It's yet to take to the skies for its first test flight but the World War 1-era bomber will be on display at this weekend's Warrnambool Model Aircraft Club's fun fly day at Koroit.

It was while on a visit to an Adelaide museum that Mr Dyson got the idea to build his own Vickers Vimy twin-engine bi-plane.

"I thought 'that's something different that I haven't built before'," he said.

"It was a challenge."

After finding a 3D drawing online, Mr Dyson scaled up the design from a three-inch wingspan to a 1.4-metre wingspan.

Using balsa, plywood and even soft drink bottles, he spent six months constructing the plane which is now ready to be put to the test.

"You make a mould and then slip that inside the drink bottle and run a heat gun over the top of it, and it all shrinks down to that shape," Mr Dyson said.

The plane is one of about "20 or so" model planes in his collection, most of which he has built himself.

"They get out of control in the shed. I think they multiply at night while you're not looking," Mr Dyson said.

"Most of them I've built myself, some of them I've designed myself."

The original plane was used by South Australian brothers Ross and Keith Smith to pilot and navigate the Great Air Race from England to Australia in 1919, along with engineers Walter Shiers and James Bennett.

Australian prime minister Billy Hughes had announced the competition which came with a 10,000-pound prize for the first crew to arrive within 30 days.

Powered flight was just 16-years-old when they set off, but their successful flight paved the way for postal and commercial flights to Australia.

"These blokes were sitting in this thing with their head and shoulders above the top part of it, no windscreens and they flew it out to Australia," Mr Dyson said.

"They would have just had a leather hat and goggles.

"It would have been a cold trip.

"They would have had to strike winter somewhere along the way."

The Vimy lifted off from snow-covered Hounslow airfield near London on November 12, 1919 and landed in Adelaide on March 23, 1920 after flying 14,250 miles.

Six Australian crews had taken up the challenge. Two crews perished and two others crashed out. Only one aircraft reached the destination in the required 30 days - the Vickers Vimy.

The model plane will be on display at the Fun Fly Days on March 18 and 19 between 10am and 3pm off Officers Lane, Koroit.

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