A 2/3 scale Douglas Dauntless dive bomber was built by a group of high school students in Project Schoolflight.
The project was lead by a Mr. Don Roberts of Noblesville High School, Noblesville, Indiana. Construction began in the fall of 1972 and was completed in May of 1977 at a cost of $15,000.
They supposedly used the plans from a Guillow’s Balsa Wood kit and scaled. The aircraft was powered by a Lycoming O-435. The wing was aluminum; the fuselage was steel tube with aluminum formers and skins.
It first flew on 25 May 1977.
The aircraft was supposedly sold after it was completed.
The Dauntless went to the San Diego Air Museum.
Jan 19, 2021
I was a student of Don Roberts 76-79 and remember this aircraft well! I remember the smell of the polyester resin through half of the school building from the cowl construction. Mains were from a Ryan Navion if I remember correctly. The “bomb” was donated by the Navy recruiter and we all got copies of Naval Aviation News which had an article of the plane.
All Aero 