Welcome to the Home of Jim Walker
& The American Junior Aircraft Company

American Junior Home PageJim Walker PageFrank Macy & American JuniorAmerican Junior NewsletterAmerican Junior e-mailAmerican Junior TimelineDVD selections from American Junior

American Junior "404" Folding Wing Interceptor
The 1947 version from Jim Walker

404 Interceptor by Jim Walker, American Junior Aircraft in 1947
The original 1939 Army Interceptor was redesigned in 1947 to the "404" Interceptor. Sporting a shorter wingspan
and the new rounded fuselage called "Sleek Kurve" this model stayed in production into the early 1960's.

American Junior Interceptor Boy launching the 404

Watch This 11 minute video from 1989...
Production of the "404" Interceptor when Frank Macy was successfully producing this model. This rare video footage shows his shop in Oak Grove, Oregon. We see the production techniques used to produce the "Assembly Kit" version and also some of the assembly process for the "Ready-To-Fly" version that he also produced. Jim Longstreth, Susan Holm, and Vick Wolfe helped in production.

404 Interceptor Folding Wing Glider Kit Assembly from 1989
404 Interceptor, American Junior 1989 version
404 Folding Wing Interceptor, American Junior, Jim Walker
Here are the Assembly Kit and finished "Ready-To-Fly versions of the "404" Interceptor. Frank Macy had high hopes and was well on his way to reintroducing this model. By the following year he was shipping to 600 hobby shops and was getting ready for investors. Health issues and other problems stopped production in 1991.

Pivot Pin & bushing for folding wing glider 404 Interceptor pivot pin and wood bearing
Close up of the pivot pin and split dowel bearing, used from 1939 to early 1960's.
Pivot pin installed and ready for the wing. Pin is snug but must rotate freely.

Pactra version of the 404 folding wing Interceptor
Plastic fuselage of folding wing Pactra 404 Interceptor
When Pactra took over American Junior in the early 1960's, they redesigned the Interceptor using plastic for the fuselage. They produced the "404" and another version called the "Skydiver".

Sky Diver folding wing glider from 1984, Frank Macy with Pactra parts

THE 1984 "JIM WALKER" SKY-DIVER FOLDING WING GLIDER,
REMANUFACTURED IN LIMITED QUANTITY BY FRANK MACY'S "A-J FUN-PAK".

HISTORICAL INFORMATION: The Jim Walker Sky-Diver is basically the same model as the famous A-J folding wing Interceptor, which was manufactured in the forties and fifties. The main difference being the plastic fuselage, the name of the model, and the color. Produced by Pactra in the early sixties, after they purchased American Junior Aircraft . This model is the last version of the long line of folding wing gliders, a wonderful part of American Model Aviation History.

Many parts of your Sky-Diver model are old original stock that was stored in a boat house (dry) for almost 30 years. The wings, folding mechanism and stabilizer were produced by the same dies that were used for the famous A-J 404 Interceptor. Only the printing was changed. However, the SkyDiver had a plastic fuselage (like the Space Interceptor) and was too heavy for good flight performance. For this reason, it was decided to junk the plastic, and manufacture a new fuselage patterned after the 404 Interceptor shape. Only Premium quality balsa was used for the new fuselage, as you can see. The design on the fuselage was not an original A-J design, but was designed to have that "A-J look", and printed in red to match the origninal parts. Production ended in 1985 to produce the "404"


404 A-J Interceptor and box, Frank Macy production from 1999
In the late 1990's a brief attempt was made to produce the "404" Interceptor along with a replica box that copied the original artwork of American Junior. The only difference is the use of darker cardboard stock and the inclusion of the new American Junior website.

Interceptor Folding Wing flight adjustments
Flying adjustments were printed on the box. The stradle wire allowed the adjustment for the angle of attack of the wing. The plane was a good flyer but sometimes a bit tricky to get properly trimmed.

Launching the Army Interceptor - artwork
Army Interceptor Poster, Jim Walker
404 Interceptor Poster, Jim Walker

Jim Walker introduced the first folding wing glider in 1939, the "Army Interceptor". This model was produced during WWII and up through 1946. Poster is original A-J.

The "404" Interceptor came out in 1947, stayed in production into the early 1960's.Frank Macy brought it back in 1985. Poster by Frank Macy.

Interceptor II an 2006 model by Frank Macy, folding wing glider
The metal wing pivoting mechanism was redesigned into an updated plastic version and is seen here on this 2006 "404" Interceptor II. More info in our folding wing gallery

 


 

FireWire News | Jim's Workshop | Jim Walker | Contact Us | Walker101 | About Us