Potez 37R-2 (oz1212)

About this Plan

Potez 37R-2. Scale rubber model.

Quote: "Build and Fly the Potez 37R-2 How You Can Create a Realistic Scale Model of a Famous French Pursuit Plane That Will Have Excellent Flying Qualities. By Nick Limber.

MANY model builders who prefer building the latest airplanes often sit up and take notice of an older plane which they have overlooked. This month we are presenting just such an airplane. The Potez 37R-2 is not an old plane but it has been overlooked by the model builders. Plans for this ship were kept strictly confidential by the French Air Ministry until a short time ago. When the ship was first introduced by Potez, people outside of official circles believed the ship to have a speed of 133 mph. Today we know that it can fly at 164 mph when fully loaded.

It is of all metal construction, including the covering. It has a total weight of 5.558.73 lbs. and has a 24,606 ft. ceiling. If we stop for a moment to consider, we can easily understand why a ship of this type has been popular in the French Air Force. It is the type of ship that the model builders have been waiting for. The type of ship that flies even better than it looks and you must admit it is a trim-looking bus at that.

Before you attempt to construct your model might I suggest you make sure you understand the drawings completely. This will help you work more smoothly once you have started.

Fuselage Construction: Cut all the fuselage forms front 1/16 sheet balsa. Drawings of the forms appear on plates A and B. By referring to plate A you will notice that the main part of the fuselage is constructed in two pieces. Forms for the lower part must first be made and glued to 1/16 sq longerons. Once the two main longerons or stringers have been glued, the auxiliary stringers are glued in the notches of the forms.

The same procedure is followed in the construction of the upper part with the exception that the two cockpits are made of 1/32 sheet balsa and glued between the proper forms. The gunners' pit may prove a bit difficult but if you wet your sheet before you try to shape it in cylindrical form, it will prove to be very simple indeed. We now may glue the two parts of our fuselage. The two main longerons are used as the parts of the fuselage that hold the two shells of the body together.

When the main part of the fuselage has been completed we turn our attention to the nose of the ship. The nose is carved of two soft balsa blocks that are glued together after they have been given the desired shape and thickness. The blocks we use must each be 3-5/8 x 2-3/8 x 13/16. The side view is traced front plate A and the top view from plate B.

You may construct each part or half of the nose separately or you may glue the two blocks lightly together and then shape them. The correct shape of the nose may be obtained from the body forms A and F and the nose plug arrest shown in plate A. You use sandpaper to form the nose. Once the proper outer shape has been obtained, you take the blocks apart (if you have glued them lightly together as suggested). By using a sharp knife with a narrow blade you will be able to carve out the inner portion of the block.

Finish the inner surface with sandpaper and be sure that the walls are no thicker than 1/8. With this operation completed you then reglue the two pieces together and the nose block is finished and ready to be cemented to the already completed portion of the body.

Now turn your attention to the tail boom. The boom is constructed of two balsa blocks that have been shaped, hollowed out and then glued together. The drawings of the tail boom are on plates C and D. Plate C shows the side view and the cross section of the portion of the boom that we glue to body forms E and K. The balsa blocks that are used for the tail boom construction are 4-1/8 x 5/8 x 3/4. After you have shaped the blocks as required, you proceed hollowing out the inner portion..."

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