Hello Fellow RCers,

I have flown mostly scale planes in my time and my latest addition to my fleet is GSP 0-1 at 72.3 " span. I got interested of this craft back in the early days when I was near Da Nang Airbase in the 60's and watched VNAF 0-1s making runs and fire marker rockets at suspected VC positions. A decade later (10 years), I moved to Ho Chi Minh City ( former Sai Gon) and watched silver VPAF Mig-17s exercising over Tan Son Nhut Air Base. Now 30 years after the fall of Saigon, I am in NM, ALBQ trying to relive my childhood days by buiding a VNAF light gray Bird Dog. Would anyone like me to post construction pictures from beginning to end? I will power my with electric power. Let me know guys... Dai

Have you finished the plane yet? I'm interested in how it looks and flys.

Definitely keep us posted. I have been looking at the larger 100" to put a 46cc gasser on, but the smaller one interests me too.

I have been bitten by the electric bug lately and am putting together a couple of electric planes with AXI motors, so I will be looking forward to your construction notes.

Oh, forgot the mention that the glow to electric conversions forum may be a better place for this thread, but it will work great here too.

Hello,

My 0-1 is ready to be painted. I am waiting for the weather here in NM to get a little warmer before I spray. It is interesting to note that the GSP 0-1 in 72 " and 96" ARE NOT fom the same designer! While the 72" appears scale, the 96" version is a joke! The wing has NO dihedral, the cabin to too tall and the landing gear is way short! It is amazing how it is designed such a way. I will keep you guys posted.

Great! We're looking forward to some pics and flight reports!

Dai

I have always liked the Bird Dog and hope to build one someday in Vietnam era colors. Look forward to seeing your pictures.

Ed

Hello,

I am thinking about buying a digital camera to post the pictures. Is 3.2 mepixel good enough?
Dai Phan

3.2 is okay for posting pix, but the 4-6 megapixel are much better for general photography and the prices are getting reasonable. I'd love to see your BirdDog, especially the VNAF colors and markings. I ordered Vailly's plans for the 1/4 scale and have the kit coming from Precision, and I want to do something different from the standard Army O.D. green or the USAF gray, maybe a camo pattern. I went to the Bird Dog Owners of America website and found a book, which is also on its way, called "The Beloved One-Niner", and it's supposed to have a couple hundred photos, some in color. There's also a museum-quality restored one at a nearby grass strip that I'm going to photograph for construction details. I'm putting a US-41 gasser in mine, and will probably "doll it up" with wing add-ons, such as smoke rockets, maybe even a MG or two, which I've read that some also mounted. Can't have a poor, defenseless Bird Dog flyin' around, can I?

I just received by FedEx today a book by Minard Thompson, who is known in the L-19 community as "Mr. Bird Dog". It is 272 pages, hardcover, with a couple hundred pictures of Bird Dogs, about 1/4 of them in color. It has all the model variants and technical info on the differences, markings specifications, historical and developmental data. Once I have his permission, I will post his address for anyone interested in ordering this book for themselves. It has everything you would need to make a Scalemasters Champion. As far as that goes. Mr. Thompson's full-size plane has been modeled several times and he won the Oshkosh Grand Champion Warbird Trophy in 1996 with his L-19.

That book "The Lovable One Niner" is excellent and the pictures are awesome. My Dad flew L-19's in the Army starting back in 1954 and I bought him that book as a gift. I had a Vallencourt 108" L-19 powered by a Zenoah G38 until this last summer when I sold it.

I have also owned and flown the GSP 0-1/L-19. I powered mine with a Saito .72 four stroke. I'm interested in what you think of the quality of the plane and how it flies when you get to that point.

What field are you flying at?

Snoop--- that sounds like a Sepulveda post question

One other thing. Snoop, are you the Rotor Wing Aviator Formerly Known As Cyclic.....?

For posting pictures, 3.2mp is plenty. I have been using a Fuji Finepix 2.0mp and it works just fine for posting pics and general snap shots. I bought it for less than $100. The way prices keep falling, it might be wise to get an older model being clearanced out. Unless you have a pressing need for a full featured one NOW, save your money to buy that $399 5.0 megapixel for $199 two years later.

About the GSP Bird Dog, I didn't know the 96" is that far off scale. For me, it's not so bad, since I am far from a scale buff. Anything from sport scale to "squint scale" from 10ft away is fine with me.

Hello,

I am quite suprised that there are many people who are interested in such plane. I am buying a digital camera today and will post pictures ASAP. I plan to buy a a cheap digital camera say 2-3 Mepix and see how the pictures turn out. The plane is asembled, reccovered in gray/white Ultrakote and ready to be painted. I use the F-15 1/6 scale pilot with modifications by stripping off his G-suit gear and change the helmet. I am planning to paint it in VNAF colors. I got the pictures from the VNAF web site that has lots of VNAF aircrafts. Keep your eyes peeled... I fly at the Albuquerque Balloon Park in New Mexico... Dai Phan

Hello RCers,

I got my camera today. It is the Sony 4.1 MP. I will take some pictures and start a new thread on "Finishing and Flying VNAF 0-1 Bird Dog" as soon as the pictures become available. I will cover the painting process to the small detail addition. We have seen too many Cessna 150,172 and 182 so now it is the time for this venerable Cessna to be in a spot light. By the way, the book on the l-19, does it have good photographs of the VNAF Bird Dogs?

Dai Phan

Dai,

I'm pretty sure it has some VNAF pictures. I'm sure one of the guys who has a copy will let us know. My father has his and we're 750 miles apart so I can't easily look.

The 3-views I have of a Biddog show that the plane has almost no dihedral. The top of the wing is straight with the wing taper forming some slight dihedral. I'd be interested in what the books have to show for dihedral.

-Ben

Hello,

Bird dog has noticable dihedral starting at the center of wing. However, in my O-1 version, the designer deciedes to have the dihedral starts at the middle of the wing. Examples would be DC-3 or SDB wings, therefore the wing comprises of 3 panels. Why on earth doing this is beyond my comprehesion as it adds more work for the builders and factory workers. However, it still looks right and unless you are a L-19 nut, no one would know. Dai Phan

Yes , Dai Phan, it has some great VNAF pictures, and has complete diagrams showing interior detail for all variants, exactly where they fit, and the particular item used in a given model (example: the throttle quadrant is different for certain models, it shows each quadrant and which model it goes on and in what location), also the different radios, instruments, etc. It's worth the money for anyone wanting to model the BirdDog. The inside front and rear covers has all the patches, in color of all units that flew the L-19 / 0-1 in both Korea and Vietnam. His address is [email protected], his name is Minard Thompson.

According to Thompson's book on the L-19, it has 2-1/2 degrees dihedral (each wing) and the center section (top of the cabin) is flat.

More--Cessna played with the dihedral, tried flattening the wing to see if the roll response improved, by shortening the struts. Performance didn't change, so they left it as it was.

This is the picture of the VNAF O-1 that I will duplicate.

More pictures...