Westland Widgeon (oz1191)

 

Westland Widgeon (oz1191) by Bill Krecek 1958 - plan thumbnail

About this Plan

Westland Widgeon. Scale rubber model, parasol 2 seater.

Quote: "With the growing interest in flying scale models, it seems appropriate to present a simple sure-fire easy-to-build model that even the most in experienced modeller can build. To us, this British 2-seater, the Westland Widgeon III, fills the bill.

This not a true scale model for contests, as some liberties were taken with dihedral, stab area and simplification of the engine, The main purpose was to produce a good flyer and encourage the novice in this phase of flying. The small size holds the building cost to a minimum and the store bought prop and plastic thrust button simplify building.

The bulge on the top centersection is the gravity feed fuel tank which houses the rubber bands for wing attachment on the model. The landing gear is made removable so that those desiring longer flights and more sensational flights may install a longer gear and a larger hand-carved prop. Detachable wing struts are also used as the centersection mounting of the wing is more than adequate. By attaching the exhaust stack with a drop of cement, it is possible to remove this part with a flick of the finger in the event you want to strip down the model for souped-up performance.

Some of you may want to glow. A word of caution, the Cox Pee-Wee is too much engine for this little ship, the weight would make the model nose heavy in any case. Scaled up 1-1/2 times for approximately 190 square inches of wing area, would make the model about right. Doubled in size the ship would be about 235 square inches and fine with an old series .049 engine. - stay away from later model engines which will be too hot.

The original flew on 6 strands of 3/32 flat rubber using a hardwood prop. Complete the model weighed about 1-1/2 ounces so don't expect wind penetration. Before starting construction, familiarize yourself with the plan and the building sequence.

FUSELAGE: This is the best starting point as it involves the most work. The lower bend in the longerons is made by soaking the 3/16 square strips in water and bending them around a heated light bulb. Apply a slight pressure at first and work the bend around to suit the curve shown on the plans. Pin the strips in place along with the top longerons and cement the uprights in place.

Make the large front gusset and the pieces for the rear peg from 1/32 sheet. After inserting these, build the second frame over the first. Make sure to put thin strips of paper under the upper frame cement joints to keep the frames from sticking together. Wax paper is fine for this.

While these pieces are drying (re-member the wet longerons take time to set properly) cut out the formers from 1/32 sheet, The former at the rear of the cockpits has an extra ring on it to act as a doubler and is cross-grained to add strength.

You may like to use a simple fuse-lage jig as we did. This was cut using a piece of sheet wood cut to the shape of the inside of the top view. When the sides are dry, they are bent around this jig which tends to relieve some of the strain when bringing the rear together. Cut and install the top and bottom cross-braces up to the front of the rear cockpit checking for square-ness as you go. Next, pull the sides together at the rear and add the re-maining cross-braces. Use pins and rubber bands as necessary to hold the sides' together.

Make a paper pattern of the turtle deck and, when it fits correctly, transfer this to a sanded piece of 1/32 sheet. Choose wood that will bend easily. Make sure the piece is 1/16 in wider to fit the fuselage. The forward cowling is made from a pattern and applied in the same way. Remove the fuselage jig and laminate the nose former using 1/16 sheet cross-grain.

After this is done, make the upper and tower nose blocks using very soft and light balsa. Trim these to rough shape and hollow them out. The upper piece is the only one cemented in place.

Cut the landing gear tubes and cement them in place_ Note the gussets inside the large gusset on the inside. The lower nose block can now be in-stalled. Sand the nose block assembly to shape and add the" fairings.


LANDING GEAR: This is made simple and sturdy and .032 to .040 piano wire is used for the axles. Bend the struts to proper length taking note that a 6 inch piece of wire is used to form the bearing for the axle. This last part is done by clamping a short piece of wire in a vise and wrapping the .025- wire around it. Bend the rear strut to proper length and install it in the fuselage and then bend the front strut. Don't make two struts alike when trying to make the opposite side.

The gear is kept in place through the use of weak rubber bands be-neath the fuselage. The shock housing is made from two pieces of 1/16 balsa. Make the wheels by laminating three plys of sheet together using plywood for a center core and balsa on the out-sides. The inner disc and cone are of paper. We used art paper to match the color scheme. The wheels can be spun on a hand power tool and sanded to a nice round finished shape. When finished, they are held on by a washer that is cemented in place.

Decide what color tissue you plan to use, as the top of the fuselage and the engine fairing should be covered now. It is also necessary to install the front windshield. After the cabane is in place it would be difficult to work in this area.

CABANE: Make the wing platform from two pieces of 1/32 sheet, cross-grained. Note that the upper piece is larger all way around and is done to receive the wire struts..."

Update 13/04/2015: Replaced this plan with a clearer copy that also now includes the missing sheet #2 showing templates, thanks to theshadow.

Supplementary file notes

Article, thanks to theshadow.

Corrections?

Did we get something wrong with these details about this plan (especially the datafile)? That happens sometimes. You can help us fix it.
Add a correction

Westland Widgeon (oz1191) by Bill Krecek 1958 - model pic

Datafile:

ScaleType:
  • Westland_Widgeon_(fixed_wing) | help
    see Wikipedia | search Outerzone
    ------------
    Test link:
    search RCLibrary 3views (opens in new window)


    ScaleType: This (oz1191) is a scale plan. Where possible we link scale plans to Wikipedia, using a text string called ScaleType.

    If we got this right, you now have a couple of direct links (above) to 1. see the Wikipedia page, and 2. search Oz for more plans of this type. If we didn't, then see below.


    Notes:
    ScaleType is formed from the last part of the Wikipedia page address, which here is https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westland_Widgeon_(fixed_wing)
    Wikipedia page addresses may well change over time.
    For more obscure types, there currently will be no Wiki page found. We tag these cases as ScaleType = NotFound. These will change over time.
    Corrections? Use the correction form to tell us the new/better ScaleType link we should be using. Thanks.

Westland Widgeon (oz1191) by Bill Krecek 1958 - pic 003.jpg
003.jpg
Westland Widgeon (oz1191) by Bill Krecek 1958 - pic 004.jpg
004.jpg
Westland Widgeon (oz1191) by Bill Krecek 1958 - pic 005.jpg
005.jpg
Westland Widgeon (oz1191) by Bill Krecek 1958 - pic 006.jpg
006.jpg
Westland Widgeon (oz1191) by Bill Krecek 1958 - pic 007.jpg
007.jpg
Westland Widgeon (oz1191) by Bill Krecek 1958 - pic 008.jpg
008.jpg
Westland Widgeon (oz1191) by Bill Krecek 1958 - pic 009.jpg
009.jpg
Westland Widgeon (oz1191) by Bill Krecek 1958 - pic 010.jpg
010.jpg
Westland Widgeon (oz1191) by Bill Krecek 1958 - pic 011.jpg
011.jpg

Do you have a photo you'd like to submit for this page? Then email admin@outerzone.co.uk

User comments

Photo seems to be backwards [pic 007]. Exhaust in the right side not the left and registration looks backwards.
Bink - 16/12/2019
Well spotted. I have flipped the pic around now. You can see in the article file the way they printed it backwards, for reasons unknown (layout prettiness?).
SteveWMD - 16/12/2019
Hi Steve, not sure that you will want to use these photos as they are of my West Wings Westland Widgeon III [main pic, 008-011], but the W.W's plan and your plan ID:1191 are so similar that the resulting models would be almost indistinguishable, the wing spans differ only by 1/4” (24” to 24-1/4”). I feel sure that W.W's must have scrutinised ID:1191 whilst drawing up their plan. Here are some of the photos for you to make your decision as to whether they are usable or not. All the best,
John Churchill - 21/06/2022
Nice pics. Normally I would be picky on details like this - but you have a very good point, the two plans are so similar they are almost almost identical, almost stick for stick. Also I have one of these West Wings kits stashed away, this should inspire me to get on with it. Many thanks,
SteveWMD - 21/06/2022
Add a comment

 

 
 

Download File(s):
  • Westland Widgeon (oz1191)
  • Plan File Filesize: 300KB Filename: Westland_Widgeon_III-FM-07-58_oz1191.pdf
  • Supplement Filesize: 1342KB Filename: Westland_Widgeon_III-FM-07-58_oz1191_article.pdf
  • help with downloads
 

Notes

* Credit field

The Credit field in the Outerzone database is designed to recognise and credit the hard work done in scanning and digitally cleaning these vintage and old timer model aircraft plans to get them into a usable format. Currently, it is also used to credit people simply for uploading the plan to a forum on the internet. Which is not quite the same thing. This will change soon. Probably.

Scaling

This model plan (like all plans on Outerzone) is supposedly scaled correctly and supposedly will print out nicely at the right size. But that doesn't always happen. If you are about to start building a model plane using this free plan, you are strongly advised to check the scaling very, very carefully before cutting any balsa wood.

 

Terms of Use

© Outerzone, 2011-2024.

All content is free to download for personal use.

For non-personal use and/or publication: plans, photos, excerpts, links etc may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Outerzone with appropriate and specific direction to the original content i.e. a direct hyperlink back to the Outerzone source page.

Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site's owner is strictly prohibited. If we discover that content is being stolen, we will consider filing a formal DMCA notice.