jiott

This 1/7 scale, 8 passenger Noorduyn Norseman bush plane was built from a Unionville kit from ScaleRCModels. It spans 85.5” and weighs 12 lbs on the floats. It is powered by a Saito 100 4-stroke and a 15x6 APC prop, which gives plenty of power for use with the floats. It can be converted to wheels in about ½ hour. It has full flaps and flaperons just like the full size. The model is covered with SolarTex and painted with Behr premium latex house paint and Minwax polyurethane semi-gloss clearcoat. Markings are custom decals.

My inspiration came from a calendar photo of the full size plane which has been beautifully restored and still flies out of Red Lake, Ontario. Glenn Miller, band leader, disappeared over the English Channel during WWII in a Norseman.

The floats are part of the Unionville kit, but I highly modified their mounting to be as scale as possible, and used Earnst water rudders with scale steering cables.

It flies like a dream and tracks and taxis very well on the water. Using the flaps it will crawl in very slowly for beautiful scale landings.

JimCasey

My Feedback: (1)

Very Nice!

BillHarris

Wonderful!

--Bill

seemefly_1

WOW!!!! only if i could build a model like that

Jollidude

My Feedback: (39)

Very Pretty!

Cheers!

Jollidude

Kmot

My Feedback: (24)

She's gorgeous!! [sm=thumbup.gif]

So, the glow fuel doesn't negatively affect the paint? This is the first I have heard this. I thought only gasoline engines could be used when these latex paints are applied. If your paint combo holds up to glow fuel, this is GREAT news!!

cf-drg

My Feedback: (1)

I know the Minwax is going to get eaten away after awhile...[]... How do I now this!!! because that's what I used to seal the paint on mine.. But the outcome is kind of a old weathered looking Norseman, so not too bad of an effect.. jiott, you gota love those Unionville kits .. If you've never built from scratch before, build one of the Unionville kits.. It will make a scratch builder out of you.... Oh and here's my Norseman, just so you didn't think I was crazy ...[8D] You can see where the fuel has eaten the paint.. Behind where the pipe comes out of the cowl... Well looked at the photo after I edited it and put it on here, and you can't see it that well.. O well the eaty parts are there....

Kmot

My Feedback: (24)

That photo looks as real as can be! [sm=thumbup.gif]

jiott

The Minwax polyurethane (I used the oilbase) used to seal the latex paint has so far shown no signs of deterioration (1 season of flying) even on the fairing where the exhaust is pointed. I have a friend who has been building scale models for many years and using this paint combo with no trouble. Well, I guess I'll have to wait and see. There is quite a bit of discussion on RCScaleBuilder.com about this paint combo with Solar Tex fabric and I haven't heard anything negative yet. Your experience is the first I heard, but I'll admit I am still a rank beginner at this.

I really did like the Unionville kit; very much a builder's kit but yet not too difficult. The end result is very lightweight but strong. I haven't stressed it to hard, but the plane will do very nice loops, split S's, sloppy rolls, great side slips, stall turns and wingovers. I love the way this thing flys; and I believe that is a common comment about the Unionville kits.

The Norseman (affectionately called the "Thunder Chicken") has about as much North Canadian heritage as the DH Beaver, but you sure don't hear nearly as much about it. That's one reason why I like this model, you hardly ever see another one and nobody recognizes it.

Like many others, I had to do lots of twidling and filing to get the Earnst water rudders to work smoothly. Out of the box they don't rotate freely at all, but now they do.

Jim

cf-drg

My Feedback: (1)

Jim, mine is covered with Worldtex (same as Solartex just different name) and Sig Koverall... Fuse with Worldtex and wings and tail feathers with Koverall... I then painted it with Krylon Fusion for plastics paint, and then sprayed the whole thing with " Minwax fast drying polyurethane spray" says its oil based on the can.. It did eat through, but you know I wouldn't worry about it.. Like I said it ate a little bit on one of the gear struts, and some on the belly.. Makes it look like it has been used for the bush...

And I forgot to mention "nice model Jim".. Also looks like you changed a few things from the original kit.. You can see I modified mine a weee bit, has round windows (other things too) instead of the square and trapizoidy ones.. Makes mine an early version . Also thank your photographer, it's hard to find someone to take good pics of your plane taxiing let alone flying...


I to love the Norseman, came out way before the Beaver and was fabric covered... Talked to bush pilots that flew both and they said they liked the Norseman as a "Bush plane" better.. Because you could repair every aspect of it out in the bush.. If you smashed it and crashed it, it was all steel tubing so you just welded it up and then threw some fabric over it.. and back up flying you went... I should post some pics I have of engine changes in the bush, OMG.. Get 3 trees and and some rope, make a tri-pod to lift the engine out and away you go[sm=wink_smile.gif]...

jiott

Mine is modeled after the Chimo Air Service Norseman (CF-JIN) that is still flying out of Red Lake, Ontario. All I had to copy was a calender picture and a few shots off the internet. One of these days I hope to make a trip to Red Lake Norseman Days festival and take o bunch of pictures of CF-JIN and then add more scale detail to my model.

One other thing I forgot to say; I used SolarTex cub yellow on the bottom half of the plane, and SolarTex white on the top half and wings. The only painting I had to do was the blue trim, the cowel, and markings. Then of course the whole thing was clearcoated.

Jim

Falcon6667

jiott
great looking plane.
Falcon

jiott

seemefly 1:

Go for it; you can build a model like this!
All you need is the desire, a basic ability with hand tools, the ability to read and carefully follow directions, and most of all patience to not hurry it up. Get yourself an ARF to fly and goof around with while you patiently spend the time to build a nice scale model. Its usually at least a one year committment!
Scale building not only gives you a finished product that you can be very proud of while it is sitting on the ground, but it is also a working model that can be flown with great skill and pride. Show me another activity that can give you all this!
Most kids nowadays have very good hand-eye coordination from all their video games, so they make good flyers. But very few have the patience and skill to build something with their hands. Dare to be different and show your buddies what you can do.

Advice from an olde fart.

Jim

seemefly_1

Well olde fart, , am still learning but I’m going to be in 3D and maybe a scale plane but building isn't going to be prime idea for me. I’m good with building things but not the patience. I get mad looking at my plane sitting on the table in my room lol. So seeing a kit and thinking that is a plane aint good. I appreciate the thought but arfs all they way. Maybe if I can get my lazy overworked dad to fly, a kit would be possible.

Wayne22

My Feedback: (2)

Here is a real one on a pole (recently restored )

fozjared

jiott, is this the model that is pictured in this month's AMA magazine? man it is a beautiful plane either way!

jiott

Yes, its the same one in the magazine, Focal Point section.
I was very fortunate to have a friend (Rick Olson) who is an excellent photographer with a very expensive camera and telephoto lenses. I'm sure that's what got it into the magazine.

Thunder Chicken

Nice Noorduyn!
I am building one at present, and am trying to do my landing gear struts the same way as yours! What did you use for material for them?

By the way you'd better get retractable water rudders if you take it to Red Lake, any bush pilot that forgets his rudders down on take off (and gets caught) owes a case of beer!!!!

jiott

Thunder Chicken:

For the float mounting struts I used 1/2" aluminum streamline tubing. I put a hardwood dowel (shaved down) inside the tubing for more strength. The end fittings are 1/8" aluminum plate custom made and bent by me, more or less copying the Sea Commander type fittings. I glued hardwood plywood reinforcing blocks with blind nuts inside the floats at all attachment points.

I modified the landing gear wire shape to give more spread (scale) down where the wire meets the inside of the floats.

Yes, you're right I need to put rudder retracts on the model. Haven't got around to it yet.

Jim Ott

Oregon Craig

I watched Jim fly this model this past Saturday at an unseasonably cold windy float-fly here in OR. It both looks and sounds beautiful in the air. An awesome airplane!

jiott

N70R,

I don't recognize your handle. Are you a member of Sky Knights?

vonJaerschky

My Feedback: (3)

No floats on mine, but maybe someday. This is my scratch built 50" electric Norseman in the Saskatchewan Air Ambulance Service colours from the late 1940's - early 50's. I drew up the plans from some 3 views, and based some of the structure on a smaller rubber powered plan. I goofed up the lines of the windshield a bit, but oh well. A very nice flyer, and a natural for floats.

Goinstraightup

My Feedback: (26)

Norseman fan here. I've rode in one on our yearly fishing trip to Snow Lake MB for the last 14 years. Our outfitter has two 1948's, both recently overhauled and claimed to be the best flying examples of the type in the world. They have the green / white / gold one and the pic of the panel is theirs also. The flying Norseman and the one with the boat are just pics I found on the net.

Oregon Craig

Hey Jim. Yes, I'm a Skyknights member. Craig. Balding red-headed guy with a goatee!
I had that Ultra-Stick on floats with a .46 glow engine.

jiott

Yes, now I know who you are.
That was quite a day for the "never-give-up" Sky Knights. I hate flying my Norseman in conditions like that I have too many hours and emotional attachment into that airplane. I wish the club had some scale type float fly events instead of always just silly stuff. I guess there are just too few of us scale guys. Don't get me wrong though, I still enjoy flying with the club anyway no matter what type of planes they fly.

Jim