I know we all have our favorite aircraft but I was just wondering if anyone else struggles with a rotating favorite plane list? I have several favorites and they span from biplanes to modern jets but I'll be working on one and something, a chance glance at a pic or web page, will redirect all my interest to another aircraft! Sometimes it doesn't happen for months and sometimes it happens more frequently. This isn't such a bad thing unless you start building something and get side tracked and now I have a work shop filled with partially completed project's! I eventually come back around to them but at this rate if I don't start any more projects I might get done with them all in the next ten years.

Here's my current top ten list (based on the amount of info I've collected on each aircraft) and models I have of each.

10. Fairey Firefly - No models, (do have a set of plans though)
9. de Havilland Mosquito - ParkZone Mosquito and plans & fiberglass fuselage for the Brian Taylor Mosquito.
8. Supermarine Spitfire & Seafire - Top Flite and Pica .60 sized models in various stages of completion and a no name .60 sized ARF.
7. Hawker Seafury - have the Avious Seafury & did 8 paint schemes for the one on RealFlight
6.) Fairchild-Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II - Have a partially completed Mike Pastero designed .40 sized pusher model, looking at getting the Freewing ARF, and did 1 paint scheme for the one on RealFlight
5.Piper Cubs & Super Cubs - Have the old Hangar9 1/4 scale Super Cub, 3 Multiplex FunCubs in various states, a PZ Sport Cub, a HobbyZone Mini Super Cub, and did 20 paint schemes for the one on RealFlight
4. de Havilland Tiger Moth - Detailed out and refinished a Dynam Tiggy and have the little ElectriFly Tiggy.
3. de Havilland DHC-2 Beaver - FlyZone Beaver
2. Lockheed C-130 Hercules - Had the Skip Mast plans but gave them to someone when I found out how much 4 K&B .21's were going to run (this was before electrics became popular) Someday maybe an AC-130 or a MC-130!
1. de Havilland Gipsy Moth - have the Bill Northrop 1/4 scale plans and a short kit but just got the Seagull Gipsy Moth ARF (currently changing the color scheme)

The favorites order changes from time to time but the content remains the same - now I just need to figure out how to focus!

Hello,

Just 2 favorites for me
1. DH60M Gipsy Moth
2. DH82a Tiger Moth

have them both on the go for 1/4 scale build, so far so good. Been lots of bits and pieces to gather

This is the plane I'm doing the 1/4 scale on, lot of hours ahead of me.

The tiger is a Clark Industries kit, really nice kit, the gipsy is the Northrop 1/4 scale scratch build with the short kit from LDS.

Terry beautiful work! Sorry I didn't respond sooner (I need to check my notifications as I didn't know I got a response to this post)! I've put up my 1/4 scale DH.60 project (for now) but am keeping the laser cut kit and all the 'bits' I collected for it until I get opportunity to resume work on it.

I am slowly working on modifying a Seagull DH.60G into an M and adding some details to it and a friend just passed on a 66" Aerotech DH.82 Tiger Moth that needs some minor repairs (both are somewhere around 1/5th scale). I have accumulated quite a bit of material on the DH.60 so if you need anything let me know!

Look forward to seeing your project(s) progress!

Robin

Hi Robin,
No problem at all, the Gipsy Moth project has been keeping me busy when I have the time. It's my first build in over 25-30 years. Really enjoying it, what prompted the build was going thru some boxes that have been in the closet for years and finding pictures and newspaper articles from when my Mom used to fly the gipsy with my grandfather on comemerative mails flights here in Alberta. It was like going back in time, even found a picture of my Dad with me on his lap in the cockpit when I was like 3 or 4 years old. I did some searching online and found the 1/4 scale Northrop plans and that's when it all started...lol.
One big problem I just over came with the build is the plans I purchased were re-drawn by Nasco I think it is , I finished the fuse and tail only to find out when the plans were printed I think the drawings were stretched out about 3/4 to 1". When the short kit arrived nothing lined up correctly. The plans that came with the kit are model builder magazin, I laid the complex fuse over top of the plan and sure enough everything was out. Started fresh on a new one, so far so good

Terry

Hey Terry, welcome to RCG! Really glad you didn't give up when you didn't get a timely response. Not 100% sure but I think a recent restoration N1510V (G-CAPA) might have some portion CF-APA in it, I'll do some digging tomorrow and let you know what I find.

I admire your tenacity as starting a build and finding out the plans were off would have probably halted the project for most! Here are some pics of David Watsons second DH.60 (he also owns G-AAMZ) that I was talking about.

I also started a The DH.60 Gipsy Moth fan page on Facebook if your on there at all - I started it to try and get folks to post photo's and discuss the Gipsy Moth but I seem to be doing 95% of the posting!

Terry, David Watson's restoration is N1510V which according to the information below is your grandfathers old DH.60 but I'm also finding conflicting information that N1510V was a 1928 De Havilland DH.60G Gipsy Moth, C/N: 506?!? Here's the line from a Canadian civil registry I have from the Golden Age of Aviation -
CF-APA DH.60M Moth 1322 G-CYWV CF-APA N1510V Dr AG Scott /Bassano Alta >Dr AG Scott & MB Toronto /Bassano >T Envoldsen /Standard Alta 20.06.31

It was originally registered in England as G-CYWV then went to Canada and was registered as CF-APA, then went to the U.S. as N1510V and I believe it had a pretty rich history here in the U.S. (it was owned by Bud Gurney and was a camera plane in the movie Spirit of St. Louis). I believe the fuselage was original but other parts might be from other aircraft. It was quite common for DH.60G's to have their wooden fuselages upgraded to the newer DH.60M's metal fuselage after a crash or during a rebuild so this might be confusing the issue.

Robin

Hi Robin,

Yes, my grandpa's Gipsy was CF-APA CN#1322 "oh ya..its confusing LOL" . He finished the re-build on it in 1968 after purchasing it from S.A.I.T. in Calgary. He sold it in late 1973 to Benson and Hedges tobacco company in Toronto, where it was flown it in the Great Belvedere Air Dash in 1974 when it was involved in a crash in Banff Alberta and was badly damaged. It has passed thru a few hands and now sits at the Canadian Museum of Flight awaiting restoration. I spoke with them a couple of months and they still have the wreckage in a crate back warehouse, its been sitting boxed up for about 43 years now. http://www.canadianflight.org/content/dh-60-gipsy-moth.

My grandfather was really ticked off when Benson and Hedges repainted the Gipsy in the Belvedere colors..LOL. My Uncle still has my Grandfathers hanger just outside Airdrie Alberta, still has the original 5gal De Havilland paint pails for the yellow and dark blue. Below is a picture after its 1973 paint upgrade

Would love to see some pictures of your Seagul Gipsy when you have a chance.

Thank you for checking out the info, that's fantastic

Hi Robin,

Thanks again for the Welcome, couple more pics, let me know if the newspaper article is readable...if not I can redo that one.

Terry, great pic of you and your dad! The beginning of the article is a bit blurry but the rest is readable. Now my curiosity is peaked though, I'll have to see what the registry says about G-CAPA.

Curiously the Seagull Gipsy Moth is modeled after a DH.60GM G-AAMX but has the sheeted turtledeck and slab sides (no stringers) of a wooden fuselage DH.60G! I removed the covering from the fuselage for a color scheme change, removed the sheeting from the turtle deck, added the stringers. Now I have to resheet the baggage compartment, add a pull-pull rudder and elevator control cable set up, and the fuselage side stringers. I'm also going to make a new fiberglass cowl as the one supplied is short and lacks detail and also want to see if I can improve on the aluminum landing gear.

I think a four stroke would sound great on the model but have come to appreciate the cleanliness of electrics and it would allow me to add a dummy Gipsy engine to the cowl (still agonizing on which way to go on power). I also have to figure out what to do about the wing strut mounts as according to the Seagull Gipsy Moth thread they're kind of fragile.

Terry - Here's the info for G-CAPA

G-CAPA DH.60X Moth 506 G-CAPA N1510V Provincial Air Service of Lands & Forests/Sault Ste-Marie 'Auk' >Halls Air Service Ltd /Val d'Or 11.05.28 361 Sold USA 21.10.55 preserved

They're showing both G-CAPA and CF-APA being sold and registered as N1510V !!?? Might try to get a hold of David Watson and see if he can shed some light this.

Hi Robin,
Your gipsy looks good, thank you for posting the pictures. Ya, that's really weird on the 2 moths with the same reg number. That's awesome you know who the owner is with the gipsy in the states. I was going to find out who the owner was and try to contact him for some closeup straight on photos of the instrument panel gauges as they are the same as what were in CF-APA.
If you get a chance to contact the fellow I would love to have his contact info as well if it would be ok to get ahold of him.

Keep me posted on your progress with your gipsy, it looks great. I have all the servos lines up for mine and power will be the saito 180.... a little on the big side but my mind is set on that one. I hoping after the building is done I will be able to interchange the engine back and forth with the tiger moth depending on which one will be flown... or crashed ....god I hope not.....lol

Hopefully will finish out the second tail assembly and the get into great hobbies here for all of the servos and orde some Kevlar cable, hardware and get after all of the rigging and wings. So far so good.



I haven't had a chance to work on the moth for the past week but going to spend the weekend on it and next week to get a little further ahead. Had to work all week end so that took away from my build time......lol

Terry,

Better stop using that four letter word (WORK) and I hear you, I'm a part 107 pilot (sUAS) for a start up that's working on drone delivery and my building/flying (hobby that is) time has diminished considerably.

I've contacted David Watson when I was looking for info on the 'Coupe' moth (DH.60's with enclosed cabins) for a drawing I was doing and he was very helpful. He has two Gipsy Moth's and a Tiger Moth that I know of and own's http://splitpinengineering.com/ a source for Tiger Moth and Chipmunk parts. His contact info is there if you'd like to reach out to him.

Here's some photos of his aircraft

Also Gary Sewall owns a a DH.60GM NC236K and is in southern Californina, he's also here on RC Groups as well as gipsymoth236k you might try sending him a PM as well but I haven't seen him on recently.

Hi Robin,

Thank you for davids info, will try to contact him next week.
I ran a cross Gary's website about a month ago when I was searching DH60 info , I contacted him via email. Awesome fellow, he had sent me a bunch of info and pictures that were fantastic. Hopefully in a couple of weeks I will be working on the upper cabane structure....have all the details worked out in my head and materials I need... just a matter of getting the time to get it done.