OK Guys,
I am going to throw this one out there and hope for some great insight... What is the feasibility of scaling down a set of Ziroli D-18 plans to a more manageable size, say 70" - 80" wing span? I know people scale up quite often (see Jeff Quesenberry 's BIG Corsair and Proflooney's Hurricane) but I don't hear too much of people going smaller than designed.
I know the cowls and wind screen would be an issue, nose and tail cone too but they would be minor issues to the whole project I believe... I am a designer by profession (Mech and PCB design) so technical issues are my daily life. Sizing and picking the right wood is a little different though... Is it as simple as reducing the plans, and finding the closest stock wood to fit the bill? Your thoughts please...

Justrfb (checking all my options)

I think American Eagle offers an 82" D-18 Beech twin kit.

snyder-man

If you have a lot of building experience and "SWAG" experience, it should not be a problem. Like you say, it's a matter of sizing the wood so it does not get "overbuilt". Thats where a lot of kit experience will help. I believe cowls can purchased from most glass companys as standard round cowls. The rest will need to plugged and molded, or carved from block. At 80" should be a nice size plane.
You might look at American Eagle Aircrft, they have a glass & foam kit for the D-18 at 82"
http://www.flyrcmodels.com/