cessna 188

A friend on mine has a friend that he says he has two kits by Bud Nosen. I have not seen them or herd of him. One is a 60 size champ and the other is a larger P51. Just wondering if anybody has either one of the kits? Any info would be great.

draftman1

Bud Nosen was the designer on those, A & A industries kitted them but they are no longer in business. I don't know the history of Bud Nosen but from what I have seen, he was quite popular, my first trainer was his 20 yrs ago and I also did the citabria, which I am gona do again, 1/4" scale size. there are other posters that will have more info on Bud, im sure

TexasAirBoss

My Feedback: (22)

THe Bud Nosen stuff were some of the earliest big bird kits. THey were pretty lacking by todays standards, but quite exceptable in their day. He did a giant Cessna 310 that is worth a mint if you can find one, he did a Cessna trainer that was a blast to fly, and the huge Mustang, Horses Itch, or somethig raunchy like that. I never saw anyone complete the Mustang.

A&A came along later, (I think). Not sure if they bought the line or what. I have the Champ kit, but I think its 40 size. They have a Citabria and I think a Decathlon. I found an after market glass cowl for the Champ. Of the A&A stuff, I think the Champ is the most valuable. Just because there are other Decathlon and Citabrias around. But I haven't seen any other nice Champs.
The Mustang probably isn't going to fetch that much anymore. There are glass Mustangs around that size now that are nicer and easier to build.

The Nosen stuff was fairly well known in the early 1980's. Not sure when they went under. I consider the quality fair from speaking to friends that built them. I haven't touched my Champ. But I am looking forward to it.

GaGeeBees

My Feedback: (23)

Three examples of Bud Nosen kits. My Mister Mulligan (Howard DGA-6) in white. The red one is my Howard DGA-15. Last is a Cessna 310 belonging to Mac Hodges, better known for flying the big B-29 with the Bell X-1 at fly ins all over the country.

Stickbuilder

I built the P-51 back in the early 80's, and it was a total lumber yard. There were tons of sticks, sheets and blocks to carve and sand. I loved it. It took about a year and a half to complete, and I flew it on a Sachs-Dolmar engine. It was a great flier. I sold it complete to a guy from up North somewhere. A friend of mine did the 310, and also the Champ. I don't know anyone who bought one of the Nosen kits who did not finish it. Of course, there was a different mind set back then.

Bill, AMA 4720
WACO Brotherhood #1

FLYBOY

My Feedback: (11)

I had the gear sport and a few mustangs. Cool planes. As stated, a huge amount of wood in them. Lots of work to build.

cessna 188

My friend is not going to build them. He would probably sell them. Is there a market for these or are they dinosaurs that nobody would want?

Bass1

The Bud Nosen kits/plans are great projects for "winter doldrum' builds. This Nosen Citabria was started in early December and finished in late March of the following year. Thoroughly enjoyed the building experience. I wish there were more options as far as (reasonably priced) kits go now days. I need a cool project for this coming winter. I was looking at the 28% Aeroworks 50cc Edge kit but just can't see shelling out $400.00 dollars for it

khodges

My Feedback: (1)

I've got one of those Cessna trainers, one of our elder members gave it to me when I bought a gas engine from him. He built it over 20 years ago. I re-covered and stretched the wing from 90 to 98 inches, turned it into a tail dragger and fly it on a US-41. Repairs and many coats of paint made it gain a bit of weight, but it's almost indestructible. You're right, it's a blast to fly, does decent basic aerobatics. It's turned into my "daily flyer", handles wind fairly well. Slab-sided and semi-ugly, I'll keep it until its expiration date

buildflycrash

The plans and instructions are lacking also.

I started building a Nolsen cub....then threw it away.[&o]

Stickbuilder

Get your friend to catalog what he has, and send me a pm with the list and the price. I am always looking for something to build.

Bill, AMA 4720
WACO Brotherhood #1

cessna 188

I'll let you know in a couple of days. He is gone for the weekend.

RK-Aircraft

My Feedback: (81)

Bud Nosen actually had quite a few designs out there that were good solid designs for scratch builders. Decathlons, Citabria, Piper Cubs, P-51, Corsairs, Cessna 310, Big Stick and a honking big Trainer whose name escapes me.

A&A kitted these plans with inferior balsa and ruined the Nosen reputation for those that never had one or flew one. Now, the plan rights lay with a fellow named David Sebring who apparently bought the rights to the plans from A&A. As of this posting, no one has seen anything surface on the retail or online markets and Mr. Sebring is nowhere to be found.

However, Bud Nosen kits are resurfacing as short kits from a guy called Eddie at Laser Works (http://www.lazer-works.com/misc.html) and some outfit called A-Amodels on ebay. I have a short kit for the Cessna 310 and a short kit from the rarely seen Big Stick which sports a 101" wingspan. For those of you that aren't familiar with the term. Short-kits ususally include the designer plans and all of the cut wood in the design. So this means you would get the wing ribs, fuselage formers and bulkheads. Most of the cut stuff is plywood, spruce or bass which is a pain to cut. You provide the stringers, longerons, sheeting and blocking and all the hardware. They are cheaper than a full kit and put you in control of the wood quality. But its not for the faint of heart. You need kit building experience or lots and lots of time.

Unfortunately, Laserworks does not sell plans due to copyright restrictions. So you 'll have to scavenge for them on Ebay or RCU.
Hope this helps explain a little about Bud Nosen.

Mode One

Bud Nosen manufactured kits in Two Harbors Minnesota. When Giant Scale (It was called 1/4 scale then) started gaining headway, he was one of the first to offer kits in this size. I think the Aeronca Champion was the first. They were stated to use a .60 which was marginal at best, but did work. RK-Aircraft has list all the kits that I can remember excepting the Gere Sport Biplane and a Mr. Mulligan. I don't think there was Decathalon, as a Decathalon is basically the same airplane as a Citabria. Sometime in the late 1970s, early 1980s A&A Industries of Sibley Iowa bought the business from Bud. Until very recently, Bud Nosen still sold Balsa, like Balsa USA, Sig and Midwest do. I built the Champ from the A&A kit. I found the wood to be excellent and the plans were as good as any manufacturers plans out there. There wasn't much for instructions in my opinion. However, that wasn't a problem, as people knew how to build models then. A Bud Nosen/A&A Industrie's kit was a lumber yard in a box with good plans and two pages of type written instructions. An Aeronca Champion is offered by Ikon & Northwest as a kit and plans are available from Wendell Hostetler. Both are for a quarter scale models.

I don't think A&A did anything wrong with the business, I don't know when they quit; but, would guess the reason was the depleated kit market!

dhal22

everything i've heard about nosen kits has been said here. tons of balsa, heavy and durable.

Mode One

I don't think the Nosen kits were heavy. As a matter of fact, I changed the longerons on my fuse to spruce to increase the strength. I powered my airplane with an O.S 120 four stroke. It flew realistically with this power and was a really fun and realistic airplane to fly. It needed rudder to coordinate the turns. My Airtronics Championship Series 7 Channel had Rudder/Aileron coupling which helped. The airplane was airborne in about 75-100 feet. I would build another Nosen kit in a heart beat! He had a Jenny kit, I think, also.

studer66

My Feedback: (3)

A&A industries was located 30 miles from me in sibley iowa. Theyve been gone for awhile now. My dad built the bud nosen gere sport biplane. My grandpa built the bud nosen trainer whicj i now have. And i friend of my dads built the bud nosen cessna 310. The cessna 310 was never completed. From what ive seen they are great planes. The engine they reccomend from the plans is way under powered. My dad has a quadra 50 in the biplane and thats just enough power, they reccomended a .60 size glow which i doubt would even get it off the ground. If anyone has the plans for the bud nosen gere sport biplane id be happy to buy them or a copy from you. The plans my dad had got damaged in the attick from the roof leeking. My email is [email protected]

ExperimentalAviator

My Feedback: (15)

Over the past few years I have kept up with eBay prices for the Bud Nosen and A&A kits. Mike
__________________________________________________ ___________________________________

Prices do not include shipping and handling charges. Prices reflect NIB Kits unless otherwise stated.
Prices rounded to the nearest dollar ($).


Bud Nosen/A&A Ind. :

Aeronca Champ (105.5”) $266 & $203 February & March, 2006.
Cessna 310-G (120.0”) $367 February, 2006.
Cessna 310-G (120.0”) $400 February, 2006. F/G Cowls, Videos, Documentation, Photos.
Cessna 310-G (120.0”) $610 Built, covered, painted, never flown, over 15 years old, March, 06.
Cessna 310-G (120.0”) $305 (No pictures of kit) & $345 March, 2006.
Cessna 310-G (120.0”) $275 August, 2008.
Champion Citabria (104.75”) $361 March, 2006.
Champion Citabria (104.75”) $205, $208 & $172 March & December, 2007.
Gere Sport 1933 Biplane (96.25”/90.25”) $243 February, 2006.
Gere Sport 1933 Biplane (96.25”/90.25”) $284 December, 2007.
Mr. Mulligan (108.0”) $301, $168 & $193, $203 March & April, 2006.
Mr. Mulligan (108.0”) $200 March, 2007.
P-51D Mustang (102.0”) $218 & $240 February & March, 2006.
P-51D Mustang (102.0”) $350 March, 2007. (The cleanest P-51 Nosen kit seen to date).
Piper J-3 Cub (108.0”) $153 March, 2006.
Trainer (105.0”) $159, 144 March, 2006.
Trainer (105.0”) $138, $125 March, 2007.

sebo

You might also include that cowls are available for these planes at reasonable prices on Ebay.
Just search for Nosen Model airplane.
I have 6 or 7 of these kits. Love building them.

jbarnes

fyi on Nosen plans and copyright rules. I had a copy of old Nosen Stick plans and wanted copies. I took it down to a copy shop and they told me there is no problem with copyright rules for plans created in the 80's as the copyright rules back then were good for 20 years. So, from what they told me there is no problem making copies of these old plans. Thanks, Jerry.

deckerv

My Feedback: (21)

I miss my old nosen planes. Had the Gere Sport bipe, 40 sized Citabria, and a P-47 years back. All flew very nicely. The kits though are exactly what Stickbuilder's signature says.. Lots of lumber

Bass1

Last week I dusted off the old Nosen Citabria and had a blast flying it. It hadn't been flown in about a year and a half. Also took me awhile to remember how to assemble it at the field[sm=72_72.gif]

RK-Aircraft

My Feedback: (81)

Personally, if I could find this David Sebring I'd buy the rights from him and start producing every one of those kits. He hasn't done anything with them, yet. I am building the Big Stik and it uses a G62 for power. It is ENORMOUS!! , but supposed to fly like a trainer if you build in the dihedral. I can't wait to finish it and post it on the website. (rk-aircraft.com)

N8598U

Do you still have the J3 Cub??
If so I would be very interested..
Thank you....
Steve..

RK-Aircraft

My Feedback: (81)

Nope. I thought I had removed that post. Sorry.