They hoped to improve aircraft recognition skills and these scales compromised between size and detail. 1:72 was popularized in the US during the Second World War by the US War Department after it requested models of commonly encountered single engine aircraft at that scale, and multi-engine aircraft in 1:144th scale. Scales are not random, but are generally based on divisions of either the Imperial system, or the Metric system.įor example, 1:48 scale is 1/4' to 1-foot (or 1' to 4 feet) and 1:72 is 1' to 6 feet, while in metric scales such as 1:100th, 1 centimetre equals 1 metre.ġ:72 scale was introduced with Skybirds wood and metal model aircraft kits in 1932 and were followed closely by Frog which used the same scale from 1936 with their ' Frog Penguin' brand. Die-cast metal models (pre-assembled and factory painted) are available in scales ranging from 1:48th to 1:600th. Plastic model kits requiring assembly and painting are primarily available in 1:144, 1:72, 1:48, 1:32, and 1:24 scale. Static model aircraft are primarily available commercially in a variety of scales from as large as 1:18 scale to as small as 1:1250 scale. Some can be very large, especially when used to research the flight properties of a proposed full scale aircraft. Many are available in kits, typically made of injection-moulded polystyrene or resin.įlying models range from simple toy gliders made of sheets of paper, balsa, card stock or foam polystyrene to powered scale models built up from balsa, bamboo sticks, plastic, (including both moulded or sheet polystyrene, and styrofoam), metal, synthetic resin, either alone or with carbon fibre or fibreglass, and skinned with either tissue paper, mylar and other materials. Static models range from mass-produced toys in white metal or plastic to highly accurate and detailed models produced for museum display and requiring thousands of hours of work. Sometimes only part of the aircraft is modelled. Non-flying models are also termed static, display, or shelf models.Īircraft manufacturers and researchers make wind tunnel models for testing aerodynamic properties, for basic research, or for the development of new designs. Model aircraft are divided into two basic groups: flying and non-flying. Die-cast Boeing 747-400 scale display modelĪ model aircraft is a small unmanned aircraft and may be a replica of an existing or imaginary aircraft.

Paper model airplanes plans