had the Mustang and the Spitfire, maybe one or two more. Keith Trostle, do you have a bunch of these?? Did you end up with mine??

Maybe this should go to another thread, but I will respond here anyway.

Hobbycraft advertised in Air Trails for a period in the late 40's.  Their listings included a number of CL scale models as well as some scale FF models.  The plans were packaged as sets with as many as 5 or 6 designs in each one.  I am positive that these were all the work of Paul Plecan who worked with Bill Winter when Winter was the editor of Air Trails.  (There is a story about Plecan's background.  He emigrated from Russia or the Ukraine in the 20's or 30's. But that is another story.)  I have acquired several of the plans packages that were offered by Hobbycraft.  One package came from Gary Widmer (who passed away several years ago but sometimes commented on these CL websites).   I have another plans mpackage, but did not record where it came from.  It very well might have come from you, Don Hutchinson.  Many of the CL designs that Plecan made available were drawn to the same standard that appeared in the many plans he traced for Air Trails through the late 40's and 50's.  His style was along the quality of S. Calhoun Smith.  Many of those Hobbycraft plans had copyright dates as early as 1943.  It is interesting that they were supposedly drawn up as CL models, but would not show any form of control system but would have the note to refer to other publications since patent claims did not allow such to be shown.

Many of these CL Scale drawings by Plecan were drawn to 1"= 1' (or 1/12).  So for the time, were and still are a "nice" sized model for CL.  (Except for the period, the plans would show ignition 60's or something equivalent.  The plans, for the most part have almost what appear to be nice thickness symmetrical airfoils  Without going into my files, from memory, I have the following Plecan designs with the Hobbycraft label.  (Almost all are 1"=1'.)

F7F Tiger Cat (about 7.8" scale)
F4u Corsair
Lockheed Vega (with a really thick airfoil)
Lockheed Sirius
Focke Wulf Fw 190
Messerchmitt Br 109
P-38
P-51
Zero
Hawker Typoon
Hawker Hurricane
Westland Whirlwind.  (Plans show a clever method for a shock absorbing gear.)
some Goodyear racers to smaller scales, including the Swee' Pea and the Cosmic Wind.

He had many more listings including a large number of FF designs.

Now for some other comments.  Those Tigercat drawings have a copyright of around 1948.  American Modeler published a two page construction article by Plecan  (june 57) using the same plans without the Hobbycraft banner.  With sheeted wings and planked fuselage and nacelles, it builds into a gorgeous model.  (two 09's or two .15's would be ideal for a really neat and fun sport scale model.

The Whirlwind did not appear in his Hobbycraft listings, but a construction article appeared in the January 43 issue of Air Trails with about a 58" wingspan.  (It also appeared in one of the early Air Trails Annuals around 43 or 44.)

Plecan also did a semi scale stunt version of the Wittman Bonzo Goodyear racer, Nov/Dec 64  American Modeler. Nice looking model.  The one model I have seen built from these plans was OK, but the engine/tank problems were never sorted out - not a problem with the design.

There have been several attempts to build a couple of these models to be flown in Old Time Stunt.  The Tigercat, the P-38 and the Corsair had nice thick symmetrical or almost symmetrical airfoils, decent moments and tail areas so that if the models would be light enough, a "presentable" OTS pattern could be flown.  Those three projects did not work out too well because of their weight/wing loading.  Now, there is a Typhoon underway.  The numbers are there, great airfoil, but the weight may be a problem.  It has an extremely short nose, so will but a nice size engine in it with a completely enclosed muffler.  Hopefully, extra nose weight will not be needed.  At least, it could then be used as a neat sport scale or fun scale project.

Plecan was probably more well known in the FF community than in the CL circles.  He had many FF designs to his credit.  Many of those early Hobbycraft designs show construction that only a FF guy could appreciate and in some cases would not be practical for CL without some serious "adjustments" in the structure.  Many of those showed tissue covered wings and tail surfaces with no leading edge sheeting and no center section sheeting.

Keith

The models I recall weren't all that small.  One combat flyer, Howard Mickle, also flew scale.  In the middle 60's people didn't drive trucks and vans and pull race car trailers to contests.  Howard had a typical four door sedan in which he transported his combat planes and junior entourage.

His six-foot German biplane was firmly strapped to a plywood roof platform in a 3-point attitude.  There were the typical jokes about the whole car taking off.

The finale of a typical contest was the combat and stunt flyers sitting back to watch the top three scale jobs try to make ten laps.  If some of them failed, number four could take a crack at it.   I like it better with more flight points.

Magnificent, isn't it?  Hope someone with the necessary skills can restore it to its former glory.  Sure would be nice to see it flying again (or at least displayed somewhere).