Before the age of jets, the Canadian Forces aerobatics team flew Harvards.  I decided to model one, using Dave Livesay's T-6 plan (20"ws).  His design is easy to construct and builds light.  The aircraft I chose is RCAF449 which flew with the "Goldilocks" aerobatics team.

 

 Dave Livesay likes box construction which is one of the reasons I like his designs so much.  They're easy to build.  Often former cutting can be kept to a minimum by simply gluing pieces of balsa to the box and sanding them to shape.

 

Once the two sides are done the typical box fuselage is created.  This photo is more to show you the rest of Dave's plan than anything else.  Once this step is done you just add the subformers around each box and you have a fuselage.

 

I hinged the tail surfaces and so modified the design a bit.  I used slightly thicker stock along the hinge line which provided more wood for setting hinges and also improved the stiffness of the surfaces.

 

Here's the basic fuselage framed up.  Note that Dave likes a single, tapered spar with cracked rib construction (with a LE cap).  This generates a very light wing.

 

I created markings by drawing them using TurboCAD and then printing them to plain, white paper.  

 

Before cutting out these markings, I sanded the paper as thin as I dared and then covered the back of the sheet with UHU gluestick and let it dry.   

 

This glue can be activated using alcohol or heat.   In this case I cut out the markings and applied them to the covered model using a small iron.   

 

The basic colors for the aircraft were gained by using red, yellow and black tissue, colored with NuPastel chalks.  These improve opacity and shifted the color to what I felt looked more appropriate for the particular aircraft.

 

 

The antenna setup on this aircraft is very prominent but such things can also be problematic on the flying field.  To achieve the look while also maintaining it, I used latex thread for the antenna lines and the radio post is mounted on a base of EVA (craft) foam that was trim to match the post cross-section.  Because of this, one can bend the post in any direction and it just springs back into position.

 

 

The cowl of this model is done by rear/forward formers with 1/32" sheeting between them.  The noseblock is a set of formers and I used a Small Scale engine for effect.  The winterized exhaust system is a straw of proper diameter. 

The canopy framing is done by applying UHU to the back of some tissue, letting it dry and then cutting thin strips.  These are ironed into place and then the canopy is coated with Future Floor Finish.

 

 

The result won't win FAC scale anytime soon but it's a great flyer and looks pretty good in the air.