AJ Hornet (oz16526)
About this Plan
AJ Hornet (American Junior Hornet). Simple ROG stick rubber model. Wingspan 18 in.
Note the AJ Hornet dates back to 1948. This here is a modern redrawn plan. The original kit would not have included a plan, all the parts were pre-cut.
Quote: "The late Jim Walker introduced his A-J Hornet to young America during the great depression years of the thirties. It quickly became America's most popular rubber powered 'Ready To Fly' model airplane. The height of its popularity was reached in the late forties and fifties, as literally millions were produced. After his death in 1958, production dwindled until, in the early sixties, it ceased altogether.
From the days of wood wheels and propellers on ball-bearing shafts, to the dawn of plastic technology, the A-J Hornet flew higher, better and further. An early A-J advertisement said, American Juniors fly better than others because they are aerodynamically engineered and precision made..."
See also RCGroups thread at: https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?933500
Update 20/1/2026: Replaced this plan with a revised copy, now shows correct stick fuselage shape to give tail incidence required.
Supplementary file notes
Instructions.
Previous scan version.
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(oz16526)
AJ Hornet
by Jim Walker
from American Junior
1948
18in span
Rubber F/F Kit
clean :)
all formers complete :)
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Found online 14/01/2026 at:
https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?933500-...
Filesize: 575KB
Format: • PDFbitmap
Credit*: Planeman
Downloads: 392
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User comments
Very similar to Charles H Grant's Cloud Tramp, except that the wing and tail seem to have a 'zero-zero' setting. The Cloud Tramp's wing has a marked degree of positive incidence, and it's a great flier - I'd be inclined to build the Hornet with the tail rubber-banded in place, so that negative incidence could be added to it if necessary.John Park - 20/01/2026
Ah, wait. I see what happened now. Planeman posted the plan twice, the first version had the fuse stick shown upside down. See RCGroups post at: https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showpost.php?p=18371961&postcount=15
Switching these files around now... ok done.
SteveWMD - 20/01/2026
A little story on https://www.oldwoodtoys.com/american_junior.htm
It looks like the precursor of North Pacific Sleek Streak asap on OZ with variants.
Pit - 20/01/2026
I see Pacific Sleek Streak lineage in this. Was Jim Walker part of that later company?
Tony Moore - 20/01/2026
I had one of these, probably about 1955, a Christmas present. Mine I remember was a little different, with a small hump on the fuselage stick near the wing, may have been a different model. It came in a large box completely assembled with a clear cellophane top so you could see the model inside. It flew beautifully with no adjustments whatsoever, amazing. I flew it in the driveway of my grandmother's big old house in Greensboro Alabama. Don't remember any more, probably consumed due to encounters with trees.
Doug Smith - 20/01/2026
Now that's a thing of beauty and fond memories of my father. He used to get all sort of planes like this and we'd fly them all the time. I think a much better time in history when kids knew what fun was.
Gary - 20/01/2026
First one I had was probably around 1949-1950. No wire prop shaft, the hub of the prop had a kind of a socker that fit over a ball on the prop hangar. Rubber went THROUGH the prop, and was retained by a small pin in a slot! That little guy taught me to keep my fingers AWAY from the edges of props!
50+airyears - 21/01/2026
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- AJ Hornet (oz16526)
- Plan File Filesize: 575KB Filename: AJ_Hornet_oz16526_.pdf
- Supplement Filesize: 181KB Filename: AJ_Hornet_oz16526_instructions.pdf
- Supplement Filesize: 535KB Filename: AJ_Hornet_oz16526_previous.pdf
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Notes
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