AV Roe 1911 Biplane (oz4976)

About this Plan

Avro 1911 Biplane. Radio control scale model. Wingspan 60 in, for .19 to .35 power. Scale is 1/6.

Direct submission to Outerzone.

Update 14/4/2026: Added article, thanks to hjsaxe.

Quote: "1911 AV Roe Biplane, by Frank Noll. A spectacular 'Stand-Off Scale' R/C replica of one of the great British trainers of the pre-WWI era. 60 inch span, 1,200 square inches, .19 to .35 power and a Controlaire system. It's 2 inch to the foot.

The 'AVRO Biplane' was the forerunner of the British AVRO 504K. This was a very famous and popular World War I trainer. A full sized replica of this airplane was built for the movie The Magnificent Men and their Flying Machines. If you recall the film, the aircraft was flown by the Japanese flyers with fabric enclosed wing struts and a vivid paint scheme.

My interest was aroused with the building of a small lightweight model of this design for one of our local indoor meets. The only drawings and information that I had at that time was a three view and sketches drawn by Douglas Rolfe.

The small model looked so interesting that I decided to increase the design to a larger size for radio. I enlarged it to a scale of 2 in to the foot, which gave me a wingspan of 60 inches and a total wing area of 1,200 square inches. The original model weighed 2-3/4 lbs. before covering and finishing. Empty weight of the model registered as 3-1/4 lbs. without the radio gear. The design uses a Controlaire radio system, modified by Chusk Shade. The total airborne weight of the radio system is just 11 ounces.

I consider this model to be somewhere between semi-scale and true scale. This is what is now referred to as Stand-Off Scale. It's my belief that a model should be in the air as much as possible, rather than to spend its time growing old in a dark basement waiting for the occasional scale contests. One of the first things a modeler considers when choosing an old time type aircraft to build is the many days and weeks that he will be working on all the struts, wires and fittings. This is half the fun however and if you like a particular plane well enough, fabricating the details becomes an intriguing challenge and a change of pace from the routine building chores. In building a complex type model, there is always the knowledge that you will have an original or one of the very few in existence.

Wing Assembly: Start building the wings first, it's a good place to start as there are twice as many of them. These should be built on a simple jig and this is a must as the wing panels have to be exactly the same. Start by making two 1/2 inch plywood end ribs to the shape shown on the drawings. The pine spacers were glued and nailed together, after the imp jig was finished. Brush a good coat of varnish on all the top surfaces of the jig and when this is dry, one or two coats of wax should be applied to keep the glue from sticking to it.

Now cut the lower cap ribs to length and pin them in place on the marked rib locations. Glue the leading edge in place on top of the lower capstrips and working to the rear of the wing, install the front spar, then the rear spar. Glue the center of the ribs into place and keep these aligned. Notch the tapered trailing edge and cement this in position. Set all this aside for a while to dry and then glue the upper capstrips in place. These should be allowed to dry overnight..."

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