Wonwings Diary-a blog with a difference.

[wonwinglo]

Wonwings diary-BBMF Avro Lancaster on winter overhaul at Coventry airport.

Subject: Air Atlantique to do major overhaul on BBMF Lancaster.

It was announced today that the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight Avro Lancaster,will receive its annual winter overhaul at Coventry Airport, with the work being undertaken by Air Atlantique engineering.

The M.O.D state that it makes good sense to farm out the work to independent companies who meet their high standards of workmanship in order to keep this much loved aircraft flying for our future generations.

Well done AAE,I am sure that you will do the aircraft proud.

CFS Aerospace have been undertaking engine overhaul on behalf of the Flight for some time.

[wonwinglo]

Wonwings diary-The Heinkel HE.162 Salamander.

Heinkel He.162 Salamander.



The prototype of the Heinkel He.162 turbojet engined interceptor was flown for the first time on 6th December 1944,this was only 38 days after detail drawings had been issued to the factory.This prototype was lost in a fatal flying accident on 10th December,but the programme was continued and then revealed some aerodynamic problems,these problems were rectified in the third and fourth prototypes which were both flown during 1945,first deliveries of aircraft for operational evaluation and service trials were also made during January 1945.On 4th May 1945 one Gruppe of three squadrons,with a total of 50 aircraft,was formed at Leck in Schleswig-Holstein,but British forces occupied the airfield on 8th May and accepted the units surrender.A total of 116 He.162's were built,and another 800 were discovered in underground production centres in wooded areas of Germany.















On finals to Leck,the Salamander was a tricky little beast to master,especially if an engine should suddenly flame out,had the right metals been available at that time the combination would have been a winner,the He.162 was just too late for the Luftwaffe to benefit from Heinkels technology,advanced aircraft like the Salamander proved the remarkable and desperate advances of the later years during World War two.

[wonwinglo]

Wonwings diary-The De Havilland Sea Venom FAW.22 and model photography.

Having experimented with the photography on my models for some weeks now,decided to take the process a little further,today I went to two actual locations at Burton Dsssett Hills a local beauty spot,and my favourite haunt at Wellesbourne Mountford airfield,so the backgrounds are real as the model was held towards the sky,I feel that the results are well worth the extra effort,even worth the funnly looks people give you as you jostle with the models in one hand and the camera in the other ! still they live on another boring planet and dont bother me one bit,as modellers we are interesting eccentric beasts intent on creating special effects and scenes,something that I just love creating,especially as my friends here can enjoy looking at the results of my labours.

De Havilland Sea Venom FAW.22





A few circuits at Wellesbourne.









Caught over the Burton Dassett hills today,the lovely shape of the Sea Venom.

[wonwinglo]

Wonwings diary-The Hawker Hunter T7.

Hawker Hunter T7













This is the old Matchbox Hunter T.7 kit,the markings are hand painted and were a chance to use that gloss Humbrol green that seems to never ever have any uses,however a good white base colour was first needed which took four coats of white criss-cross painted in thin layers each one flowing into the first to get a nice build up.

To get a nice fine line I used a piece of thin spring steel from a pocket watch tacked onto the model with Blue-tak,then I took a sharp needle and etched the lines into the surface,this forms a tiny gutter ridge for the paint which flows right up to the edge,it works remarkably well provided that you do the preparation work carefully.

The nose legend etc were done with a '0000' fine brush dipped into thinned white indian ink ( obtainable from art suppliers),I had to steady the model against a foam filled pin cushion held tight against my bench,as my hands now shake I cannot achieve the finese that I used to, but from a distance it looks fine,we just have to accept these facts of life.

The whole lot is pulled together with a thin film of Johnsons/Future rolled on with a cotton wool bud,the whole lot self levels and is better than using a brush.

The pictures were taken yesterday against real favourite local backgrounds,experiment with those angry cloud effects they add a bit of drama.

[Guest]

Barry both Frog and Squadron did a 1/72 he 100

[wonwinglo]

***Thanks Nigel,the model has been positively identified as being a early Linbergh example,surprising that more manufacturers have not tackled this one ?

Barry both Frog and Squadron did a 1/72 he 100

[wonwinglo]

Wonwings diary-War stricken Douglas Dakota's and a bonus De Havilland Rapide.

Douglas Dakota



In September 1939 just when the whole world was to be covered by an inter-connecting air transport system,the nations divided themselves again in hostilities.By 1941 every great trading and commercial country was involved in active military operations,or was under the complete domination of the Axis Powers. The few neutral nations such as Sweden and Switzerland lived an uneasy life between the beligerents.Swissair retained two DC-3's in flying condition for occasional flights undertaken on behalf of the International Red Cross,and put the rest of its leet in storage.



All the European services of K.L.M were stopped on 23rd August 1939 except those to Scandinavia,Belgium and London.The Scandinavian service closed down on 9th April 1940,the Belgium on 18th April and finally on 10th May 1940 all European services were terminated and the Germans occupied the Netherlands.On that fatal day four K.L.M DC-3's painted in bright overall colours by German bombing at Schipol airport.A further four were captured by the Luftwaffe intact at Schipol when the invading forces reached there on 16th May,these were repainted with German crosses and swastika's and used by the Luftwaffe.Nothing daunted K.L.M joined the Allied cause and with four remaining DC-3'S fled their stricken country to set up a base at Whitchurch airport,Bristol UK,here they were allocated British registrations and opened a service between Bristol and Lisbon in August 1940.A German air attack on Whitchurch on 24th November 1940 destroyed one of the Dakota's.



The pictures show one of these aircraft in bold wartime identification markings making no mistake as to the country of origin.















This is a fully rebuilt original Airfix Dakota,the model can be identified by the inaccurate nose shape and the models lack of sufficent dihedral.In order to complete the historic Airfix model this required stripping down another original Airfix Dakota which had seen better days.I have plenty of more accurate Dakota models and decided to keep this one as a record of how the first Airfix offering looked and paint it in an interesting historical colourscheme described above.

Paint is Tamiya Acrylic hand brushed over a Holts white universal primer,all lettering is hand painted.



De Havilland DH.89A Rapide







This is the original Frog 1=76th scale Dragon Rapide painted in Cambrian Air Services colours.

[wonwinglo]

Wonwings diary-The Boeing B-47 Stratojet.

Boeing B-47 Stratojet.



















This is the Hasegawa Boeing B-47 Stratojet,the model is now on its third restoration and I think looks better than when it was new,the problem with this type of model being so large is they can get damaged being moved around,and unless a proper storage box is made for them they suffer,I think this time a foamboard box is the answer with the fuselage resting onto balsa blocks to keep the undercarriage away from any stresses and strain.

The model is finished in Woolworths household silver paint,which makes a really realistic metal finish and has been used by model builders for years,the paint has too much aluminium carrier varnish so allow the tin to stand overnight and drain some off the top the next day.



The scene could easily be a Stratojet climbing away after take off from U.S.A.F Bruntingthorpe where they were once based.It was real fun doing this shoot and selecting some suitable scenery to add realism.

[Guest]

Visions of Jimmy Stewart in the cockpit !!!!!!!!!

[wonwinglo]

Wonwings diary-Very special Avro Lancaster's

Avro Lancaster.

These white and black aircraft went on a tour of America just after World War 2,many American people had never seen a Lanc before so the aircraft toured all over the U.S.A on a goodwill mission.

Sadly the trip was marred at the very end ,when whilst on approach one of the machines came very low over the threshold and the Lancaster's large wheel struck an observer at the end of the runway.









The starboard inner engine has failed and been feathered ! the aircraft has been trimmed out.





As she climbs away the distinctive all white upper surfaces glint.





This model of the first Airfix Avro Lancaster was almost consigned to the model breakers yard,found crushed in the bottom of a box of bits with no undercarriage,no tail and devoid of props,it had been covered in several layers of household paint,first job was to prise what was left of it apart with a large kitchen knife,thankfully it had not been glued together very well,the cockpits and turrets were cleaned up with Brasso and toothpaste then dunked into Johnsons to restore them,the major bits were soaked overnight in brake fluid which lifted the yukky paint,then the whole lot was cleaned up with white spirit to degrease the parts and re-assembly could begin in earnest,somebody donated a new tail assembly and a jig was made to solder together the brass tube undercarriage legs.

The whole model was given two coats of Halfords universal soft white primer,the gloss black undersides were done Tamiya paint,suitable decals came from the spares box and the serials and codes hand painted.

So another rare early kit was saved with a bit of a different colourscheme from the norm.

[Guest]

very nice there Barry. Am i right in saying there are only 3 running lancasters left in the world? 2 of which are owned privatly?

[wonwinglo]

***One airworthy in Canada RJ with Canadian Warplane Heritage,our own at Coningsby with the Memorial flight,the former Strathallan airworthy Lanc got crushed at Woodford when the hangar roof collapsed whilst under restoration,the remains went to Sandtoft and now lie in the open ?

very nice there Barry. Am i right in saying there are only 3 running lancasters left in the world? 2 of which are owned privatly?

[Guest]

Howdy guys, check out this site: http://www.lancasterfm212.freeservers.com/ it is the site of Windsor, Ontarios restoration project of a Lancaster which served as a park monument for decades.

And here is another link the same project: http://www.ch2a.ca/ which states

a. we own and operate out of a WW2 hangar built at the Windsor airport in 1941 to house #7 Elementary Flying Training School‚ part of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan.

b. we own a 1941 Boeing Stearman and two DeHavilland Chipmunks which we actively fly and maintain,plus a T33 jet for static display;

c. we have agreements to fly and demonstrate a 1936 Fleet Fawn and a J-3 Cub which are privately owned;

d. we are building a WW2 DeHavilland Mosquito Bomber literally from scratch, and hope to start putting the pieces together in 2003;

e. We maintain the City of Windsors Lancaster,to be restored and placed in a Museum.

f. we have demonstrated and flown our aircraft in a number of air displays, parades and open house days over the past two years.



So, the folks north of me are working on several projects at once, including the Lancaster and a mossie. The Lanc they hope to have in a condition where atleast the engines will run, a flight has not been considered due to stresses on the airframe while static.

One bit of trivia:

Q: from what two countries can you look due north and see the United States?

A: Mexico of course and Canada (Windsor, Ontario is due south of Detroit, Michigan, you actually can look north from there and see the US).

Have a good day,

Greg

[Guest]

well as they say greg....you live and learn!

[wonwinglo]

The CWH have a very creditable restoration programme,and a dedicated team of people behind it all,the importance of the training of crews during wartime in Canada must never be overlooked.

My father did a very intense course out there to prepare him for what was ahead in those turbulent days

But when you think about it not much has changed in that respect has it ?