Warwick Bantam (oz15618)

About this Plan

Warwick Bantam. Control line scale model.

Direct submission to Outerzone.

Update 27/5/2026: Added article, thanks to dfritzke.

Quote: "Warwick Bantam, by Bill Blake. To say that Bill Warwick is an airplane-building man would he putting it mildly. To look at the number of airplanes he has designed and built, one would think he has been at it since the day he was born. However, Bill did not design and build his first airplane, The Tiny Champ, until 1960. Next came Tiny Champ Two, an improved version of the first Champ. Then John Thorpe's T-18 caught his eye and he built the first prototype of that - which he still owns. This was followed by our model, the Bantam, in 1965. It received the Outstanding Design trophy at EAA's 1966 Fly-in at Rockford, Ill. The year 1970 brought the beautiful biplane racer, The Hot Canary, now on display at EAA's fantastic museum in Hales Corners, Wise. Last, but not least, came George Owl's racer, 'Fang' No.11, built by Bill for Berni Stevenson.

When I asked Bill if he was working on anything new he replied, No but I'm thinking hard.

We have been asked why we built the Bantam to such a large scale for a 049 engine. The reason is, we simply like to see scale models fly like the real airplane. The model should handle anything up to an 09 with no problem. Since the real airplane is of all-metal construction, we went the all-balsa route to simulate the metal and keep parts to a minimum. Note that the wing has only four ribs. The construction was proved out on the first test flight when a gust of wind slammed the model into the concrete at a 45º angle. Damage? One busted prop on the Cox 049 and the nose gear bent back up to the wing. We straightened the gear, put on a new prop and went flying.

Fuselage: Cut the sides to shape as outlined on the plans. Mark the location of the 1/4 in sq engine mount supports, nose-gear gussets and bulkheads. Epoxy the mount, F-1, supports, and gussets in place. When dry, install F-3 and F-4. Cut the nosegear mount F-2 to shape, bend the nosegear as shown and sew to F-2 with heavy thread. Epoxy the stitched joint. When dry, epoxy the assembly in place between the gussets. Epoxy the bellcrank mount in place and set the fuselage aside.

Tail Group: Although the real Bantam has a stabilator, or all-flying tail, we went to a standard elevator and stabilizer in consideration of younger modelers. For those who want to try the stabilator, the scale outline and pivot point is shown on the plans. Cut the stabilizer to shape and round all edges with sandpaper. Shape the elevator halves, leaving a cutout for the 1/8 dowel that connects the two..."

Supplementary file notes

Article.

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