1912 Grandjean L for rubber

[Pete Fardell]

I'm always on the lookout for another Blériot-type model idea and this is my current frontrunner.
It's the Grandjean L which was designed and built by René Grandjean and was apparently the first aircraft to fly off a glacier (!) and also the first ski-plane to fly in Switzerland. This was at Davos in 1912. It was the first aeroplane to use a Swiss aero engine too: the liquid cooled, four cylinder Oerlikon 50.
So, a Swiss flag on the rudder, big Blériotesque wings, no spoked wheels to make... what's not to like? Original aircraft was 30ft span so I'm thinking 1/12 scale for the model. Like the Blériot, I'd hope to fly it indoors too.
The attached 3 view of the same plane in its wheeled undercarriage configuration is by Emil Hunziker from the excellent book, 'The Aircraft of the Swiss Air Force since 1914' by Jakob Urech. (There's also a drawing in there of it in its later Gnome engined incarnation.)

[Squirrelnet]

Great subject Pete, I don't know how you find them

Looks very much a Bleriot inspired aircraft hopefully it would have the same flying characteristics as your XI