AVRO AVIAN

Rob Caso draws up an 1/8 scale alternative to the ubiquitous DH Moth

- Robert J. Caso

The Avian was a late 1920s civil aircraft, with its primary competitor being the DH 60 Moth, which outsold the Avian into anonymity. It was a smallish aircraft with a wingspan of 30 feet and one that morphed into a number of versions owing to the installation of various powerplants, including radials. It appeared rather simple to me with its straight wings and squarish fuselage, but what set it apart was its sleek, clean and yet elegant lines. ‘Charming’ is the word, methinks. I also liked the upright and partially exposed in-line, four-cylinder, air-cooled engine. The bullet-shaped cowl would be a modelling issue, along with the lack of any photos showing military livery, since my fleet is comprised mostly of warbirds. I had a faint memory of a Merchant Navy Swordfish – one of my ‘top 5’ favorites – done up in a rather colorful scheme and soon located the example in my library. Ok, no guns or torpedoes here, but perhaps a training aircraft for a U-boat spotting unit? Game on!

A photo of an Avian on floats and another with folding wings further complicated my life. I wanted to configure the model for either land or sea without having to take too much of it apart in the process and making these accommodations could not have been easier. I left the Landing Gear (LG) axles a bit long, which, in turn, slip into dedicated mounting points on the floats. Separate one of the floats from the crossing members, slide the axles into the mounts, reconnect the floats, bolt up the aft struts to the fuselage and you're in business for water. It takes longer to explain than to do.

The folding wings are really somewhat of a novelty and greatly complicate the build, so these may be eliminated for simplicities sake.