We developed this over the winter. Winn Moore wanted a big plane and Pat Murray wanted to replicate his father’s full-scale airplane. So we decided to attempt to replicate the Comet 54″ Aeronca Chief.
54″ is a LARGE rubber model and I wondered if this would work. But, of course, the Comet 54″ models have already been proven. I traced all the sheet wood parts (verifying they fit on the plan) and sent each of them test kits. We ended up modifying a small handful of parts for better fitment, but essentially, this is as Comet designed the kit.
Both Pat and Winn jumped in and built the models. Winn said it was an easy build since all the parts are so large. They had to wait for two things: good weather and large fields. They both probably got tired of me asking “have you tested your Aeronca yet?” In May, Pat reported that his was flying , but Winn had only done a couple of glide tosses at our local field.
It took a trip to Muncie to get both planes in the air with me there to record the events. Pat’s was uncharacteristically out-of-trim, but you could still tell that this model would be soaring in no time. Winn flew his the next day. After about 3 tests, we had it trimmed. You can see the results of both models in the video below!
It took me all week to finalize the plans and such, but now you can get your own Short Kit right HERE.