The International Cessna^® 170 Association

Hi folks,

I'm an R/C modeler building a 1/6 scale 170B, intending to use the 1952-style paint scheme. The Association's site and this forum have been a great source of information and links--so my hat is tipped to those who maintain it as well as to the many knowledgable contributors.

I'm here looking for information from any 1952 owners who have maintained or recreated the factory paint scheme (or others with access to/knowledge of same). Specifically, I'm looking for information on:

--Width, length, and vertical positioning of the various longitudinal stripes;

--Size and shape of the '170' lettering on the cowl; and

--Width, height, and positioning of the Cessna logo on the tail.

The 170 is a beautiful plane, and I'd like to do it justice with my model. Any assistance would be appreciated.

Regards,

- Rick

I can't help with the info (mine is a '48), but I would love to see some pics - even some in progress / construction pictures.

T.

Rick
I have a original Cessna blueprint for the 1952 paint scheme.If you can get me your address I will have a copy made and sent.It is very detailed.Keep in mind the planes were bare aluminum with stripes of red or blue.According to this drawing the Cessna winged emblem on the tail actually faced backwards.I have seen them both ways.Let me know.
Mike Roe

tshort wrote:I can't help with the info (mine is a '48), but I would love to see some pics - even some in progress / construction pictures.

T.

Right now it's a mostly a pile of balsa--but in six to nine months it should look more or less like a plane. I'll be happy to post some pics along the way. Thanks![/img]

mike roe wrote:Rick
I have a original Cessna blueprint for the 1952 paint scheme.If you can get me your address I will have a copy made and sent.It is very detailed.Keep in mind the planes were bare aluminum with stripes of red or blue.According to this drawing the Cessna winged emblem on the tail actually faced backwards.I have seen them both ways.Let me know.
Mike Roe

Mike,

Thanks for the offer! I'll PM you with my e-mail address--the blueprint would be a great help.

Thanks to this site I found pics of the '52 scheme, and I really like it in either color. The original kit had decals for N9598A, and I came across a 170B with that designation depicted on the cover of the April '52 Flying mag, in Insignia Red over bare aluminum--so that's the look I'm going for.

I get the impression that the wing-thingie portion of the tail logo runs from lower forward to upper aft no matter which side of the plane it's on, so on the right side of the plane it would appear 'reversed' over the Cessna name. Sound correct?

Thanks,

- Rick

Rick
According to the Cessna drawing it shows a left side view of the Verticle stab. with the open end of the layed down V facing fwd.I have your email and will see if I can get the copy done Wednesday and contact you.

mike roe wrote:Rick
According to the Cessna drawing it shows a left side view of the Verticle stab. with the open end of the layed down V facing fwd.I have your email and will see if I can get the copy done Wednesday and contact you.

Well, Ill be durned. The original kit's plans had the open end of the V toward the aft end on the left side. I've seen contemporary pics showing it both ways. But a taking a closer look at images of some of Cessna's 1952 promo material shows me what you've now pointed out, that the open end was toward the "C" in Cessna. Live and learn, and that's why I came here for info. Thanks!

- Rick

Rick, Are you building a plans built 170, or a kit? I have to assume it has a 6 foot wing span and haven't seen a kit that size in years. (the only one I know of I believe was a Berkley kit). I have a set of plans for that, and would some day like to build it. I built a plans built model of a C180, off of Bob Morse plans, but it was a 10 ft wingspan with a chainsaw motor that I converted years ago. Keep us informed on your progress, as there are several modlers in this association also. Jon

jon s blocker wrote:Rick, Are you building a plans built 170, or a kit? I have to assume it has a 6 foot wing span and haven't seen a kit that size in years. (the only one I know of I believe was a Berkley kit). I have a set of plans for that, and would some day like to build it. I built a plans built model of a C180, off of Bob Morse plans, but it was a 10 ft wingspan with a chainsaw motor that I converted years ago. Keep us informed on your progress, as there are several modlers in this association also. Jon

Jon,

It's a semi-kit. There's a gent out in California who makes reproductions of old airplane kits, including the 72" Berkeley Models Cessna 170. His 'short' kits have updated plans and laser-cut balsa for all the old die-cut parts. Builder has to supply the other stock wood, and all hardware, etc., and craft a cowl from balsa blocks (like the original) or find a fibercglass facsimilie. I'm thinking of using a cowl from a 1/6 L-19 Bird Dog. I also have a few remaining usable parts left over from from an original Berkeley 170 kit that my Dad started to build back in the 50s and recently handed down to me, and for tradition's sake I'm planning to use those parts wherever possible.

Anyone interested in the reproduction kit can browse to...

http://www.mybloo.com/coosbay/laser/beaver.htm

...the 170 is the second one on the page.

I'm not a good enough builder or R/C pilot--yet--to attempt anything as ambitious as your 10' 180. Though I was rather tempted by plans and a formed cowl for a giant scale Cessna 190/195 that just popped up on a certain auction site in the last day or so... but way too pricey for me.

I'll be happy to keep interested parties posted on progress.

- Rick

A good friend owns Acme Aircraft and they make a great 170A model....
http://www.acme-aircraft.com/level02_products.htm

I found this article on the Acme 1-inch scale 170. Looks with the metallic covering! Looks good in white/color too.

Miles

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=512246

That thing is cool! Looks very realistic.

So how is flying a tailwheel model? All the RC stuff I ever flew had a training wheel

T.

tshort wrote:That thing is cool! Looks very realistic.

So how is flying a tailwheel model? All the RC stuff I ever flew had a training wheel

T.

If it's as realistic as it looks, the difference would be that you stay active on the controls until it stops, instead of just until one wheel rouches the ground.

John

Yeah, that's what I wondered. But all that directional control stuff is tougher when you are not looking down the center line of the airplane!

T.

tshort wrote:Yeah, that's what I wondered. But all that directional control stuff is tougher when you are not looking down the center line of the airplane!

T.

There are several significant differences between a model this size and the real thing:

These planes are obscenely overpowered compared to our full scale planes.

The props move a huge amount of air (relatively speaking) and the rudders are very effective.

Since the pilot is not sitting in the plane, you can much more aggressive with the yaw inputs and it is not that noticeable from the outside looking in. You can really horse them around.

These planes have very little inertia - very low mass - so when you put in corrective rudder they respond very quickly.

The take off and landing rolls are very short compared to their full scale counterparts. The video looked like a 10-15 foot TO roll and about a 5 foot or less landing roll.

All this combines to be a fairly docile airplane on the ground.

Now, if the pilot were to try to duplicate a scale takeoff roll (low power and let it roll 40-60 feet - a 36" span model is approx 1/12 scale) directional control becomes more challenging.

These park flyers are a blast to plod around just as you see in the video on the link Miles provided. Stay low stay close, play chicken with the guy flying next to you…They are also fun inside a large gymnasium or other large building. When I lived in Winnipeg, Canada we would fly once a month during the winter inside the Air Canada MX hangar. Big enough to hold 4 767's and an 80 foot ceiling. Lots of fun when it was -30 outside.

A cool looking model that is on my list to build soon.

Bruce