discussion Wonwings Diary-a blog with a difference.

[Guest]

I made that Scorpion model many years ago. It was a bit off the beaten track of my normal Airfix stuff as I think it was a Christmas present from some Aunt or Uncle.

It was a bit different to the camoflage stuff I was used to and I quite enjoyed it. I can't remember the manufacturer but I am certain it was American so you may be right with Lindberg.

 

[wonwinglo]

Wonwings diary-No bright clouds,no photography.

Bad weather has grounded the Small Air Force,so here are a few ground shots,see how many that you can identify ?

Miniature air force.

Aerial view-left to right are top row,Mig 29,F-101 Voodoo,Supermarine Scimitar,Hawker Siddeley Harrier,Shackleton MR.3,Rear row-left to right,Flying Bedstead,Short SC.1 Prototype conventional take off version,Boulton Paul BP.III,Short SC.1 Vertical lift prototype,Comet C.2,with Rutan Voyager behind.

 

[wonwinglo]

Wonwings diary-A selection of models.

'Spirit of Boreke' Tornado in special colourscheme.

This kit was a bargain buy in a local shop,the box art had faded and they put it into the winter sale,the contents were fine and the decal sheet the best that I have ever handled,it just draped around the shape of the model beautifully,what was at first a seemingly daunting task became eesy due to quality materials,the decals were sort of flexible but thin and once in place a dab with a lint free cloth soon secured them.

Alouette II in 1=32 nd scale.

This was a tediuos model to put together but presented a challenge to get the skeletal framework together,the cockpit bubble is crystal clear,note the scale droop of the rotor blades,this was attained by drawing them under a pencil and gently easing upwards,very pleased with the results.

The cockpit framework is made from masking tape laid onto a piece of glass,next the narrow strips are cut with a steel rule and razor blade,once in place a dunk in Johnsons locks them for good.

 

[Guest]

Lovely model Barry ! So realistic

 

[wonwinglo]

Wonwings diary-The restoration and recreation of The Fox Flyer.

Flying Fox glider which I repaired for a museum,the early flying machine was made by Major R.F.Moore who as a member of the Royal engineeres in India made a study of fruit bats,the machine was made by J.Shaw and sons in Coventry and shown at Crystal Palace.Major Moore died in Vancouver during 1925.

The model of the Flying Fox was badly damaged having been flattened,it just took a bit of patience to sort out the bits and pieces and re-assemble them.

A picture restorer once told me that when you are handling someone elses precious work, just treat it as your very own,and above all lavish the very same care on it.

 

[wonwinglo]

Wonwings diary-In memory of Nigel.

My diary today is dedicated to Nigel who had become a very important part of this forum,although I have never met him only spoken to him over the telephone at great length,about model building,his lovely family and his work at Argos.

It just goes to prove that in this world we do not have to actually meet someone to feel part of their life,although we all write at great distances to share our wonderful hobbies people are just as important to us in more ways than one,Nigel was to prove to be a dynamic part of this forum,sometimes his ideas were verging on bizarre but his intentions were very honourable and I really do know how important the forum was to him.

He will above all be remembered for his skills with the airbrush,something which he has shared with us here on many occasions,he also held a vast knowledge of building scale models in particular his love for Luftwaffe aircraft,and the Hawker Sea Fury which he finally managed to obtain in his beloved 1=32nd scale.

This really brings home to me how very precious and vulnerable life can be,we really have lost a person with love and passion for everything that he did.

Although he had never met me and my good wife he asked me to come and stay for a few days as an holiday,planning trips beforehand to Duxford and Northweald well in advance ! but that was just the way Nigel was,a dynamo of love for everything that he did.

To Char I will say this,stay strong in the knowledge that your dad will always be in our thoughts,and remembered here for a very long time,he was one of the very best,and I can honestly say that I am pleased that he became a part of our lives here on Scale-Models and we got to know him so well in such a short period of time.

'Rest in Peace' Nigel.

 

[Guest]

Barry Thank you very much for that diary entry. I know that with his heart he loved all of you as his friends and really appreciated all your work he had done. He will never be forgotton and will always be in our hearts. On behalf of all of us at the Doggett house we thank you for all your lovely comments about my dad Nigel.d.

 

[wonwinglo]

Wonwings diary-A few more recent models.

VC-10 in 1=144th scale by Airfix is a really neat little model,mine was delayed by a big chunk of plastic that was torn from the wing trailing edge by a careless worker,I managed to get a replacement kit.

Piaseki Workhorse by Revell is a very detailed model of a real pioneering twin rotor helicopter,they even thougthfully provided some mesh for the engine ducting at the rear.

Another view of the Workhorse,showing the rotor blades with their downward droop achieved by pulling through a piece of dowl held against a few pieces of carpet underlay.

Ace Freighters Lockheed Constellation,de-icer boots & wheels still to be painted.This aircraft holds a lot of nostalgia for me having done a bit of work on the real aircraft for a company called Lanzair.

Even as a model she is such a beautiful aeroplane,replica of the short lived Ace Freighters company which were based at Baginton in the sixties.

 

[wonwinglo]

Wonwings diary-The Gloster Meteor F.1

If anyone asked me what the best fitting kit was that I have built ? then it would be this one,the Tamiya Gloster Meteor F.1,atruly outstanding kit.

Gloster Meteor F.I Protype.

 

[wonwinglo]

Wonwings diary-Luftwaffe secret projects-The Messerschmitt 1099

Me.1099 Projected Heavy armoured version of the Me.262.

Underside view of the Me.1099 project showing the rear mounted cannons.

Revell have produced some interesting Luftwaffe designs that make into most attractive model subjects,the many and varied projects have been illustrated in book form,and also known as the Luft46 series.

The designer of the Me.163 Rocket fighter Alexander Lippisch was ordered to produce drawings and mockups for a wide variety of designs aimed at carrying the maximum amount of weapons resulting in a massive weight increase,and sometimes unstable designs.

 

[wonwinglo]

Wonwings diary-Lets get close in and see the structure.

The cockpit of Lindbergh's 'Spirit of St Louis' Ryan N-Y-P,note the sparse wickework seat with no seatbelts,plus the very functional fuel pipes and controls,literally a flying fuel tank,the crude plumbing is self evident,Lindbergh wanted everything to hand and kept as light as possible with no frills.

Just remember he flew this aircraft by astro navigation across the Atlantic single handed,it certainly looks mighty uncomfortable just looking at that seat alone,which would look more at home on the veranda ? what a man of iron he must have been to accomplish what he did,when you travel on your sleek jet airliner on holidays think of this man.

Ford Trimotor engine detail,the clatter of three radial engines in your ears as these island hoppers plied their trade,then the sleek Douglas sleeper transports (DC-3 Dakota later on ) came along to make these tin birds look antiquated,a few still fly in private hands still giving joy rides to lucky people at Oshkosh.

Avro Lancaster nose turret,imagine being young and stuck in the nose of a Lancaster,terrified and vulnerable as flak was all around you.

The sharp edges of the metal structure,and the lack of sound proofing was something easy to forget today.

BAC Strikemaster nose art.

Now here is a real challenge to get going with a paintbrush,the nose art on this privately owned Strikemaster took some 120 hours to execute carefully laying on one coat on top of the next to produce this stunning result.

 

[wonwinglo]

Remember Anand who wrote to me a little while back about a model aeroplane contest at his college ? well he sent me this today-

Hi Barry

My event was a grand sucess and all credits goes to you. I must thanks you and the wonderful folks at Scale-Model. I would definatly sent you the snaps. we had nearly 30 team and 30 diff Aero Model made out of Ivory Paper planes. It was great.

As a result of sucess of this magnitude we are planning to have our own Aero Modeling Club at our collge , a forum for all Aircraft lovers.

The name of the club is "AEROTREK" and club motto "Thrust Yourself"

i would be glad if u could tell me the basic requriement for an Aero Modeling clubs and other information and requriment and activites. For the time being our action points for the members of the club and students are

1. Basic concepts of Aero Modeling

2. Fundamentals of Aero Dynamics

3. Paper Modeling

4. Balsa Wood modeling.

I would be grateful to have any kind of help from you and scale model.

Looking foward for your reply.

Cheers...

Anand.

 

[Guest]

Remember Anand who wrote to me a little while back about a model aeroplane contest at his college ? well he sent me this today-Hi Barry

My event was a grand sucess and all credits goes to you. I must thanks you and the wonderful folks at Scale-Model. I would definatly sent you the snaps. we had nearly 30 team and 30 diff Aero Model made out of Ivory Paper planes. It was great.

As a result of sucess of this magnitude we are planning to have our own Aero Modeling Club at our collge , a forum for all Aircraft lovers.

The name of the club is "AEROTREK" and club motto "Thrust Yourself"

i would be glad if u could tell me the basic requriement for an Aero Modeling clubs and other information and requriment and activites. For the time being our action points for the members of the club and students are

1. Basic concepts of Aero Modeling

2. Fundamentals of Aero Dynamics

3. Paper Modeling

4. Balsa Wood modeling.

I would be grateful to have any kind of help from you and scale model.

Looking foward for your reply.

Cheers...

Anand.

Great news Barry. Always nice to know we could help someone with a modelling issue.

 

[wonwinglo]

Wonwings diary-Postal scam rife at the moment.

Royal Mail Postal Scam

This scam has been confirmed by Royal Mail and is especially relevant as Christmas is fast approaching:

A card is posted through your door from a company called PDS (Parcel Delivery Service) suggesting that they were unable to deliver a parcel and that you need to contact them on 0906 6611911 (a premium

rate number).

DO NOT call this number, as this is a mail scam originating from Belize.

If you call the number and you start to hear a recorded message you will already have been billed £15 for the phone call.

If you do receive a card with these details, then please contact Royal Mail Fraud on 0207 2396655 or ICSTIS (the premium rate service regulator) at

www.icstis.org.uk, or your local trading standards office.

 

[wonwinglo]

Wonwings diary-Chance photograph of the Hercules C-130C3P Conversion.

Yesterday I went over to BHX Birmingham International airport, to see the aircraft that had arrived for the G8 Conference,the spot that I use is well away from the terminal but with a good pair of binoculars you can see everything that is going on,I was just about to leave when someone that I was talking to said,look there is an ambulance one of the military flights must be coming in from Saudi Arabia ? the hospital at Selly Oak have a special military personnel ward,anyway after waiting a few minutes the Herky Bird appeared on the horizon,it was a C-130C3P stretched version,something that I had not seen before,by poking my camera through the fence I got this image which I am very pleased with-

XV197 Hercules C-130C3P arrives with a patient for the new Selly Oak hospital military ward in Birmingham.

N46WC HS.125,D-CFAI Learjet,Fed Ex EI-FXG ATR 72 and VT-JGS a Boeing 737 on delivery to Jet Airlines,India from Boeing field top right in a very awkward position for photography.BHX 26-10-2006

 

[wonwinglo]

Wonwings diary-My Aventures with the Kintronic Avionics SBS-1 Virtual radar system.

The wonderful SBS-2.

Some 25 years ago the enthusiast was offered the first airband radios to appear on the market,I never go anywhere without mine and it has been a source of enjoyment for many years giving an involvement with aviation and felling part and parcel of what is happening,then I got wind of a virtual aircraft tracking system,saw what it was capable of and I just had to get my hands on one,now I can not only listen to those specks in the sky but track them on my virtual radar system,follow them and watch as the climb out and set course for warmer climes,this system has already taught me a lot about our air traffic control system and is evolving around a pioneering a system of collision avoidance and monitoring that is here to stay.

Well how does it work ? basically a Transponder unit is installed in the aircraft,at the moment every day more aircraft are being fitted with them,and the CAA want a unit fitted into every General Aviation ircraft by the year 2008,this includes microlights,balloons,gliders in fact anything that uses the sky to make it a much safer place.

The ideas of the use of transponders has been around for a very long time,comedian and TV personmality Michael Bentine who lost his son in a tragic Piper Cub accident whereby the aircraft fell into heavy undergrowth and was not found for weeks wanted two things,one for every pilot to file a flight plan,and two for aircraft to be equipped with transponder units so everyone knew where they were,if the aircraft had been so equipped then the crew would have been located very quickly and no doubt survived the accident,the massive increase in air traffic within the UK alone means that a system like this is essential for the future,the extra expense of purchasing units for say £1,000 far outweighs the benefits in safety,even compact portable units are available for use in microlights.

The aircraft sends out a code which is installed into the box,this is known as the HEX code,meaning eight figures,every aircraft on the British Civil register and throughout the world now has such a code allocated in readiness for the transponder revolution that is taking place,here are some screen grabs of my system taken at a very light period of activity in order to see the basic screen set up,the picture below this one shows the constantly upgraded and updated streaming aircraft data picked up by the antennae and fed into the box.

The runway orientation for both Coventry and Birmingham airports added today from second generation enthusiasts software.

Tracked aircraft showing the beacon at Honiley airfield,altitude,speed,real time positions,HEX 8 digit codes which can be de-coded,a useful physical check can be carried out by using Google Earth,the operators latitude/Lonitude is fed into the software,various display parameters can be set up.

At peak times there can be as many as 50-60 aircraft in the area shown above where I monitor from,the whole system has proved to be a fascinating insight into what is going on up there and proved to be totally absorbing.

I am curently experimenting with different antennae combinations/designs from a biscuit tin lid ground plane mounted 18 inches from a 20 foot pole with the antennae mounted into as much free sky as possible,to the supplied magnetic mount fitted to a domestic tea tray !

As transmissions are line of sight,it is important that the signals are shielded from buildings etc as little as possible,this can be very difficult in heavily built up areas but experiments can give amazing variables.

**Wonwing recommended** a high quality product with a very bright future both for the amateur radio fan and in the aviation industry for training air traffic controllers.

 

[wonwinglo]

Wonwings diary-The Percival Aircraft Company

Percival Aircraft.

The ever popular aircraft produced by this company still have quite a following,the streamlined designs were ideal for racing and long distance flights,if you get the chance then read 'The Flight of the Mew Gull' by Alex Henshaw which contains gripping stories of his early flying and most important the story of the famous Cape Dash,he was so exhausted that they had to lift him from the cramped cockpit and held him aloft as the hero.

From the Mew Gull stemmed a series of beautifully designed and built touring aeroplanes some of which are seen here.

G-AEKL Percival Mew Gull which Charles Gardner won the 1937 Kings Cup air race,colours are red with gold trim.

G-AEXF Mew Gull at the 1954 air races held at Baginton,the aircraft still exists albeit damatically rebuilt with very little left of the original airframe,the control column button in fact.

OO-ARJ Proctor IV,formerly G-ANWU.One of a few ex R.A.F aircraft demobbed and converted into training and general purpose aircraft.

Proctor V OO-ARM,formerly G-AHZY.

Vivian Bellamy test flying G-AIAE Proctor V converted into a lookalike Junkers 87 for the film 'Battle of Britain' although not used in this film, the aircraft languished at Elstree studios where one of the three aircraft built is believed to exist.

The extensive amount of conversion work is evident here,there appearing to be very little left of the original airframe with a cut down rear decking and what look like new gull wings.

Although Viv Belamy was noted for his replica aircraft this was not one of his best as it is said the aircraft only flew on one occasion !

The aircraft was dubbed the 'Proctuka'

Percival Prentice E-390 on display at a museum in Argentina.

Thanks to Captain Nigel Hitchman for the picture.

N1041P Prentice flys in the U.S.A painted as a warbird in camouflage,she was grounded for a while with engine problems.

Now understood to be up for sale.

The camouflage is authentic apart from the shade as early production prototypes were so finished.

 

[wonwinglo]

Wonwings diary-More Percival Aircraft photographs.

NP294 Proctor 4,the aircraft went to the Lincs Aviation Heritage centre at East Kirkby,the only Proctor in original R.A.F colours around.

G-AHBD Proctor 5,withdrawn from use March 1968,seen here at Staverton,as shown below this was the Sir W.G.Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft company hack.

The same aircraft at Baginton,this machine was one of the Sir W.G.Armstrong Whitworth aircraft hacks painted in medium blue fuselage with silver wings,she was sold to Henri Duccoman following a short spell with the A.W.A Flying group,pictured here outside the LAS hangar then onwards to private ownership at Staverton.

G-ANPP Proctor 3,ex HM354 was owned by Harry Fanshawe during the sixties,finished in a beautiful red/white scheme she made a long distance flight to South Africa and back.

G-AHGA Proctor 3,owned by Stewart Smith and Sons,seen here at Baginton in 1961,the aircraft was withdrawn from use in 1963.

Painted overall pale grey with blue trim.

G-AHMP Proctor 2,withdrawn from use April 1963,this aircraft was paintedred and silver starboard side and black and silver port side,used for communications by Bristol Siddeley at Filton.

Proctor 5 G-AHWR at Baginton circa 1954 during the National air races,the aircraft ran out of fuel on 18-06-54 and crashed into a potatoe field,the pilot 'Sailor Parker' saved the aircraft from turning over by digging in a wing,the aircraft just disintigrated leaving Parker sitting on his seat in the middle of the field of potatoes,but his quick reactions and skill saved his life.

 

[Guest]

I am unsure how far the transponder idea is being applied. I have been in conversation with perhaps 18 or twenty Hangglider, and micro and ultralight pilots. None have been in favour of being forced to fit transponders. Reasons vary fom cost of unit AND THE INSTALATION, and the weight of the unit, battery, aerial and fittings can at least in the case of many microlights put them over the legal weight definition of micro-light.

I have also spoken with perhaps a dozen glider pilots none of whom liked the idea either.

They all did think that for light aircraft and larger which are suitable for the equipment to be installed that the idea is sound.

 

[Guest]

We actually have a similar situation with transponders in the marine world.

People in small craft seem to think for some reason that they should be allowed to be immune from the regs and quote such similar things as cost etc. Then there are all sorts of cries when a small yacht gets in the way of a ship trying to navigate a tight channel while some clown tries to get a photo of it going past.

I have no time for anyone that seems to think they should be immune from sound safety driven regulations that are for everyones benefit and not just the selfish individual who wants to do thier own thing.

If weight is an issue then the craft should be designed from the start with that in mind and if that can't be done afterwards then it should be classed as unairworthy, period.