NilsAir/Cessna C306 Mosquito

[Spey_Phantom]

i havent been feeling myself lately, strange feeling, unhappy, strange pains,...
thought some modelling might cheer me up and make me feel better. just for a change of pace i thought i would leave the military builds aside and make a civilian model for a change.

the bad thing is that there are not many civilian recreational aircraft on the 1/72 market, and they are very hard to find (arii cessna's, airfix piper arrow,..) so i thought about kitbashing/scratchbuilding one 
the baseline model im using is an airfix 1/72 O-1 Birddog, but give it some features of later cessna models like the 152 and 170 series.

most notable modifications are:

-closing the upper wing windows
-scratchbuild spinner
-tricycle landinggear (nosewheel from spares, rear wheels from kit)
-scrachbuild tailsection & stabilisers (Cessna Skyhawk style)
-modified front (intale under the prop filled with putty)

Back History:

following a need for a new elementary trainer for the Belgian Air Force and an observation plane for the army, Nils (yours treuly  ) offered a cheap sollution to the requirement in 2008. there are a lot of early model cessna's on the market available, like the model 305A and military O-1. the idea was to buy a conciderable number of these aircraft from civilian and military operators, then in cooperation with Cessna aircraft, these would be structurly rebuild, upgraded, retrofitted and re-engined. so i set up NilsAir, as a Belgian Sub Contractor for cessna responsible for overhaul, upgrade and repairs to these aircraft.

in April 2009, Cessna took the older model 305A back into production, but with new lighter materials, upgraded avionics,....but also assigned NilsAir to produce the aircraft under licence for the European market. eventually Nilsair now converted 50 Model 305/O-1's to new model 306 standard, and now has a contract to produce 269 new 306's, including 14 for the Belgian Armed Forces for use as Target towing and training of transport pilots.

Photo's of the progress:

[PR19_Kit]

Nils,

That's interesting and good thinking, and very plausible too.

The Bird Dog looks great with a trike undercart, where can I sign up to fly one? 

[John Howling Mouse]

Yep, tricycle gear and the revised tail empennage look fantastic!  Keep up with this styrene therapy, Nils.   

[Andover115]

Hi, just wanted to mention that unfortunately you would need to find a new model number for your creation. The Cessna Model 306 was the offering from the company for the OS117 specification which led to the Grumman S-2 Tracker.

[NARSES2]

That's an interesting looking aircraft

[The Rat]

Like a Twin Otter with radials.

[kerick]

Sorry to say but the first three photos have gone missing. Sounds like fun build.