Luton Minor (oz397)
About this Plan
Luton Minor. Free flight scale model for .5 cc power. Design by E Fearnley, from 1953 Aeromodeller.
Quote: "Many modellers have avoided flying scale jobs for various reasons, the main snags being the amount of work required and the greater suscepti-bility to damage likely to be encountered. The Minor is the complete answer to all that - so much so that even a comparative novice can build and fly it with confidence. Construction is very simple and the model so strong and light that it will absorb a tremendous amount of rough handling during the trimming stage with little likelihood of serious damage.
As shown, any motor up to 1 cc may be used; the prototype used a Dart, which meant a little nose ballast, but with a 6 x 4 prop take-off was accomplished in about fifteen yards in still air. The climb was slow and steady - true to scale - and is extremely pretty to watch.
The fuselage is of conventional box construction, the two sides being first joined at the cockpit and the ends then drawn to position. Add formers and stringers and motor mount; with larger motors it is advisable to drop the thiurst-line slightly, to allow sufficient ply all round. Add nosebloacks and form the wire centre-section struts, binding securely to the logerons..."
Update 12/02/2014: Replaced with a clearer copy thanks to JJ.
Update 13/02/2017: Added PDFvector CAD-redrawn version of the plan, thanks to hogal.
Update 27/02/2017: added article, thanks to RogerClark.
Update 11/11/2020: Added a 2-colour vector BW version of the plan file, thanks to Miguel.
Supplementary file notes
Article.
Vector PDF.
Vector PDF BW print file.
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(oz397)
Luton Minor
by Eric Fearnley
from Aeromodeller
December 1953
43in span
Scale IC F/F Parasol Civil
clean :)
all formers complete :)
got article :) -
Found online 18/04/2011 at:
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=126587...
Filesize: 500KB
Format: • PDFbitmap • PDFvector
Credit*: DPlumpe, JJ, hogal
Downloads: 5258
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ScaleType: This (oz397) 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/Luton_Minor
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.









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User comments
Herewith 2 photos of the Luton Minor for you, Eric Fearnley, ID 397 [more pics 003, 004].BryanLea - 10/02/2017
L/M model, Eric Fearnley's 1953 design. Scaled up to 60" [more pics 005, 006]. SC30 four stroke. I've also built one at 43". Both on U/Tube, here and here. That's me doing the camera and friend doing the flying.
MickButler - 27/09/2017
First three pics would seem to be the aileron version OZ 9489. Last four pics of 9489 would seem to be this FF version OZ397.
anon - 28/11/2017
As the non-aeromodelling half of Outerzone, my knowledge is a bit hit & miss! I generally just add the photos to the plan page the photographers/ builders indicate. Apologies if I've made a mistake. You're definitely right about Joost's photos that I posted on Oz9489 yesterday. I've moved them to this page just now.
Mary - 28/11/2017
Hi, here are a few photos of my old Luton Minor for use on the plan page of the same [more pics 007-010]. I built this Luton Minor in the 1970s and did lots of flying. About 30 years ago I changed it to a more practical sports free flight with an Indian Mills 0,75 and again it was used a lot. Later I converted in a float plane - it did not survive long after that.
Joost - 28/11/2017
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- Luton Minor (oz397)
- Plan File Filesize: 500KB Filename: Luton_Minor_Fearnley_oz397.pdf
- Supplement Filesize: 597KB Filename: Luton_Minor_Fearnley_oz397_article.pdf
- Supplement Filesize: 195KB Filename: Luton_Minor_Fearnley_oz397_vector.pdf
- Supplement Filesize: 1109KB Filename: Luton_Minor_Fearnley_oz397_vector_BW.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.
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