Standard J-1 Manual - Macca's Vintage Aerodrome

Standard J-1 

American 1917 

Trainer Aircraft 

Assembly and finishing Manual 

for ARF stand-off scale model 

in 1:5 scale. 

Historical data and presentation. 

Model design and construction drawing by 

Göran Kalderén © 

2001-11-15

STANDARD J-1 

Designed and built by the Standard Aircraft 

Company of Elizabeth, New Jersey in 1917 

and 1918. The Standard J-1 was used by the 

Aviation Section during World War I for primary 

flight instruction. 

In 1918 all Standards equipped with Hall-Scott 

A7a engines were grounded due to a series of 

fires caused by hard landings or crashes and 

severe engine vibrations in flight breaking the 

flimsy fuel lines of the pressurized fuel system 

used on engines that powered them. 

Standard J1 ARF 2 

After the war many were converted by 

Curtiss to use OX-5 engines and were sold as 

”Curtiss-Standards”.Re-engined with the 

Hispano-Suiza engine, the ”Hisso-Standard” 

became the aircraft of choice for barnstormers 

and air show operators. Because the cockpits 

were wider than that of the Jenny two people 

could be carried per flight, doubling the per flight 

revenue of the barnstorming pilot. The wider 

accomodations also made room for more cargo 

for prohibition era smugglers on ”midnight 

sightseeing trips”. The movie industri liked the 

The Standard J-1 in the US Airforce Museum 

in Dayton, Ohio, U.S.A. Our model is painted 

as this aircraft is displayed. 

Photos courtesy of the US Air Force Museum Photos courtesy of the US Air Force Museum

One Standard J-1, that is preserved in the Owls Head Transport Museum in Maine, U.S.A. 

Standard and it was used in numerous flicks. A 

"Hisso-Standard" was the aircraft flown by Robert 

Redford in the movie ”The Great Waldo Pepper”. 

The easiest ways to tell a Standard from 

a Curtiss Jenny is that the Standard’s wings 

have a slight sweepback and both cockpits are 

aft of the cabane struts as opposed to just the 

aft cockpit of the Jenny. The space between 

the wings on the Standard was a foot greater 

and the interplane struts were vertical instead 

of canted forward like the Jenny’s. Also the original 

Hall-Scott engine of the Standard used a 

vertical radiator placed in front of the pilot which 

kept him warm on cold days but was obviously 

a major hinderance to forward visibility. 

Aside from the Hall-Scott 4 cylinder en- 

gine and its inherent problems, the Standard J- 

1 was a rugged, reliable, stable and easy to fly 

aircraft for the period. It was produced by four 

manufacturers (Standard, Dayton-Wright, 

Fisher Body, and Wright Martin) and a total of 

1,601 J-1s were built. 

SPECIFICATIONS 

Span: 43 ft. 10 in. 13,15 m 

Length: 26 ft. 7 in. 7,98 m 

Height: 10 ft. 10 in. 3,25 m 

Weight: 2,100 lbs. loaded 

Dihedral both wings: 3° 

Sweepback both wings: 5° 

Engine: Hall-Scott A-4A of 100 hp. 

Max. speed: 72 mph. 

Endurance: 3 ½ hrs. 

The Standard J-1 in the US Airforce Museum 

in Dayton, Ohio, U.S.A. This aircraft is presently 

not avaialble for viewing. 


Photos courtesy of the US Air Force Museum

Standard J1 with Hispano Suiza engine in the Garber restoration section of National Air and Space Museum, 

Washington DC., U.S.A. 

Standard J1 ARF 4

Standard J 

Wing Span: 42 ft 10 in (12.8 m) 

Length: 27 ft 2 in (8.2 m) 

Height: 10 ft 10 in (3.3 m) 

Dihedral both wings: 3° 

Sweepback both wings: 5° 

Engine: Hall-Scott A-4A of 100 hp 


Photos courtesy of the US Air Force Museum


The excellent quarterly 

magazine World War I 

Aeroplanes offers in their 

July 1980 (#80) issue a 

cover drawing. There is 

also extensive research 

data, a very detailed x-ray 

drawing by Jim Dunavent 

and and interesting historical 

description of the 

Standard J1. 

Below: 

Our model has the paintwork 

of the aircraft on 

display in the US Airforce 

Museum in Dayton Ohio, 

U.S.A.

The complete airframe before covering 

The Model 

We have chosen the scale of 1:5 rendering a 

model size that i easy to fly but also relatively easy 

to transport. Both the upper and the lower wing 

panels can be removed as an assembly, for 

transportation which gives relatively limited 

requirement for transportation size. 

The finished model is painted in 1918 livery 

and further detailing can be made as per 

documentation. 

Specification: 

Wingspan: 263 cm 105.2" 

Length: 160 cm 63.8" 

Weight: 6200 g 13lb. 9oz. 

Wing surface: 162 dm² 2511 sq” 

Wing load: 38 g/dm² 13 oz/sq’ 

Engine 2-cycle .80 - 1.20 

Engine 4-cycle 1.20-1.50 

Covering and finish 

The model is covered and painted from the 

factory. When you have made changes in the fire 

wall and adapted the dummy engine to fit in line 

with the engine, you will have to cover the open 

wood areas with fuel proof paint. 

Installation of engine. 

We recommend that you don't overpower this 

model. It will fly happily with a 1.20 standard 4stroke 

engine. Our prototype was tried out with a 

Saito 1.20, 4-stroke engine, which gave more than 

ample thrust. The engine bearers have been 

adjusted for this size of engine. 

The engine is mounted upright justifying the 

need for adequate cooling. 

1. Drill the holes in the engine plywood 

bearers and fasten the engine with blind nuts on 

the underside of the plywood. Place the engine as 

close to the front as possible. The propeller should 

be approx 1/8" / 3mm) it front of the nose cowl. 

2. Drill the holes from the tank to the 

carburator, pressure tap and the filling cap. 

3. Install the engine and connect the throttle 

servo. 

4. Make cut outs in the dummy engine block 

so that this will fit in line with your engine. This 

"surgery" is executed by removing a little at the 

time and checking. When you are satisfied with 

the fit and openings, screw the dummy engine on 

to the engine mounts using 2 screws and washers. 

Make the additional necessary cut out in the top 

engine cowling. 

5. Reinstall the engine cowl using 4 #2 sheet 

metal screws. 

The Saito 1.20 is 

nicely blending 

into the dummy 

engine 


The dummengine 

before any 

trimming for the 

engine for flying 

Installation of servos, tank, battery and receiver. 

The aileron servo is installed behind the 

joystick in the servo support provided. 

The elevator servo and the rudder servo 

are installed in front of the rudder bar and joystick 

in the cockpit floor. The tank is positioned on the 

plywood engine mount and in line with and behind 

the engine. 

The throttle servo is installed behind the fire wall. 

The receiver and the battery pack are 

positioned under the tank in the compartment 

accesible through a hatch in the bottom of the 

fuselage. 

The switch can be mounted on the instrument 

panel in the front cockpit. 

1. Attach a ball link head to joystick and rudder 

bar in the appropriate holes. You may have to 

enlarge the holes to take the screw from the ball 

link (Dubro #189 set of 2). 

2. Install the servos for rudder and elevator 

and temporarily connect the servo arms to the ball 

links. Deflection for elevator is 20° up and down 

and for rudder 30° right and left.. 


The aileron 

servo is 

mounted 

on the 

cockpit 

floor 

in the 

tray specially 

built for this 

purpose 

The aileron 

control wires exit 

through the side of the fuselage 

3. Install and connect the throttle servo in the 

fashion you prefer. 

4. Install the tank in the available space on 

the plywood engine bearer behind the engine. 

5. Install the aileron servos in the servo tray 

in the cockpit The aileron connecting wires 

attaches to the servo arm as shoed in the sketch. 

Deflection of the ailerons should be 20° up and 

down. 

6. Install the radio switch on the dash board. 

7. Place the receiver and the battery pack in 

the compartment under the tank, wrapped in foam 

rubber and secure with rubber bands. 

Assembly of the Standard J-1 

All parts have been assembled at the factory 

and only disassembled for transportation. 

Rudder and elevator wires are factory 

adjusted but may need some tensioning

The servos 

for rudder 

and elevator 

are mounted 

inverted in the floor 

of the cockpit. Access 

through hatch in the bottom 

The throttle servo is 

mounted next to 

the tank, 

behind the 

fire wall 

The aileron interconnecting 

wire runs thhrough 

guides in the 

upper wing 

adjustment after a while. Aileron can be adjusted 

with the clevices connecting to the aileron horns. 

Assembly of wing panels 

1. Push the lower wing halves into the holes 

in the fuselage. 

2. Push the upper wing halves into the holes 

in the wing cabane. Connect the flying wires and 

the landing wires. Attach the flying wires in place. 

Attach the landing wires in place. 

3. Install the interplane struts. Note that the 

approx. 1/8" shorter struts fit in the front positions. 

Connect the strut cross bracing by clipping the 

kwick links in place. 

The wires from the aileron servo run from 

the fuselage to the pulleys on the underside of the 

upper wing. The upper aileron horns are connected 

with a wire running on top of the wing and joined 

in the center. The aileron control wires form a 

Turnbuckle for rigging 

The tailskid 

can be 

reached from 

under the 

stabilizer 

closed loop from the servo in the fuselage. 

Should you need to replace a wire, use the 

attachment method indicated in the picture. When 

crimping the cerulet (sleeve) use a flat plier or a 

crimping tool, press firmly and don't cut through 

the wire. 

Landing gear 

1. Install the landing gear in the holes in the 

fuselage and secure with crossbracing. 

2. Install the wheels on the shaft and secure 

with the stoppers. 

3.Lace rubber bands in the fashion shown in 

the sketch. This is a very efficient shock absorber. 

Balancing 

The center of gravity / balancing point 

should be approx. approx. 14 cm (5.5") 

measured from the leading edge on the upper 

wing. Make adjustments if necessary. 


What is in the box: 

The ARF kit contains the parts shown in the picture. 

All the parts are covered and painted. All the rigging 

5 

4 

3 

1. Fuselage with wing cabane and radiator 

2. Landing gear 

3. Scale wheels 

4. Dummy engine with mount 

5. Scale propeller 

6. Fin with rudder 

7. Stabilizer / elevator 

K&W 

Model 

Airplanes Inc. 


2 

10 

1 

9 

10 

Flying 

The prototype was flown with a Saito 1.20 

4-stroke engine. Let the engine swing a 16x8 

propeller if possible. This gives better thrust and 

reduces sound to a more realistic level. Remember 

this is a slow flying aircraft. 

Flying characteristics are very forgiving 

and will fly happily on 2/3 throttle. Set the elevator 

at zero angle for the first flight but be prepared to 

give down elevator if the model climbs out too 

steep. During the initial take off run you have to 

compensate for the torque with right rudder but as 

the speed builds up the rudder is returned to 

neutrual. This model should fly of the ground and 

8 

wires are supplied in the correct lengths and need 

only to be clipped to their positions. 

8. Upper wing panels 

9. Lower wing panels 

10. Interplane struts 

11. Wires, turnbuckles and hardware for assembly 

(not shown) 

12. Assembly manual with scale 

documentation 

P.O.Box 1229, Cebu City Centrl. Postoffice 

Cebu City 6000, Philippines 

Visiting address: 

3343 Gun-Ob, Kinalumsan, 

Lapu-Lapu City 6015, PHILIPPINES 

Phone +63 32-340 0772, Cellular +63 917-3200 985 

Telefax +63 32-340 7131, E-mail: kwmairpl@gsilink.com 

Website http://www.kwmairpl.com.ph 

6 

12 

not be pulled. Once airborn the aircraft is as its full 

size prototype. Remember: climb or decent is 

controlled with the throttle, speed with the elevator. 

Start the turns with the rudder, then use up elevator. 

It will be necessary at this time to give opposite 

aileron to dampen the turn rate. 

The landing approach can be rather steep 

as per prototype but the flare out needs almost full 

up elevator. Get the tail down to maintain directional 

stability. 

Happy landings! 

7

Standard J-1 Manual - Macca's Vintage Aerodrome

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