Those were the days!

Back in the 80’s I learned to fly in Greenland on OY-CFJ

When I flew in it, it was not at all a nice looking 172. It had only been with the Aeroclub for a year or two, and was in its original colors with some red arctic markings.

I thought “Why not get it re-painted”, and made three suggestions for a new look. One was based on OY-CFO, a King Air 90 that looked a bit simple, red tail, black anti-glare and the rest white. Well, being a training plane I thought the next suggestion might be yellow, but with the Grønlandsfly harpoon and logo. The last one was just like the Grønlandsfly airliner fleet, and I gave the drawings of all three to the chairman of GLAF (Grønlandsflys Flyveklub)

As it was for the Greenlandair Aeroclub, wich had no logo, I also made a logo resembling the Grønlandsfly “Tern”, but seen from the side.

Then I moved further north, and forgot all about it. In 1995 I got a lift to Nuuk, and big surprise; OY-CFJ had been re-painted and sat in a hangar resplendid in the colors I suggested, complete with the new logo!

We pulled it outside and made some engine-tests as it had not been re-flown after re-paint, and needed the last bits of TLC before taking to the air. I did not get a chance to fly in it again, as I left Greenland a year later without getting to Nuuk again.

And thus it is time to build the plane in 1/48. There are, as far as I know, only two options available, one being the Minicraft offering that was issued in 2005. The other one is the Esci from 1981, re-boxed by Italeri in 2016.

I have the Minicraft in my shop, and will start the journey with that one.

It is very basic, and has a lot of issues when building a 172P. As this initial post is sufficiently long, I’ll call it a day and get it online.

next up I start the interior. Please feel free to share your personal experiences with the Cessna 172, the plane that has been produced in the highest numbers EVER and still comes off the assembly-line today

@fiveten, you are signed up my friend. I do not know if there are any correct T-41's around in 1/48 (the constant-speed propeller for one), but the variety of models and colors/operators in the 172's around makes it almost as interesting as the 109 in my eyes (and it is a lot easier to get to fly in a 172). More to come on the build soon - stay tuned!

Beautiful @airbum! I think it won't be long since I'll buy a kit myself and start...to make a Hellenic AF one! About interior, nothing was strictly standardized. In my case, the planes are currently residing (both the flying but also the retired ones) 500m away from my office, so no worries. Just look at these beauties at the pic below.
Your build is going to be super, following with anticipation.

1 attached image. Click to enlarge.

Color

Assembled some major parts and off to paint them

The base color is tan, and from that the detailpainting will come along later

All the interior parts received the tan color that was characteristic for “my” plane.

Needs a few touches of black and brown.

And some seatbelts.

The yoke is very well made! – will probably sand a bit, and then re-paint (it will have to be black anyway)

And the IP will be mostly black with just the lower panel tan.

next up most likely some finished interior – or an engine? Stay tuned.

Nice subject for something different. I too have flown right-seat with my dad in these throughout the years.

Looking great, the memories too!

Looking good, Erik @airbum. I think a lot of us that were Air Force pilots have flown the T-41. It was used in a "flight screening program" before you went to pilot training. Prospective pilots were given 14 hours of instruction (13 dual hours, 1 solo hour) to see if you were teachable in an airplane & if you were prone to air sickness. When I started flying, the Flight Screening Program was located in Hondo, Texas (just west of San Antonio), and T-41's were also used at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The T-41A was a basic 172, while the T-41B and T-41C had a more powerful engine in them. My wife was an instructor pilot in T-41's for 4 years. I have always worried about building the 172 out of fear that the main landing gear struts will be awful weak. You will have to let me know. I have attached some pictures of the T-41B that I took at Hondo.

3 attached images. Click to enlarge.

Dressing up

The interior gets dressed up and detailed a bit

First up, the seats got some acrylic closer to the colors in OY-CFJ

Not as worn as I remember it, and the colors are awful, IMHO.

A parked 172 usually has the parkbrakehandle drawn

Made of thin alu-sheet from a candle

And with that some seatbelts are needed.

The belts are made out of painted Tamiya-tape

And before the coffee-break, the windows are installed.

Those windows are distorting the interior a bit, though not as munch as I had feared. Enough though to make me consider that vac-forming lesson. . .

next up I hope to have the major parts assembled and perhaps even primed