Bellanca CH/J-300 by Dora Wings

1/72 scale
Kit No. 72001
Price: $20.00
Decals: Three versions, 1) “Lituanica” of the 1933 Trans-Atlantic flight by Steponas Darius and Stasys Girdenas; 2) “Cape Cod” of the 1931 New York to Istanbul flight by Russell Boardman and John Polando; and 3) 1930 American Legion aircraft based at East Boston Airport
Comments: Historic American aircraft of the Golden Age, detailed radial engine, realistic stressed fabric effects, separately mounted ailerons, rudder and elevators, single-piece two-bladed propeller, optional spats for main landing gear

History

First flown in 1929, just two years after Charles Lindbergh performed the first solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean, the Bellanca CH-300 Pacemaker was a six-seat utility aircraft built primarily in the United States in the late 1920’s and 1930’s.  A conventional, shoulder-wing braced monoplane with fixed landing gear, the CH-300 series was renowned for its long distance capabilities as well as reliability and load-carrying attributes, which contributed to its successful operations around the world in climates as diverse as the Alaskan bush and the run along the U.S. eastern seaboard from New York to Havana, Cuba.

The CH-300  was a development of the Bellanca CH-200, fitted with a more powerful engine and, like the CH-200, soon became renowned for its long-distance endurance. In 1929, George Haldeman completed the first non-stop flight, New York to Cuba in 12 hours, 56 minutes, flying an early CH-300 — a distance of 1,310 miles at an average speed of 101.3 mph. In 1931, a Bellanca fitted with a Packard DR-980 diesel engine, piloted by Walter Lees and Frederick Brossy, set a record for staying aloft for 84 hours and 33 minutes without being refueled. This record was not broken until 1986.

In Alaska and the Canadian bush, Bellancas were very popular. Canadian-operated Bellancas were initially imported from the United States, but later six were built by Canadian Vickers in Montreal and delivered to the RCAF (added to the first order of 29 made in 1929), which used them mainly for aerial photography.

Record Attempts

On June 3, 1932, Stanislaus F. Hausner flying a Bellanca CH Pacemaker named “Rose Marie” and powered by a 300-hp Wright J-6, attempted a trans-Atlantic flight from Floyd Bennett Field, New York to Warsaw, Poland. The attempt failed when he made a forced landing at sea; he was rescued by a British tanker eight days later.

On July 15, 1933 at 6:24 a.m. two Lithuanian pilots, Steponas Darius and Stasys Girdenas, flying a heavily modified CH-300 lifted off from Floyd Bennett Field in New York to attempt a non-stop trans-Atlantic flight to Kaunas, Lithuania. They successfully crossed the Atlantic, but after flying 37 hours crashed in bad weather in the forest near Pszczelnik, Poland, close to the German border. A flying replica of their plane, Lituanica, is on display in the Lithuanian Museum of Aviation. The wreckage of the original is kept in Vytautas Magnus War Museum in Kaunas, Lithuania.

Surviving Aircraft

Hawaiian Airlines owns the world’s only CH-300 known to be in flying condition. The aircraft, which was acquired new in 1929 by Inter-Island Airways (renamed Hawaiian Airlines in 1941), was used for sightseeing flights over the island of Oahu for two years before being sold in 1933. Acquired from an aviation enthusiast in Oregon in early 2009, the aircraft was restored at the Port Townsend Aero Museum and was unveiled at the Honolulu International Airport on October 8, 2009. Finally, a CH-300 Pacemaker is displayed at the Canada Aviation and Space Museum. This aircraft formerly served with Alaska Coastal Airlines. Bellanca CH-300’s were operated by the United States, Canada, El Salvador, Mexico and Norway.

The Kit

New from Dora Wings of the Czech Republic is the Bellanca CH/J-300. The kit is crisply molded in grey plastic and consists of 75 parts, including three clear plastic parts for the the cockpit windscreeen and side windows. The kit features a detailed radial engine representing the Wright J-6, resting on the forward exterior of a six-piece cowling and including at least eight individual exhaust pipes. A cowling ring is included for two of the three versions.

The cockpit features a remarkably small main instrument panel with tightly grouped dials (true to the original), dual control yokes, photo-etched rudder pedals to be affixed to the forward bulkhead, and bench seating for the pilot and co-pilot. Curiously, the cabin interior features three additional windows in both fuselage halves, one of them oval-shaped, which in each case will require a thin panel of plastic to be removed with a hobby knife. However, since no clear plastic parts are provided for these additional windows, modelers will have to scrounge them from some other source.

There are three options for the landing gear: plastic spats which must be assembled; resin spats requiring no assembly; and a third version with no spats and the wheels exposed. The wings feature separately molded ailerons complemented by photo-etch actuators; likewise the tail assembly features a separately molded rudder and elevator flaps, which also have photo-etch actuators. A series of support struts for the elevators, wings, and main landing gear complete the final stages of assembly, along with the propeller.

Markings

Decals are provided for three versions, each of which call out paints in the Mr. Color (Gunze Sangyo) line only. The first is “Lituanica” (serial no. NR 688E) in which Steponas Darius and Stasys Girdenas attempted a New York-to-Lithuania flight in July 1933, which unfortunately ended in tregedy when they crashed in bad weather in Poland after 37 hours of flight time; this aircraft is painted in overall Orange-Yellow with an aluminum cowling and cowl ring. The second is “Cape Cod” (serial no. NR 761W) in which Russell Boardman and John Polando successfully made a New York-to-Istanbul flight in 1931; this aircraft is painted in overall Orange-Yellow with the top half of the fuselage, cowl ring, leading edges of the wing and wing struts in Black. The third scheme is the “Cape Cod” aircraft in an earlier livery from 1930 but with the same serial number, operated by Russell Boardman from East Boston Airport on behalf of the American Legion for that year’s convention. In this livery the aircraft is painted in a scheme of Light Gray with Blue Gray wings, wing support struts and tail unit.

Conclusion

An interesting and fairly detailed example of a civilian Bellanca aircraft of the 1930’s, something too rarely seen in injection molded plastic and a welcome addition to Golden Age offerings. Highly recommended.

Reference

www.skytamer.com