Gregor FDB-1 (oz1160)

About this Plan

CCF Gregor FDB-1. Scale control line model of the Canadian fighter biplane. The last of the biplane fighters.

Quote: "REPRESENTING the last link in fighter design between World Wars I and II, the Gregor FDB-1 was probably the cleanest and smartest-looking biplane ever built. It could properly be called the last biplane fighter, since all succeeding designs have been monoplanes.

Before the United Kingdom entered World War II, the Canadian Car and Foundry Co of Ontario was producing Grumman designs under license and various British aircraft types. The Gregor FDB-1 represented the company's first original design. Completed in late 1938, test flights proved the qualifica-tions of the design, but because of the impending conflict the plane was never produced in quantity. Instead, United Kingdom production was standardized on the Spitfire and Hurricane, and these types bore the brunt of Hitler's attack on England.

Possessing the good maneuverability of the biplane, the FDB-1 carried light armament in comparison to the eight-gun Spits and Hurricanes. Power was originally the 750 hp P&W Twin-Wasp Jr, but the design was suited for engines up to 1200 hp. Wingspan was 28 ft and top speed was 300 mph at 9000 ft.

The model presented here is scaled at 1-1/4 in = 1 ft directly from factory 3-view, giving a span of 35in and a wing area of 271 sq in. Details such as spinner, aluminum cowling, canopy and wheels scale out to the sizes readily available at most hobby shops.

The ship is designed primarily as a good flying scale design; however, limited stunting is possible and has been done. A symmetrical wing section is shown on the plans and was used on the original model; thickness is the same as the scale lifting section. Although the wing loading is too high to compete against the pure stunt design, the final weight of 32 oz giving a wing loading of 11.7 oz/100 sq in allows for plenty of loops, Eights and inverted flight. The good flying characteristics of full-scale biplanes seem to carry over to the model, and no difficulties were experienced even on the first flight with a good wind blowing. It's a real treat to see this baby stunt.

The only bug in the entire model proved to be balance. Because the nose is so short, about 1-1/2 oz of lead weight was added inside the cowling to bring the CG to its proper place. Needless to say, we haven't flown without the weight, because flights have been fine with CG as shown on the plans. If you want better stunt performance, overall weight reduction is the answer..."

Update 07/11/2017: Replaced this plan with a clearer copy, thanks to Ratracer.

Quote: "Roger Newman over at the David Baker Heritage Library site was kind enough to share these plans with us and should be mentioned."

Direct submission to Outerzone.

Update 09/11/2017: added article, thanks to theshadow.

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