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Elevating Expectations.
Supra raises the standards of refinement with innovative interior amenities that create extreme luxury tempered by intuitive design. The new SC interior is the perfect example. Elegantly functional features like Supra's E-Boost equipped racing-style driver's seat marries comfort and convenience with high performance. Versatile passenger relaxation like Triple-up Seating with a flip-up lean back in the lounge, a rear-facing seat behind the driver that houses a trash receptacle and storage, an available Gap Seat in the walk-through and a 36-can relocatable stay-cold AO Cooler continue the usability without compromising interior look, capacity or comfort. The standard 10-speaker Polk Sound System can be controlled through the media screen of the VISION Touch, with a remote mounted in a lounge side panel or in the passenger-side glovebox. Easy-access tune control is an understatement. Supra furthers the interior feast for the senses with LED Mood Lighting, hand-cover color-match interior accents and the plush feel of Spradling's stain and abrasion resistant multi-textured SupraSkinTM vinyl. The Supra SC raises its standards to luxury, you should too.
+++ DISCLAIMER +++
Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based on historical facts. BEWARE!
Some background:
Cunliffe-Owen Aircraft was a British aircraft manufacturer of the World War II era. They were primarily a repair and overhaul shop, but also a construction shop for other companies' designs, notably the Supermarine Seafire. But the company also undertook contract work for the Air Ministry, Lord Rootes, Shorts and Armstrong Siddeley worth £1.5 million, and undertook design and development work.
The Marlin torpedo bomber was designed by Cunliffe-Owen Aircraft to Admiralty Specification O.5/43 as a replacement for the carrier-based Fairey Barracuda in the torpedo/dive bomber role for the new Malta Class ships. Cunliffe-Owen’s engineers had been convinced that a state-of-the-art torpedo bomber would have to be a fast and agile aircraft, so the airframe’s dimensions remained as compact as possible – and in fact the resulting aircraft was not bigger than the Barracuda, even though it was more massive in order to make room for an internal bomb bay. Much attention was given to aerodynamic and weight refinements, so that the aircraft – despite its considerable size – would still perform well with a single engine.
The primary choice fell on the Bristol Centaurus and the aircraft was expected to achieve 370 mph (600 km/h) top speed. Other engines with a similar output, e .g. the R-2800 and R-3350 from the USA as well as the British, air-cooled Exe 45 24 cylinder inline engine, were considered, too. However, the American export engines had been reserved for domestic use and the Exe was, at the time of the aircraft’s design, still far from being a reliable engine in the 3.000 hp class.
The Cunliffe-Owen Marlin was a conservative two-seat, mid monoplane aircraft design. As the Marlin was intended for carrier service, it came complete with hinged wing sections to allow for folding, as well as an arrester hook and a sturdy landing gear. The wings had a pronounced inverted gull wing design, so that the wings’ main spars could be positioned between the bomb bay and the cockpit floor and the landing gear struts could be kept as short as possible.
Even though the new Malta Class ships would allow bigger aircraft to be stored and deployed, the Cunliffe-Owen design team was cautious and tried to keep the aircraft as compact as possible – also with hindsight to the aircraft’s overall performance. In order to achieve this goal and set the Marlin apart from its Fairey and Supermarine contenders, the designers decided at a very early stage to limit the biggest size driver: the internal bomb bay. On the Marlin, it was not to be long enough to carry an 18” torpedo internally. The effects were dramatic: the Spearfish, for instance, had a wingspan of more than 60 ft (18m) and had a MTOW of more than 10 tons, while the Marlin had only a wing span of less than 50 ft and weighed only 25% less.
Instead of carrying the torpedo internally, a ventral arrangement, offset to port, allowed for the external carrying of a single 18” torpedo under the fuselage or of up to two 1.000 lb bombs in tandem. Alternatively, a single 1.000 lb bomb could be carried internally on a swing arm that would clear the bomb in a dive from the propeller arc. When dropped in free fall, up to four 500 lb. bombs or four 450 lb (205 kg) depth charges could be carried internally. Other options included a photo camera pallet for reconnaissance duties and/or auxiliary fuel tanks.
Hardpoints under the outer wings allowed the carriage of more iron bombs, mines or depth charges of up to 500 lb caliber, 90 gal drop tanks, or up to sixteen unguided 3” missiles for attack purposes. The Marlin’s total ordnance load was 3,000 lb (1,361 kg).
Additionally, two forward-firing, fixed 20mm cannons were mounted in the leading wing edges while a defensive, remote-controlled Frazer-Nash FN95 dorsal barbette with two 0.5” (12.7 mm) machine guns was mounted behind the rear cockpit position for defense, being operated by the navigator.
In August 1943, Cunliffe-Owen received an order for two Marlin T.1 prototypes. The first prototype, serial number RA359, was constructed at Cunliffe-Owen's Southampton Airport factory and first flew on 5 July 1945. The second prototype did not fly until late 1946 and was earmarked for the integration of a surface-search radar.
Test pilot and naval aviator Captain Eric Brown evaluated the first prototype at the Royal Navy Carrier Trials Unit at RNAS Ford, Sussex, and found "the controls in cruising flight were relatively heavy, but the aircraft responded well to stick input, and it is fast – despite its ponderous looks.” The Marlin also lacked any sort of stall warning, which would have been a problem in operational use as the stall and approach speeds were fairly close. For the landing, the aircraft proved quite docile, though.
The later prototype had, as an interim measure, ailerons boosted by hydraulic power and artificial feel to the stick from a spring. But during tests Brown found that "the second prototype was much less the pleasant aircraft to fly as the stick continually hunted either side of neutral and there was no build-up of stick force with increase in speed." Several improvements had to be made to the airframe, but no major flaws were discovered. In addition, the flaps were to be enlarged and lateral control was to be provided by spoilers with small "feeler" ailerons.
In the meantime, the strategic developments in the Pacific theatre of operations had changed. In 1945 the original order of four Malta Class ships from 1943 for the Royal Navy had been cancelled, even before they were laid down, and with this cancellation the Fleet Air Arm no longer had a requirement for new torpedo bombers. The whole program was cancelled, including the Marlin’s main competitor, the Fairey Spearfish, which was only built as a prototype.
However, the Marlin’s good performance so far and its relatively compact dimensions and high performance saved it from complete cancellation. The type was now regarded rather as an attack aircraft that would complement the Hawker Sea Fury fighter, another late WWII design. Some refinements like a new exhaust system and a fully retractable tail wheel were integrated into the serial production and the updated type’s designation was changed into SR.2 in order to reflect its changed role. The torpedo bomber capability was kept, even though only as a secondary role.
Originally, production orders for 150 aircraft were placed to be built at Southhampton, starting in late 1944. The first ten aircraft were still finished to the T.1 specification and used a Bristol Centaurus IX 18-cylinder radial engine, 2,520 hp (1,880 kW) radial engine. Then production switched to the TR.2, but instead of fulfilling the complete order, just a scant 114 TR.2 production aircraft, all outfitted with a 2,825 hp (2,107 kW) Centaurus 57 engine, followed. Some were outfitted with an ASV Mk.XV surface-search radar, mounted in a pod under the outer starboard wing, but all of them came too late to see any action in the Pacific.
After the Second World War, the Marlin remained in front line service with the Fleet Air Arm until the mid-1950s, but soon after World War II, anti-aircraft defenses were sufficiently improved to render aerial torpedo attacks suicidal. Lightweight aerial torpedoes were disposed or adapted to small attack boat usage, and the only significant employment of aerial torpedoes was in anti-submarine warfare.
Nevertheless, British Marlins got actively involved in several battles. For instance, the type carried out anti-shipping patrols and ground strikes off various aircraft carriers in the Korean War, and the Royal Navy successfully disabled the Hwacheon Dam in May 1951 with aerial torpedoes launched from Marlin fighter bombers - this raid constituted the last time globally that an aerial torpedo was used against a surface target, and was the only time torpedoes were used in the Korean War. The Marlin also served in the ground-attack role during the Malayan Emergency between 1951 and 1953.
The Marlin’s FAA front line career ended in late 1954 with the introduction of the Fairey Gannet. By that time, Cunliffe-Owen had already been, due to huge losses in the Post-War civil aviation market, dissolved since 1947.
General characteristics:
Crew: two
Length: 39 ft 7 1/2 in (12.10 m)
Wingspan: 47 ft 3 in (14.40 m)
Height: 13 ft 4.5 in (4.07 m)
Wing area: 35.40 m² (381.041 ft²)
Empty weight: 10,547 lb (4,794 kg)
Max. takeoff weight: 16,616 lb (7,553 kg)
Fuel capacity: 409 imperial gallons (1,860 l; 491 US gal)
Powerplant:
1× Bristol Centaurus 57 18-cylinder radial engine, 2,825 hp (2,107 kW)
driving a 5-bladed Rotol VH 65, 14 ft (4.3 m) diameter propeller
Performance:
Maximum speed: 540 km/h (293 kn, 335 mph)
Maximum range: 900 mi (783 nmi, 1,450 km)
Combat radius: 349 mi (303 nmi; 562 km)
Service ceiling: 31,600 ft (9,630 m)
Rate of climb: 2,600 ft/min (13 m/s)
Time to altitude: 7.75 minutes to 10,000 feet (3,048 m)
Wing loading: 158.9 kg/m² (32.5 lb/ft²)
Power/mass: 240 W/kg (0.147 hp/lb)
Armament:
2× 20 mm (0.79 in) Hispano autocannon in the outer wings
2× 0.50 in (12.7 mm) M2 Browning machine guns in a dorsal, remote-controlled
Frazer-Nash FN95 barbette
1× 1,850 lb (840 kg) 18” Mk. VXII torpedo or 2 × 2,000 lb (910 kg) bombs under the fuselage,
or up to 2.000 lb of bombs in an internal bomb bay
Alternatively, up to 16× RP-3 rocket projectiles, bombs or 2× 90 gal (408 l) drop tanks
on underwing hardpoints; total ordnance load of up to 3,000 lb (1,361 kg)
The kit and its assembly:
This converted Aichi B7A2 was inspired by a whiffy Royal Navy skin for this type for a flight simulator, found at warthunder.com and created/posted by a user called byacki. The aircraft was otherwise unchanged, but the result looked so convincing that I earmarked the idea for a hardware build.
This time has come now: the 2018 “RAF Centenary” Group Build at whatifmodelers.com was a neat occasion to tackle the project, since I already had stashed away a Fujimi kit for this build.
In fact, Cunliffe-Owen submitted a competitive proposal for the Spearfish’s requirement, but details concerning the respective aircraft remain obscure, so that the B7A2 fills this gap well. The Fujimi kit itself is VERY nice, well detailed and goes together like a charm. In order to stay true to the original inspiration I did not change much, but the Fairey Spearfish of the late WWII era had some influence.
First of all, the engine was changed into a Bristol Centaurus – a very simple rhinoplasty, since the B7A2’s front fuselage diameter turned out to be ideal for this swap! The original nose was cut off just in front of the exhaust stubs, and a Centaurus from a PM Model Sea Fury was mounted in its place – even though it had to be “squashed” a little in order to fit properly (achieved through the use of a screw clamp and 2C putty inside to stabilize the new shape). Inside of the new cowling, a styrene tube was added for the new five blade propeller, also form a Sea Fury, which received a metal axis.
Another addition is the gun barbette, a common feature among Admiralty Specification O.5/43 designs (the Fairey Spearfish carried one, too). I was lucky to find a leftover chin turret from an Airfix B-17G in the pile, which fitted well in shape and size. The casing ejector openings were faired over and then the turret was mounted upside down in a round opening at the end of the cockpit section. Cockpit floor and canopy were modified accordingly and the result does not look bad at all! Inside of the cockpit the OOB bucket seats were replaced by bigger alternatives – the Fujimi parts look like 1:100 scale!
The OOB torpedo was retained and I added some unguided 3” rockets under the aircraft’s wings, left over from my recent Sea Hawk trainer build. Another addition is a radar pod under the port side wing (a modified cardboard drop tank from a WWII P-51D), and the main wheels were changed – from a Matchbox Me 262, because they feature more details than the OOB parts. The tail wheel was modified, too: instead of the B7A2’s fixed wheel, I implanted the front wheel from a PZL Iskra and added covers, for a retractable arrangement.
Painting and markings:
Well, a conservative choice, and since I wanted to stay true to the original CG design, I stuck to classic RN colors in the form of Extra Dark Sea Grey (Humbrol 123) for the upper surfaces and Sky (Tamiya XF-76 IJN Green Grey, which is a very similar, yet slightly darker tone) for the undersides, with a high waterline. A personal twist came through Korean War era “invasion stripes”, which were carried for easy identification esp. by propeller-driven aircraft in order to avoid friendly AA fire from the ground. The stripes were created after basic painting with white and black generic decal sheet material (TL Modellbau): large white bands (32 mm wide) as foundation, with single black bands (each 6.4 mm wide) added on top. Application around the radar pod and on the slightly tapered fuselage was a bit tricky, but IMHO still easier than trying to mask and paint the stripes.
Other markings were puzzled together from a PrintScale Fairey Firefly sheet, from different Korean War era aircraft.
As per usual, the kit received a light black ink wash in order to emphasize the engraved surface details, and then the panels were highlighted through dry-brushing. Lightly chipped paint was simulated with dry-brushed silver and light grey, and gun and exhaust soot were created with grinded graphite.
Finally, everything was sealed under a mix of Italeri’s matt and semi-gloss acrylic varnishes, for a sheen finish.
I am astonished how natural the Japanese B7A2 from late WWII looks in Royal Navy colors – even without my minor modifications the aircraft would look very convincing, even as a post-war design. It’s really an elegant machine, despite its bulk and size!
The Centaurus with its five blade propeller, the missiles under the wings and the gun barbette just add some more muscle and post-war credibility. I could also imagine this elegant aircraft in WWII Luftwaffe markings, maybe with an engine swap (BMW 801 or Jumo 213 power egg), too?
Elevating Expectations.
Supra raises the standards of refinement with innovative interior amenities that create extreme luxury tempered by intuitive design. The new SC interior is the perfect example. Elegantly functional features like Supra's E-Boost equipped racing-style driver's seat marries comfort and convenience with high performance. Versatile passenger relaxation like Triple-up Seating with a flip-up lean back in the lounge, a rear-facing seat behind the driver that houses a trash receptacle and storage, an available Gap Seat in the walk-through and a 36-can relocatable stay-cold AO Cooler continue the usability without compromising interior look, capacity or comfort. The standard 10-speaker Polk Sound System can be controlled through the media screen of the VISION Touch, with a remote mounted in a lounge side panel or in the passenger-side glovebox. Easy-access tune control is an understatement. Supra furthers the interior feast for the senses with LED Mood Lighting, hand-cover color-match interior accents and the plush feel of Spradling's stain and abrasion resistant multi-textured SupraSkinTM vinyl. The Supra SC raises its standards to luxury, you should too.
© 2010, yohanes.budiyanto
Let's cut to the chase and see which hotel excels on my recent trip to Mainland China. As I mentioned in the past, Chinese hospitality is a good decade away from the level of refinement found at other sister cities in the region, such as Hong Kong or Tokyo. Last year through Shanghai 777-777, I was pleasantly surprised to find that one hotel could pull out such a high standard on service; and it was The Peninsula, Shanghai. I scored them 95 for service. Remember, this is China, the spitting capital of the world.
I expected similar standard could be maintained for this stay; and I'm pleasantly surprised that they took it to an even higher level. Wow. Everything was almost flawless in my experience; and what really impressed me was their sincerity and genuine nature to make my stay more enjoyable.
From the bellboys in the driveway to the porter, and housekeeping to room service attendants; and right to managers, etc. Everybody was giving their 110% and it seemed very natural without over-the-top feeling. It has raised the bar so high, unprecedented in Mainland China; and it certainly rivals Hong Kong.
When I was waiting for a taxi in the driveway, a random staff greeted me by my last name and asked where I was heading. When I told him I was going to the Lost Heaven, -a restaurant renowned for its Yunnan folk cuisine-; he and some other staffs immediately told me that it's a good choice as it is a great restaurant with a tendency towards spicy and sour in taste (to warn me if I could tolerate spicy food). Mind you they are not the concierge, but they were great. It was one of those simple gestures and candid moments that matters: a smile, good attitude and being natural that give you the warmth and reminded you of home.
One of the managers I met during the stay was probably the best hotel staff I've ever met during my entire hotel journey to date. It's hard to find a sense of humility nowadays.
So here's the new overall score, with revised mark highlighted from previous stay:
1. Location: 95
2. Room: 100
3. Bathroom: 95
4. Quality of Bed: 100
5. In-room Tech: 100
6. Service: 95
7. Dining: 90
8. Facilities: 90
9. Wellness Facilities: 85
10. Design: 85
11. Value: 100
12. View from Room: 95
OVERALL: 94,16
More pictures and info from previous stay here.
The big question: Does Peninsula Shanghai exceed Landmark Mandarin Oriental in Hong Kong? We just have to wait and see..
THE PENINSULA, SHANGHAI
32, Zhongshan Dong Yi Road
The Bund, Shanghai
General Manager: Paul Tchen
Hotel Manager: Joseph Chong
Executive Chef: Terrence Crandall
Executive Chef (Chinese): Tang Chi Keung
Architect: David Beer (formerly of BBG Architects)
Interior Designer: Pierre-Yves Rochon
Built in 1895-1896, this Chicago School-style thirteen-story skyscraper was designed by Louis Sullivan and Dankmar Adler for the Guaranty Construction Company. It was initially commissioned by Hascal L. Taylor, whom approached Dankmar Adler to build "the largest and best office building in the city,” but Taylor, whom wanted to name the building after himself, died in 1894, just before the building was announced. Having already had the building designed and ready for construction, the Guaranty Construction Company of Chicago, which already had resources lined up to build the project, bought the property and had the building constructed, with the building instead being named after them. In 1898, the building was renamed after the Prudential Insurance Company, which had refinanced the project and became a major tenant in the building after it was completed. Prudential had the terra cotta panels above the main entrances to the building modified to display the company’s name in 1898, upon their acquisition of a partial share in the ownership of the tower. The building became the tallest building in Buffalo upon its completion, and was a further refinement of the ideas that Sullivan had developed with the Wainwright Building in St. Louis, which was built in 1890-92, and featured a design with more Classical overtones, which were dropped with the design of the Guaranty Building in favor of a more purified Art Nouveau and Chicago School aesthetic, and with more intricate visual detail, with the ornate terra cotta panels cladding the entire structure, leaving very few areas with sparse detail. The building is an early skyscraper with a steel frame supporting the terra cotta panel facade, a departure from earlier load bearing masonry structures that had previously been predominant in many of the same applications, and expresses this through large window openings at the base and a consistent wall thickness, as there was no need to make the exterior walls thicker at the base to support the load from the structure above. The building also contrasts with the more rigid historically-influenced Classical revivalism that was growing in popularity at the time, and follows Sullivan’s mantra of “form ever follows function” despite having a lot of unnecessary detail on the exterior cladding and interior elements. The building’s facade also emphasizes its verticality through continual vertical bands of windows separated by pilasters that are wider on the first two floors, with narrower pilasters above, with the entire composition of the building following the tripartite form influenced by classical columns, with distinct sections comprising the base, shaft, and capital, though being a radical and bold abstraction of the form compared to the historical literalism expressed by most of its contemporaries, more directly displaying the underlying steel structure of the building.
The building is clad in rusty terra cotta panels which feature extensive Sullivanesque ornament inspired by the Art Nouveau movement, which clad the entirety of the building’s facades along Church Street and Pearl Street, with simpler red brick and painted brick cladding on the facades that do not front public right-of-ways, which are visible when the building is viewed from the south and west. The white painted brick cladding on the south elevation marks the former location of the building’s light well, which was about 30 feet wide and 68 feet deep, and was infilled during a 1980s rehabilitation project, adding an additional 1,400 square feet of office space, and necessitating an artificial light source to be installed above the stained glass ceiling of the building’s lobby. The building’s windows are mostly one-over-one double-hung windows in vertical columns, with one window per bay, though this pattern is broken at the painted portions of the non-principal facades, which feature paired one-over-one windows, on the second floor of the principal facades, which features Chicago-style tripartite windows and arched transoms over the building’s two main entry doors, on the thirteenth floor of the principal facades, which features circular oxeye windows, and at the base, which features large storefront windows that include cantilevered sections with shed glass roofs that wrap around the columns at the base of the building. The building’s terra cotta panels feature many natural and geometric motifs based on plants and crystalline structures, the most common being a “seed pod” motif that symbolizes growth, with a wide variation of patterns, giving the facade a dynamic appearance, which is almost overwhelming, but helps to further grant the building a dignified and monumental appearance, and is a signature element of many of the significant works of Adler and Sullivan, as well as Sullivan’s later independent work. The building’s pilasters halve in number but double in thickness towards the base, with wide window openings underneath pairs of window bays above on the first and second floors, with the pilasters terminating at circular columns with large, decorative, ornate terra cotta capitals in the central bays, and thick rectilinear pilasters at the corners and flanking the entry door openings. The circular columns penetrate the extruded storefront windows and shed glass roofs below, which formed display cases for shops in the ground floor of the building when it first opened, and feature decorative copper trim and mullions framing the large expanses of plate glass. The base of the building is clad in medina sandstone panels, as well as medina sandstone bases on the circular columns. The major entry doors feature decorative copper trim surrounds, a spandrel panel with ornate cast copper detailing above and the name “Guaranty” emblazoned on the face of each of the two panels at the two entrances, decorative transoms above with decorative copper panels as headers, and arched transoms on the second floor with decorative terra cotta trim surrounds. Each of the two major entrance doors is flanked by two ornate Art Nouveau-style wall-mounted sconces mounted on the large pilasters, with smaller, partially recessed pilasters on either side. The building features two cornices with arched recesses, with the smaller cornice running as a belt around the transition between the base and the shaft portions of the building, with lightbulbs in each archway, and the larger cornice, which extends further out from the face of the building, running around the top of the building’s Swan Street and Pearl Street facades, with a circular oxeye window in each archway. The lower corner recessed into the facade at the ends, while the upper cornice runs around the entire top of the facade above, with geometric motifs in the central portions and a large cluster of leaves in a pattern that is often repeated in Sullivan’s other work at the corners. The spandrel panels between the windows on the shaft portion of the building feature a cluster of leaves at the base and geometric patterns above, with a repeat of the same recessed arch detail as the cornice at the sill line of each window. The pilasters feature almost strictly geometric motifs, with a few floral motifs thrown in at key points to balance the composition of the facade with the windows. A small and often overlooked feature of the ground floor is a set of stone steps up to an entrance at the northwest corner of the building, which features a decorative copper railing with Sullivanesque and Art Nouveau-inspired ornament, which sits next to a staircase to the building’s basement, which features a more utilitarian modern safety railing in the middle.
The interior of the building was heavily renovated over the years before being partially restored in 1980, with the lobby being reverted back to its circa 1896 appearance. The Swan Street vestibule has been fully restored, featuring a marble ceiling, decorative mosaics around the top of the walls, a decorative antique brass light fixture with Art Nouveau detailing and a ring of lightbulbs in the center, the remnant bronze stringer of a now-removed staircase to the second floor in a circular glass wall at the north end of the space, and a terazzo floor. The main lobby, located immediately to the west, features a Tiffany-esque stained glass ceiling with ellipsoid and circular panels set into a bronze frame that once sat below a skylight at the base of the building’s filled-in light well, marble cladding on the walls, mosaics on the ceiling and around the top of the walls, a bronze staircase with ornate railing at the west end of the space, which features a semi-circular landing, a basement staircase with a brass railing, a terrazzo floor, and multiple historic three-bulb wall sconces, as well as brass ceiling fixtures matching those in the vestibule. The building’s elevators, located in an alcove near the base of the staircase, features a decorative richly detailed brass screen on the exterior, with additional decorative screens above, with the elevator since having been enclosed with glass to accommodate modern safety standards and equipment, while preserving the visibility of the original details. Originally, when the building was built, the elevators descended open shafts into a screen wall in the lobby, with the elevators originally being manufactured by the Sprague Electric Railway and Motor Company, with these being exchanged in 1903 for water hydraulic elevators that remained until a renovation in the 1960s. Sadly, most of the historic interior detailing of the upper floors was lost during a series of renovations in the 20th Century, which led to them being fully modernized during the renovation in the 1980s, with multiple tenant finish projects since then further modifying the interiors of the upper floors.
The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973, and designated a National Historic Landmark in 1975, owing to its architectural significance, and to help save the building, which had suffered a major fire in 1974 that led to the city of Buffalo seeking to demolish it. A renovation in the early 1980s managed to modernize the building while restoring the lobby and the exterior, which was carried out under the direction of the firm CannonDesign, and partial funding from federal historic tax credits. The building was purchased in 2002 by Hodgson Russ, a law firm, which subsequently further renovated the building to suit their needs, converting the building into their headquarters in 2008. This renovation was carried out under the direction of Gensler Architects and the local firm Flynn Battaglia Architects. The building today houses offices on the upper floors, with a visitor center, known as the Guaranty Interpretative Center, on the first floor, with historic tours offered of some of the building’s exterior and interior spaces run by Preservation Buffalo Niagara. The building was one of the most significant early skyscrapers, and set a precedent for the modern skyscrapers that began to be built half a century later.
+++ DISCLAIMER +++
Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based on historical facts. BEWARE!
Some background:
As the Egyptian border was threatened by an Italian and German invasion during the Second World War, the Royal Air Force established more airfields in Egypt. The Royal Egyptian Air Force was sometimes treated as a part of the Royal Air Force, at other times a strict policy of neutrality was followed as Egypt maintained its official neutrality until very late in the war. As a result, few additional aircraft were supplied by Britain, however the arm did receive its first modern fighters, Hawker Hurricanes and a small number of Curtiss P-40 Tomahawks. In the immediate post-war period, cheap war surplus aircraft, including a large number of Supermarine Spitfire Mk.IXs were acquired.
Following the British withdrawal from the British Protectorate of Palestine and the establishment of the State of Israel on 14 May 1948, Egyptian forces crossed into Palestine as part of a wider Arab League military coalition in support of the Palestinians against the Israelis. During 1948–1949, Egypt received 62 refurbished Macchi C.205V Veltro (Italian: Greyhound) fighters. The C.205 was an Italian World War II fighter aircraft built by the Aeronautica Macchi. Along with the Reggiane Re.2005 and Fiat G.55, the Macchi C.205 was one of the three "Serie 5" Italian fighters built around the powerful German Daimler-Benz DB 605 engine.
The C.205 Veltro was a refinement of the earlier C.202 Folgore. With a top speed of some 640 km/h (400 mph) and equipped with a pair of 20 mm cannon as well as two 12.7 mm Breda machine guns, the Macchi C.205 had been highly respected by Allied and Axis pilots alike. Widely regarded as one of the best Italian aircraft of World War II, it proved to be extremely effective, destroying a large number of Allied bombers, and it proved capable of meeting fighters such as the North American P-51D Mustang on equal terms.
For the Egyptian order, eight C.205 and 16 C.202 were upgraded to C.205 standard in May 1948. In February 1949, three brand new and 15 ex-C.202, and in May another ten C.205 and C.202 each were brought to the Egyptian C.205 standard. This last contract was not finalized, though: Israeli secret services reacted with a bombing in Italy, which at the time was supplying both Israel and the Arab states, which, among others, destroyed Macchi facilities and damaged Egyptian C.205s still on order.
Only 15 completed Macchis were delivered to Egypt before the end of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, seeing brief combat against the Israeli Air Force. The new Veltros were fully equipped, while the Folgore conversions were armed with only two 12.7 mm Breda machine guns. They were the lightest series of the entire production, and consequently had the best performance, but were seriously under-armed. Some Veltros, equipped with underwing bomb racks were used in ground-attack sorties against Israeli targets.
This left the Egyptian air force with a lack of capable fighters, so that Egypt ordered nineteen additional Fiat G.55 fighters from Italian surplus stocks and searched for ways to remedy the situation, since the relations with Great Britain had severely suffered under the Arab-Israeli War. This led to the plan to build and develop aircraft independently and just based on national resources, and eventually to the Helwan HA-100, Egypt’s first indigenous combat aircraft – even though it was rather a thorough upgrade program than a complete new construction.
Opened in late 1950 to manufacture airplanes, the Helwan Aircraft Factory, located in the South of Cairo, took on the challenge to create a domestic, improved fighter from existing C.205 and C.202 airframes in Egyptian service and its Fiat engines still available from Italy. The resulting Helwan HA-100 retained most of the forward fuselage structure of the C.205 with the original engine mounts, as well as the wings, but measures were taken to improve aerodynamics and combat value. One of these was the introduction of a new (yet framed) bubble canopy, which afforded the pilot with a much better all-round field of view and also improved the forward view while taxiing. This modification necessitated a lowered spine section, and wind tunnel tests suggested a deteriorated longitudinal stability, so that the tail section was completely redesigned. The fin was considerably enlarged and now had a square outline, while the stabilizers were raised into an almost cruciform tail configuration and also enlarged to improve the aircraft’s responsiveness to directional changes. The wings were clipped to improve handling and roll characteristics at low to medium altitudes, where most dogfights in the Arab-Israeli War had taken place.
The HA-100 retained the license-built Daimler Bent DB 605 from Italy, but to adapt this Fiat Tifone engine to the typical desert climate in Egypt with higher ambient temperatures and constant sand dust in the air, the HA-100 received an indigenous dust filter, a more effective (and larger) ventral radiator and a bigger, single oil cooler that replaced the C.205’s small drum coolers under the engine, which were very vulnerable, esp. to ground fire from light caliber weapons. To gain space in the fuselage under the cockpit for new fuel tank, both radiator and oil cooler were re-located to positions under the inner wings, similar in layout to early Supermarine Spitfire Marks.
While the HA-100 left the drawing boards and an initial converted C.205 went through trials, relations with Britain had been restored and the official state of war with Israel ensured that arms purchases continued. This gave the REAF an unexpected technological push forward: In late 1949, Egypt already received its first jet fighter, the British Gloster Meteor F4, and shortly after some de Havilland Vampire FB5s, which rendered the HA-100 obsolete. Nevertheless, the project was kept alive to strengthen Egypt’s nascent aircraft industry, but the type was only met with lukewarm enthusiasm.
The first HA-100 re-builds were delivered to 2 Sqn Royal Egyptian Air Force at Edku (East of Alexandria) in mid-1951, painted in a camouflage scheme of Dark Earth and Middle Stone with Azure Blue undersides, using leftover RAF material from WWII. Later, REAF 1 Sqn at Almaza near Cairo received HA-100s, too. Eventually, around forty HA-100s were built for the REAF until 1952. The only export customer for the HA-100 was Syria: sixteen machines, rejected by the REAF, were delivered in early 1952, where they served alongside former RAF Spitfire F.Mk.22s.
The REAF HA-100s only had a short career, but they eventually faced frontline duties and fired in anger. This also marked their last deployments, which occurred during the early stages of the Suez Crisis in 1956.
Only about 15 HA-100s of REAF No. 2 Squadron were still in flying condition due to quickly worsening engine spares shortages, and the aircraft had, in the meantime, been hardwired to carry up to four “Sakr” unguided 122mm rockets on the underwing hardpoints. Due to their agility at low altitude, the HA-100s were primarily used for ground attacks and low-level reconnaissance duties. On their missions the aircraft still performed well, but at that time, all Egyptian aircraft had been stripped off of their camouflage and were operated in a bare metal finish – a poor decision, since the glinting airframes were highly visible both in the air and on the ground. Consequently, the vintage propeller aircraft became easy targets, resulting high losses, and the HA-100s were grounded. They were officially retired by April 1957, after the end of the Suez conflict, and scrapped.
General characteristics:
Crew: 1
Length: 9,10 m (29 ft 10 in)
Wingspan: 10.01 m (32 ft 9½ in)
Height: 3.52 m (11 ft 6¼ in)
Wing area: 16.8 m² (181 sq ft)
Airfoil: root: NACA 23018 (modified); tip: NACA 23009 (modified)
Empty weight: 2.695 kg (5,936 lb)
Gross weight: 3.621 kg (7,975 lb)
Max takeoff weight: 4.100 kg (9,030 lb)
Powerplant:
1× Fiat RA.1050 R.C.58 Tifone (license-built Daimler Bent DB 605) V-12 inverted liquid-cooled piston
engine with 1,100 kW (1,500 hp), driving a 3-bladed constant-speed propeller#
Performance:
Maximum speed: 642 km/h (399 mph, 347 kn) at 7,200 m (23,600 ft)
Cruise speed: 400 km/h (250 mph, 220 kn)
Range: 950 km (590 mi, 510 nmi)
Service ceiling: 11,500 m (37,700 ft)
Time to altitude: 3,000 m (9,800 ft) in 2 minutes 40 seconds
Wing loading: 202.9 kg/m2 (41.6 lb/sq ft)
Armament.
2× 12.7 mm (.5 in) Breda-SAFAT machine guns, 400 RPG, in the nose
2× 20 mm MG 151 cannon, 250 RPG, in the outer wings
2× underwing hardpoints for 160 kg (350 lb) each for bombs or four 122mm Sakr unguided rockets
The kit and its assembly:
This oddity was spawned from curiosity – when read about the lightweight Helwan HA-300 fighter from the early Sixties, I wondered when and how the Egyptian aircraft industry had started? I was even more curious because I had already attributed a what-if model, the purely fictional (and later) HA-410 fighter bomber, to Egyptian engineering. So, I researched Helwan’s origins, checked the time frame of its establishment and eventually came across the REAF’s post-WWII C.205 Veltros. What if there had been an indigenous update program…?
Consequently, this conversion’s basis is a C.205V kit from Delta 2. This kit is based upon a unique mold, quite similar to the later Italeri kit, but it is different and has some curious solutions. For instance, the landing gear struts are mounted into the wings with L-shaped attachment pegs – as if the landing gear is supposed to be retractable. Odd, but very stable. Another weird solution: the wing gun barrels are attached to the wings together with massive plastic wedges that fit into respective openings. Another quite rigid construction, even though it calls for trimming and PSR. Beyond these quirks, the kit is quite nice. It comes with a convincing mix of recessed panel lines and raised rivet heads. Some parts are a bit soft in shape, though, e. g. the cowling fairings, but overall I am positively surprised.
To change the aircraft’s look I did some conversions, though. The most obvious change is the new tail section, which was transplanted wholesale from a KP Yak-23 and had the C.205’s tail wheel attachment section transplanted from the Delta 2 kit. Originally, I wanted to move the whole cockpit forward, but then just replaced canopy and spine section with a clear part from a Hobby Boss MiG-15 and putty. Other, rather cosmetic changes include clipped wing tips to match the Yak-23’s square tail surfaces shape, and the C.205’s small elliptic stabilizers were replaced with tailored, slightly bigger parts from the scrap box. A bigger/deeper radiator and a different oil cooler replaced the original parts, and I placed them under the inner wings behind the landing gear wells. Both donors come from Spitfires, even though from different kits (IIRC, the oil cooler from an AZ Models Mk. V kit and the radiator from a FROG Mk. XIV). The flaps were lowered, too, because this detail was easy to realize with this kit.
Painting and markings:
The HA-100 received a contemporary camouflage, the RAF Tropical Paint Scheme consisting of Dark Earth and Middle Stone with Azure Blue undersides. The pattern was adapted from RAF Spitfires, and Modelmaster (2052 and 2054) and Humbrol (157) enamels were used, with a light overall black ink washing and some post panel shading. Being a former Italian aircraft, I painted the cockpit in a typical, Italian tone, a very light grayish green called “Verde Anticorrosione“, which was used during WWII on many interior surfaces – I used a mix of Revell 59 with some 45. The landing gear and the respective wells became aluminum (Humbrol 56), though.
One challenge became the characteristic black-and-white REAF ID bands on the wings. These were improvised with generic decal material from TL-Modellbau: on a 1 cm wide black band I simply added two white 2.5 mm stripes, for a very good result. Most other markings belong to an early REAF MiG-15, taken from a Microscale omnibus sheet for various MiG fighters. This provided the green-trimmed white fuselage band, the roundels and the fin flash, and a white spinner completed the REAF ID markings. Unfortunately the decals turned out to be brittle (ESCI-esque...) and disintegrated upon the first attempt to apply them, so I tried to save them with Microsol Decal Film, and this actually worked like a charm, even though the resurrected decals did not adhere well to the model's surface. The REAF 2 Squadron emblem comes from a vintage PrintScale Hawker Hurricane sheet, the white code letter on the fuselage came from an Xtradecal RAF codes sheet, and the black Arabic serials came from a Begemot sheet for MiG-29s.
The kit received some soot stains around the exhaust ports and the gun muzzles and was finally sealed with matt acrylic varnish (Italeri).
Even though it’s just a modded Macchi C.205, the result looks …different. From certain angles the aircraft reminds a lot of a P-51D Mustang, like one of the lightweight prototypes? The Egyptian markings add a confusing touch, though, and while the bodywork is not perfect, I am happy with the result. The Yak-23 tail fits perfectly, and with the narrow wings the HA-100 also reminds a bit of the two-engine Westland Whirlwind?
Elevating Expectations.
Supra raises the standards of refinement with innovative interior amenities that create extreme luxury tempered by intuitive design. The new SC interior is the perfect example. Elegantly functional features like Supra's E-Boost equipped racing-style driver's seat marries comfort and convenience with high performance. Versatile passenger relaxation like Triple-up Seating with a flip-up lean back in the lounge, a rear-facing seat behind the driver that houses a trash receptacle and storage, an available Gap Seat in the walk-through and a 36-can relocatable stay-cold AO Cooler continue the usability without compromising interior look, capacity or comfort. The standard 10-speaker Polk Sound System can be controlled through the media screen of the VISION Touch, with a remote mounted in a lounge side panel or in the passenger-side glovebox. Easy-access tune control is an understatement. Supra furthers the interior feast for the senses with LED Mood Lighting, hand-cover color-match interior accents and the plush feel of Spradling's stain and abrasion resistant multi-textured SupraSkinTM vinyl. The Supra SC raises its standards to luxury, you should too.
Almost hidden by spreading trees, the Baptist Church is one of the first buildings to greet the traveller entering Hantsport from the East. The location is one of spaciousness and the church is saved from being just another place of worship by the delicate beauty of the steeple. When John Borden and Asa Davison raised the steeple, they vested it with the touch of the true artist. Refinement of scale and almost perfect symmetry characterizes this steeple as it rises above the tree tops ad the town.
The Baptists have held services in the district since 1811. Their first public worship was in a hall on Holme’s Hill. On January 13, 1830 the church was formally organized in the Union Meeting House at Mt. Denson which was then a part of Falmouth. The record states that eighteen members of the Baptist Church at Windsor obtained letters of dismission from that Church for the purposes of forming a separate Church to be known as the Particular Church of Falmouth.
The use of the title “Particular” in the name of the Church signifies that theirs was a Calvinistic theology and suggests an issue that is well nigh forgotten today. The other important division of the Baptists took its name from Jacobus Arminius. The Arminian or General Baptists placed their chief emphasis upon man’s freedom of choice as opposed to the predestination of the Calvinists. The two streams were united in the Maritime Provinces in 1905 when Free and Regular Baptists merged into the Maritime United Baptist Convention. The union is remembered in the official name of the Convention as well as in the names of such individual churches as that at Hantsport.
Rev. Robert Dickie was the first pastor of the newly organized church. He was succeeded by John Cogswell and he, by Ezra Churchill. Mr. Churchill, who later became Senator Churchill, was licensed to preach “within the limits of the Church only”. The membership increased rapidly and churches were built at Brooklyn and Hantsport.
In 1861, when the membership had reached 251, the name of the church was changed to “Hantsport Baptist Church”. That was the year in which Rev. William Burton began the first of two pastorates here. He was a native of Margaree who, despite educational limitations, was recognized by his contemporaries as “one of our best preachers, clear, forcible, and imaginative.” Graven on his tombstone is the fact that he preached 8,320 sermons.
The church has been blessed with faithful and energetic pastors. Rev. J. C. Bleakney came in 1875 and led in the construction of a vestry. During his ministry, 150 were added to the membership and 102 dismissed to form the Brooklyn Church. Rev. John McLean served the church for three years until his untimely death in 1887. He was a victim of the Black Fish Fever which scourged the village and which he contracted during his faithful visitation of the afflicted.
The choir loft and the steeple are two parts of the church that remain as they were originally constructed. The timbers of the original church were brought by sailing ship from New Hampshire. So the steeple, as well as being an invitation to worship, is also a reminder of the days when this modern “town of industries” was the home of men who “went down to the sea in ships”.
+++ DISCLAIMER +++
Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based on historical facts. BEWARE!
Some background:
As the Egyptian border was threatened by an Italian and German invasion during the Second World War, the Royal Air Force established more airfields in Egypt. The Royal Egyptian Air Force was sometimes treated as a part of the Royal Air Force, at other times a strict policy of neutrality was followed as Egypt maintained its official neutrality until very late in the war. As a result, few additional aircraft were supplied by Britain, however the arm did receive its first modern fighters, Hawker Hurricanes and a small number of Curtiss P-40 Tomahawks. In the immediate post-war period, cheap war surplus aircraft, including a large number of Supermarine Spitfire Mk.IXs were acquired.
Following the British withdrawal from the British Protectorate of Palestine and the establishment of the State of Israel on 14 May 1948, Egyptian forces crossed into Palestine as part of a wider Arab League military coalition in support of the Palestinians against the Israelis. During 1948–1949, Egypt received 62 refurbished Macchi C.205V Veltro (Italian: Greyhound) fighters. The C.205 was an Italian World War II fighter aircraft built by the Aeronautica Macchi. Along with the Reggiane Re.2005 and Fiat G.55, the Macchi C.205 was one of the three "Serie 5" Italian fighters built around the powerful German Daimler-Benz DB 605 engine.
The C.205 Veltro was a refinement of the earlier C.202 Folgore. With a top speed of some 640 km/h (400 mph) and equipped with a pair of 20 mm cannon as well as two 12.7 mm Breda machine guns, the Macchi C.205 had been highly respected by Allied and Axis pilots alike. Widely regarded as one of the best Italian aircraft of World War II, it proved to be extremely effective, destroying a large number of Allied bombers, and it proved capable of meeting fighters such as the North American P-51D Mustang on equal terms.
For the Egyptian order, eight C.205 and 16 C.202 were upgraded to C.205 standard in May 1948. In February 1949, three brand new and 15 ex-C.202, and in May another ten C.205 and C.202 each were brought to the Egyptian C.205 standard. This last contract was not finalized, though: Israeli secret services reacted with a bombing in Italy, which at the time was supplying both Israel and the Arab states, which, among others, destroyed Macchi facilities and damaged Egyptian C.205s still on order.
Only 15 completed Macchis were delivered to Egypt before the end of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, seeing brief combat against the Israeli Air Force. The new Veltros were fully equipped, while the Folgore conversions were armed with only two 12.7 mm Breda machine guns. They were the lightest series of the entire production, and consequently had the best performance, but were seriously under-armed. Some Veltros, equipped with underwing bomb racks were used in ground-attack sorties against Israeli targets.
This left the Egyptian air force with a lack of capable fighters, so that Egypt ordered nineteen additional Fiat G.55 fighters from Italian surplus stocks and searched for ways to remedy the situation, since the relations with Great Britain had severely suffered under the Arab-Israeli War. This led to the plan to build and develop aircraft independently and just based on national resources, and eventually to the Helwan HA-100, Egypt’s first indigenous combat aircraft – even though it was rather a thorough upgrade program than a complete new construction.
Opened in late 1950 to manufacture airplanes, the Helwan Aircraft Factory, located in the South of Cairo, took on the challenge to create a domestic, improved fighter from existing C.205 and C.202 airframes in Egyptian service and its Fiat engines still available from Italy. The resulting Helwan HA-100 retained most of the forward fuselage structure of the C.205 with the original engine mounts, as well as the wings, but measures were taken to improve aerodynamics and combat value. One of these was the introduction of a new (yet framed) bubble canopy, which afforded the pilot with a much better all-round field of view and also improved the forward view while taxiing. This modification necessitated a lowered spine section, and wind tunnel tests suggested a deteriorated longitudinal stability, so that the tail section was completely redesigned. The fin was considerably enlarged and now had a square outline, while the stabilizers were raised into an almost cruciform tail configuration and also enlarged to improve the aircraft’s responsiveness to directional changes. The wings were clipped to improve handling and roll characteristics at low to medium altitudes, where most dogfights in the Arab-Israeli War had taken place.
The HA-100 retained the license-built Daimler Bent DB 605 from Italy, but to adapt this Fiat Tifone engine to the typical desert climate in Egypt with higher ambient temperatures and constant sand dust in the air, the HA-100 received an indigenous dust filter, a more effective (and larger) ventral radiator and a bigger, single oil cooler that replaced the C.205’s small drum coolers under the engine, which were very vulnerable, esp. to ground fire from light caliber weapons. To gain space in the fuselage under the cockpit for new fuel tank, both radiator and oil cooler were re-located to positions under the inner wings, similar in layout to early Supermarine Spitfire Marks.
While the HA-100 left the drawing boards and an initial converted C.205 went through trials, relations with Britain had been restored and the official state of war with Israel ensured that arms purchases continued. This gave the REAF an unexpected technological push forward: In late 1949, Egypt already received its first jet fighter, the British Gloster Meteor F4, and shortly after some de Havilland Vampire FB5s, which rendered the HA-100 obsolete. Nevertheless, the project was kept alive to strengthen Egypt’s nascent aircraft industry, but the type was only met with lukewarm enthusiasm.
The first HA-100 re-builds were delivered to 2 Sqn Royal Egyptian Air Force at Edku (East of Alexandria) in mid-1951, painted in a camouflage scheme of Dark Earth and Middle Stone with Azure Blue undersides, using leftover RAF material from WWII. Later, REAF 1 Sqn at Almaza near Cairo received HA-100s, too. Eventually, around forty HA-100s were built for the REAF until 1952. The only export customer for the HA-100 was Syria: sixteen machines, rejected by the REAF, were delivered in early 1952, where they served alongside former RAF Spitfire F.Mk.22s.
The REAF HA-100s only had a short career, but they eventually faced frontline duties and fired in anger. This also marked their last deployments, which occurred during the early stages of the Suez Crisis in 1956.
Only about 15 HA-100s of REAF No. 2 Squadron were still in flying condition due to quickly worsening engine spares shortages, and the aircraft had, in the meantime, been hardwired to carry up to four “Sakr” unguided 122mm rockets on the underwing hardpoints. Due to their agility at low altitude, the HA-100s were primarily used for ground attacks and low-level reconnaissance duties. On their missions the aircraft still performed well, but at that time, all Egyptian aircraft had been stripped off of their camouflage and were operated in a bare metal finish – a poor decision, since the glinting airframes were highly visible both in the air and on the ground. Consequently, the vintage propeller aircraft became easy targets, resulting high losses, and the HA-100s were grounded. They were officially retired by April 1957, after the end of the Suez conflict, and scrapped.
General characteristics:
Crew: 1
Length: 9,10 m (29 ft 10 in)
Wingspan: 10.01 m (32 ft 9½ in)
Height: 3.52 m (11 ft 6¼ in)
Wing area: 16.8 m² (181 sq ft)
Airfoil: root: NACA 23018 (modified); tip: NACA 23009 (modified)
Empty weight: 2.695 kg (5,936 lb)
Gross weight: 3.621 kg (7,975 lb)
Max takeoff weight: 4.100 kg (9,030 lb)
Powerplant:
1× Fiat RA.1050 R.C.58 Tifone (license-built Daimler Bent DB 605) V-12 inverted liquid-cooled piston
engine with 1,100 kW (1,500 hp), driving a 3-bladed constant-speed propeller#
Performance:
Maximum speed: 642 km/h (399 mph, 347 kn) at 7,200 m (23,600 ft)
Cruise speed: 400 km/h (250 mph, 220 kn)
Range: 950 km (590 mi, 510 nmi)
Service ceiling: 11,500 m (37,700 ft)
Time to altitude: 3,000 m (9,800 ft) in 2 minutes 40 seconds
Wing loading: 202.9 kg/m2 (41.6 lb/sq ft)
Armament.
2× 12.7 mm (.5 in) Breda-SAFAT machine guns, 400 RPG, in the nose
2× 20 mm MG 151 cannon, 250 RPG, in the outer wings
2× underwing hardpoints for 160 kg (350 lb) each for bombs or four 122mm Sakr unguided rockets
The kit and its assembly:
This oddity was spawned from curiosity – when read about the lightweight Helwan HA-300 fighter from the early Sixties, I wondered when and how the Egyptian aircraft industry had started? I was even more curious because I had already attributed a what-if model, the purely fictional (and later) HA-410 fighter bomber, to Egyptian engineering. So, I researched Helwan’s origins, checked the time frame of its establishment and eventually came across the REAF’s post-WWII C.205 Veltros. What if there had been an indigenous update program…?
Consequently, this conversion’s basis is a C.205V kit from Delta 2. This kit is based upon a unique mold, quite similar to the later Italeri kit, but it is different and has some curious solutions. For instance, the landing gear struts are mounted into the wings with L-shaped attachment pegs – as if the landing gear is supposed to be retractable. Odd, but very stable. Another weird solution: the wing gun barrels are attached to the wings together with massive plastic wedges that fit into respective openings. Another quite rigid construction, even though it calls for trimming and PSR. Beyond these quirks, the kit is quite nice. It comes with a convincing mix of recessed panel lines and raised rivet heads. Some parts are a bit soft in shape, though, e. g. the cowling fairings, but overall I am positively surprised.
To change the aircraft’s look I did some conversions, though. The most obvious change is the new tail section, which was transplanted wholesale from a KP Yak-23 and had the C.205’s tail wheel attachment section transplanted from the Delta 2 kit. Originally, I wanted to move the whole cockpit forward, but then just replaced canopy and spine section with a clear part from a Hobby Boss MiG-15 and putty. Other, rather cosmetic changes include clipped wing tips to match the Yak-23’s square tail surfaces shape, and the C.205’s small elliptic stabilizers were replaced with tailored, slightly bigger parts from the scrap box. A bigger/deeper radiator and a different oil cooler replaced the original parts, and I placed them under the inner wings behind the landing gear wells. Both donors come from Spitfires, even though from different kits (IIRC, the oil cooler from an AZ Models Mk. V kit and the radiator from a FROG Mk. XIV). The flaps were lowered, too, because this detail was easy to realize with this kit.
Painting and markings:
The HA-100 received a contemporary camouflage, the RAF Tropical Paint Scheme consisting of Dark Earth and Middle Stone with Azure Blue undersides. The pattern was adapted from RAF Spitfires, and Modelmaster (2052 and 2054) and Humbrol (157) enamels were used, with a light overall black ink washing and some post panel shading. Being a former Italian aircraft, I painted the cockpit in a typical, Italian tone, a very light grayish green called “Verde Anticorrosione“, which was used during WWII on many interior surfaces – I used a mix of Revell 59 with some 45. The landing gear and the respective wells became aluminum (Humbrol 56), though.
One challenge became the characteristic black-and-white REAF ID bands on the wings. These were improvised with generic decal material from TL-Modellbau: on a 1 cm wide black band I simply added two white 2.5 mm stripes, for a very good result. Most other markings belong to an early REAF MiG-15, taken from a Microscale omnibus sheet for various MiG fighters. This provided the green-trimmed white fuselage band, the roundels and the fin flash, and a white spinner completed the REAF ID markings. Unfortunately the decals turned out to be brittle (ESCI-esque...) and disintegrated upon the first attempt to apply them, so I tried to save them with Microsol Decal Film, and this actually worked like a charm, even though the resurrected decals did not adhere well to the model's surface. The REAF 2 Squadron emblem comes from a vintage PrintScale Hawker Hurricane sheet, the white code letter on the fuselage came from an Xtradecal RAF codes sheet, and the black Arabic serials came from a Begemot sheet for MiG-29s.
The kit received some soot stains around the exhaust ports and the gun muzzles and was finally sealed with matt acrylic varnish (Italeri).
Even though it’s just a modded Macchi C.205, the result looks …different. From certain angles the aircraft reminds a lot of a P-51D Mustang, like one of the lightweight prototypes? The Egyptian markings add a confusing touch, though, and while the bodywork is not perfect, I am happy with the result. The Yak-23 tail fits perfectly, and with the narrow wings the HA-100 also reminds a bit of the two-engine Westland Whirlwind?
The department has been building up a library of design related reference books over the last few years. Pupils are encouraged to make use of these books on a regular basis. The photographs here demonstrate the tremendous wealth of content contained therein.
The sequence has been shot in such a way that the cover of the book is shown first and a few sample pages are included to give the student an idea of the content the book contains. Pupils may then approach staff and request a short term loan.
Elevating Expectations.
Supra raises the standards of refinement with innovative interior amenities that create extreme luxury tempered by intuitive design. The new SC interior is the perfect example. Elegantly functional features like Supra's E-Boost equipped racing-style driver's seat marries comfort and convenience with high performance. Versatile passenger relaxation like Triple-up Seating with a flip-up lean back in the lounge, a rear-facing seat behind the driver that houses a trash receptacle and storage, an available Gap Seat in the walk-through and a 36-can relocatable stay-cold AO Cooler continue the usability without compromising interior look, capacity or comfort. The standard 10-speaker Polk Sound System can be controlled through the media screen of the VISION Touch, with a remote mounted in a lounge side panel or in the passenger-side glovebox. Easy-access tune control is an understatement. Supra furthers the interior feast for the senses with LED Mood Lighting, hand-cover color-match interior accents and the plush feel of Spradling's stain and abrasion resistant multi-textured SupraSkinTM vinyl. The Supra SC raises its standards to luxury, you should too.
Elevating Expectations.
Supra raises the standards of refinement with innovative interior amenities that create extreme luxury tempered by intuitive design. The new SC interior is the perfect example. Elegantly functional features like Supra's E-Boost equipped racing-style driver's seat marries comfort and convenience with high performance. Versatile passenger relaxation like Triple-up Seating with a flip-up lean back in the lounge, a rear-facing seat behind the driver that houses a trash receptacle and storage, an available Gap Seat in the walk-through and a 36-can relocatable stay-cold AO Cooler continue the usability without compromising interior look, capacity or comfort. The standard 10-speaker Polk Sound System can be controlled through the media screen of the VISION Touch, with a remote mounted in a lounge side panel or in the passenger-side glovebox. Easy-access tune control is an understatement. Supra furthers the interior feast for the senses with LED Mood Lighting, hand-cover color-match interior accents and the plush feel of Spradling's stain and abrasion resistant multi-textured SupraSkinTM vinyl. The Supra SC raises its standards to luxury, you should too.
+++ DISCLAIMER +++
Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based historical facts. BEWARE!
Some background:
The Lavochkin La-7 (Russian: Лавочкин Ла-7) was a piston-engine Soviet fighter developed during World War II by the Lavochkin Design Bureau (OKB). It was a development and refinement of the Lavochkin La-5, and the last in a family of aircraft that had begun with the LaGG-1 in 1938.
By 1943, the La-5 had become a mainstay of the Soviet Air Forces, yet both its head designer, Semyon Lavochkin, as well as the engineers at the Central Aerohydrodynamics Institute (Russian: TsAGI), felt that it could be improved upon. TsAGI refined earlier studies of aerodynamic improvements to the La-5 airframe in mid-1943 and modified La-5FN to evaluate the changes between December 1943 and February 1944 and proved to have exceptional performance.
Using the same engine as the standard La-5FN the modified aircraft had a top speed of 684 kilometers per hour (425 mph) at a height of 6,150 meters (20,180 ft), some 64 kilometers per hour (40 mph) faster than the production La-5FN. It took 5.2 minutes to climb to 5,000 meters (16,404 ft). Main change was the use of more lighter but stronger metal wing spars to save weight.
The La-5, as well as its predecessors, had been built mostly of wood to conserve strategic materials such as aircraft alloys. With Soviet strategists now confident that supplies of these alloys were unlikely to become a problem, Lavochkin was now able to replace some wooden parts with alloy components.
Combat trials began in mid-September 1944 and were generally very positive.
However four aircraft were lost to engine failures and the engines suffered from numerous lesser problems, despite its satisfactory service in the La-5FN. One cause was the lower position of the engine air intakes in the wing roots of the La-7 which caused the engine to ingest sand and dust. One batch of flawed wings was built and caused six accidents, four of them fatal, in October which caused the fighter to be grounded until the cause was determined to be a defect in the wing spar.
Production of the first aircraft fitted with three B-20 cannon began in January 1945 when 74 were delivered. More than 2000 La-7 aircraft were delivered before the war's end, and a total of 5753 aircraft until production ceded in 1946.
Still, the basic concept had more development potential, and as soon as March 1945 work on further improvements for the La-7 started, while in parallel a new type was under development - the La-9, which would enter prototype stage in 1946. An interim type was needed - and this became the La-7bis. It was based on the proven La-7, but already incorporated crucial elements of the future La-9, e. g. its laminar flow wing shape as well as an increased share of light alloy in the construction.
Overall, the La-7bis was tailored to higher operation altitudes than the standard La-7 and was intended to intercept high flying bombers and reconnaissance aircraft like the Ju 388. Therefore the interim type incorporated many small refinements and changes, most notably a bigger wing and fin area, a four-bladed propeller and a pair of new 23 mm Nudelman-Suranov NS-23 cannons which considerably improved firepower and weapon range.
The La-7bis was built in parallel to the standard La-7, but only at Zavod Nr. 99 in Ulan-Ude, where 433 aircraft were built until 1946. Only a few La-7bis reached the front units during WWII in time, and in Soviet service the type was quickly superseded by the La-9. Many aircraft were used in flying schools and training regiments, though, or quickly handed over to allies like China and Korea.
With these operators the La-7bis actively took part in the Korean War and remained in service until the mid-Sixties, when piston fighters were finally replaced by the highly successful MiG-15.
Even though a sub version of the La-7, the type received the separate Air Standardization Coordinating Committee (ASCC) code "Flake" as it was initially mistaken as a new Lavochkin type.
General characteristics
Crew: 1
Length: 8.89 m (29 ft 1 1/2 in)
Wingspan: 10,16 m (33 ft 3 in)
Height: 2.41 m (7 ft 11 in)
Wing area: 19.59 m2 (210.2 sq ft)
Gross weight: 3,315 kg (7,308 lb)
Powerplant:
1× Shvetsov ASh-82FN air-cooled 14 cylinder radial engine with a two-stage supercharger and
fuel injection, 1.380 kW (1.850 hp), driving a 4-bladed VISh-110V propeller
Performance:
Maximum speed: 680 km/h (422 mph; 367 kn) at 6.000 meters (19.685 ft)
Range: 665 km (413 mi; 359 nmi)
Service ceiling: 11.500 m (37.667 ft)
Rate of climb: 17.25 m/s (3.410 ft/min)
Time to altitude: 4.8 minutes to 5.000 meters (16.404 ft)
Armament:
2 × 23 mm Nudelman-Suranov NS-23 cannons, 150 RPG, plus 200 kg (440 lb) of bombs
The kit and its assembly:
This whif was a bit of a spontaneous use of a Hobby Boss La-7 kit, part of a kit lot, for which I lacked any good idea. Anyway, I always had an eye on kits for the more streamlined La-9/11s – and then the idea was born to convert the leftover La-7 into something that would come close to the later types.
Biggest surgery concerned the aerodynamic surface; everything was modified:
• Outer wings from a Matchbox P-51D
• Stabilizers from a Heller P-51D
• Fin tip from an Academy Fw 190A
Wings were cut just outboard of the landing gear wells, while the Mustang wings were cut at the 2nd machine gun. Depth fits surprisingly well, only the La-7’s trailing edge had to be adapted, but that only a small effort.
Another mod is the new, for-bladed propeller, scratched from the spares box, and I added some cockpit details and a pilot torso (the canopy was to remain closed). I also removed the original tunnel oil cooler and moved this device into the wings’ leading edges, for a cleaner fuselage.
For the same clean look I left away any ordnance. Actually, when all major parts were in place, I even considered to make a race aircraft (Reno Unlimited?) from the kit, since the Lavochkin looks really fast, but then I reverted to the military use option. A North Korean whif was still missing!
Painting and markings:
When I started building there was no clear idea which country should use the La-7bis – I did not want Soviet markings, though. After some search in the decal stack I found spare North Korean markings, and from there things unfolded naturally.
The odd paint scheme was derived from real Korean La-11 fighters – a kind of tiger stripe pattern, dull green over a grey background with pale blue undersides. I used Humbrol 64 (light Sea Grey) and FS 34096 from Modelmaster, and FS 35414 from Modelmaster, too, for the undersides. Later, these colors were shaded with lighter tones. A yellow fin tip is the only color marking.
North Korean roundels come from a Print Scale MiG-15 decal sheet, the tactical code comes from the scrap box; the fine silver trim around the cowling and the black stripe under the yellow fin tip are decals, too, from generic TL Modellbau sheets.
All interior surfaces were painted with Humbrol 240 (RLM 02, plus a black ink wash), and to add some Soviet style the wheel discs were painted in dark green. The panels on the fuselage flanks were painted in a Metallizer Mix of Steel and Titanium.
The kit received a light black ink wash, plus some soot stains around the cannons and the exhaust shields. Finally, all was sealed with Revell’s acrylic matt varnish.
In the end, the La-7bis looks like less work than it actually was - one can argue if the effort has been worth it? The major transplantations are hard to discern and you have to look at least twice to recognize the differences between a La-7 and the later La-9 and -11. But that was intended – subtle and unspectacular.
+++ DISCLAIMER +++
Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based on historical facts. BEWARE!
Some background:
As the Egyptian border was threatened by an Italian and German invasion during the Second World War, the Royal Air Force established more airfields in Egypt. The Royal Egyptian Air Force was sometimes treated as a part of the Royal Air Force, at other times a strict policy of neutrality was followed as Egypt maintained its official neutrality until very late in the war. As a result, few additional aircraft were supplied by Britain, however the arm did receive its first modern fighters, Hawker Hurricanes and a small number of Curtiss P-40 Tomahawks. In the immediate post-war period, cheap war surplus aircraft, including a large number of Supermarine Spitfire Mk.IXs were acquired.
Following the British withdrawal from the British Protectorate of Palestine and the establishment of the State of Israel on 14 May 1948, Egyptian forces crossed into Palestine as part of a wider Arab League military coalition in support of the Palestinians against the Israelis. During 1948–1949, Egypt received 62 refurbished Macchi C.205V Veltro (Italian: Greyhound) fighters. The C.205 was an Italian World War II fighter aircraft built by the Aeronautica Macchi. Along with the Reggiane Re.2005 and Fiat G.55, the Macchi C.205 was one of the three "Serie 5" Italian fighters built around the powerful German Daimler-Benz DB 605 engine.
The C.205 Veltro was a refinement of the earlier C.202 Folgore. With a top speed of some 640 km/h (400 mph) and equipped with a pair of 20 mm cannon as well as two 12.7 mm Breda machine guns, the Macchi C.205 had been highly respected by Allied and Axis pilots alike. Widely regarded as one of the best Italian aircraft of World War II, it proved to be extremely effective, destroying a large number of Allied bombers, and it proved capable of meeting fighters such as the North American P-51D Mustang on equal terms.
For the Egyptian order, eight C.205 and 16 C.202 were upgraded to C.205 standard in May 1948. In February 1949, three brand new and 15 ex-C.202, and in May another ten C.205 and C.202 each were brought to the Egyptian C.205 standard. This last contract was not finalized, though: Israeli secret services reacted with a bombing in Italy, which at the time was supplying both Israel and the Arab states, which, among others, destroyed Macchi facilities and damaged Egyptian C.205s still on order.
Only 15 completed Macchis were delivered to Egypt before the end of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, seeing brief combat against the Israeli Air Force. The new Veltros were fully equipped, while the Folgore conversions were armed with only two 12.7 mm Breda machine guns. They were the lightest series of the entire production, and consequently had the best performance, but were seriously under-armed. Some Veltros, equipped with underwing bomb racks were used in ground-attack sorties against Israeli targets.
This left the Egyptian air force with a lack of capable fighters, so that Egypt ordered nineteen additional Fiat G.55 fighters from Italian surplus stocks and searched for ways to remedy the situation, since the relations with Great Britain had severely suffered under the Arab-Israeli War. This led to the plan to build and develop aircraft independently and just based on national resources, and eventually to the Helwan HA-100, Egypt’s first indigenous combat aircraft – even though it was rather a thorough upgrade program than a complete new construction.
Opened in late 1950 to manufacture airplanes, the Helwan Aircraft Factory, located in the South of Cairo, took on the challenge to create a domestic, improved fighter from existing C.205 and C.202 airframes in Egyptian service and its Fiat engines still available from Italy. The resulting Helwan HA-100 retained most of the forward fuselage structure of the C.205 with the original engine mounts, as well as the wings, but measures were taken to improve aerodynamics and combat value. One of these was the introduction of a new (yet framed) bubble canopy, which afforded the pilot with a much better all-round field of view and also improved the forward view while taxiing. This modification necessitated a lowered spine section, and wind tunnel tests suggested a deteriorated longitudinal stability, so that the tail section was completely redesigned. The fin was considerably enlarged and now had a square outline, while the stabilizers were raised into an almost cruciform tail configuration and also enlarged to improve the aircraft’s responsiveness to directional changes. The wings were clipped to improve handling and roll characteristics at low to medium altitudes, where most dogfights in the Arab-Israeli War had taken place.
The HA-100 retained the license-built Daimler Bent DB 605 from Italy, but to adapt this Fiat Tifone engine to the typical desert climate in Egypt with higher ambient temperatures and constant sand dust in the air, the HA-100 received an indigenous dust filter, a more effective (and larger) ventral radiator and a bigger, single oil cooler that replaced the C.205’s small drum coolers under the engine, which were very vulnerable, esp. to ground fire from light caliber weapons. To gain space in the fuselage under the cockpit for new fuel tank, both radiator and oil cooler were re-located to positions under the inner wings, similar in layout to early Supermarine Spitfire Marks.
While the HA-100 left the drawing boards and an initial converted C.205 went through trials, relations with Britain had been restored and the official state of war with Israel ensured that arms purchases continued. This gave the REAF an unexpected technological push forward: In late 1949, Egypt already received its first jet fighter, the British Gloster Meteor F4, and shortly after some de Havilland Vampire FB5s, which rendered the HA-100 obsolete. Nevertheless, the project was kept alive to strengthen Egypt’s nascent aircraft industry, but the type was only met with lukewarm enthusiasm.
The first HA-100 re-builds were delivered to 2 Sqn Royal Egyptian Air Force at Edku (East of Alexandria) in mid-1951, painted in a camouflage scheme of Dark Earth and Middle Stone with Azure Blue undersides, using leftover RAF material from WWII. Later, REAF 1 Sqn at Almaza near Cairo received HA-100s, too. Eventually, around forty HA-100s were built for the REAF until 1952. The only export customer for the HA-100 was Syria: sixteen machines, rejected by the REAF, were delivered in early 1952, where they served alongside former RAF Spitfire F.Mk.22s.
The REAF HA-100s only had a short career, but they eventually faced frontline duties and fired in anger. This also marked their last deployments, which occurred during the early stages of the Suez Crisis in 1956.
Only about 15 HA-100s of REAF No. 2 Squadron were still in flying condition due to quickly worsening engine spares shortages, and the aircraft had, in the meantime, been hardwired to carry up to four “Sakr” unguided 122mm rockets on the underwing hardpoints. Due to their agility at low altitude, the HA-100s were primarily used for ground attacks and low-level reconnaissance duties. On their missions the aircraft still performed well, but at that time, all Egyptian aircraft had been stripped off of their camouflage and were operated in a bare metal finish – a poor decision, since the glinting airframes were highly visible both in the air and on the ground. Consequently, the vintage propeller aircraft became easy targets, resulting high losses, and the HA-100s were grounded. They were officially retired by April 1957, after the end of the Suez conflict, and scrapped.
General characteristics:
Crew: 1
Length: 9,10 m (29 ft 10 in)
Wingspan: 10.01 m (32 ft 9½ in)
Height: 3.52 m (11 ft 6¼ in)
Wing area: 16.8 m² (181 sq ft)
Airfoil: root: NACA 23018 (modified); tip: NACA 23009 (modified)
Empty weight: 2.695 kg (5,936 lb)
Gross weight: 3.621 kg (7,975 lb)
Max takeoff weight: 4.100 kg (9,030 lb)
Powerplant:
1× Fiat RA.1050 R.C.58 Tifone (license-built Daimler Bent DB 605) V-12 inverted liquid-cooled piston
engine with 1,100 kW (1,500 hp), driving a 3-bladed constant-speed propeller#
Performance:
Maximum speed: 642 km/h (399 mph, 347 kn) at 7,200 m (23,600 ft)
Cruise speed: 400 km/h (250 mph, 220 kn)
Range: 950 km (590 mi, 510 nmi)
Service ceiling: 11,500 m (37,700 ft)
Time to altitude: 3,000 m (9,800 ft) in 2 minutes 40 seconds
Wing loading: 202.9 kg/m2 (41.6 lb/sq ft)
Armament.
2× 12.7 mm (.5 in) Breda-SAFAT machine guns, 400 RPG, in the nose
2× 20 mm MG 151 cannon, 250 RPG, in the outer wings
2× underwing hardpoints for 160 kg (350 lb) each for bombs or four 122mm Sakr unguided rockets
The kit and its assembly:
This oddity was spawned from curiosity – when read about the lightweight Helwan HA-300 fighter from the early Sixties, I wondered when and how the Egyptian aircraft industry had started? I was even more curious because I had already attributed a what-if model, the purely fictional (and later) HA-410 fighter bomber, to Egyptian engineering. So, I researched Helwan’s origins, checked the time frame of its establishment and eventually came across the REAF’s post-WWII C.205 Veltros. What if there had been an indigenous update program…?
Consequently, this conversion’s basis is a C.205V kit from Delta 2. This kit is based upon a unique mold, quite similar to the later Italeri kit, but it is different and has some curious solutions. For instance, the landing gear struts are mounted into the wings with L-shaped attachment pegs – as if the landing gear is supposed to be retractable. Odd, but very stable. Another weird solution: the wing gun barrels are attached to the wings together with massive plastic wedges that fit into respective openings. Another quite rigid construction, even though it calls for trimming and PSR. Beyond these quirks, the kit is quite nice. It comes with a convincing mix of recessed panel lines and raised rivet heads. Some parts are a bit soft in shape, though, e. g. the cowling fairings, but overall I am positively surprised.
To change the aircraft’s look I did some conversions, though. The most obvious change is the new tail section, which was transplanted wholesale from a KP Yak-23 and had the C.205’s tail wheel attachment section transplanted from the Delta 2 kit. Originally, I wanted to move the whole cockpit forward, but then just replaced canopy and spine section with a clear part from a Hobby Boss MiG-15 and putty. Other, rather cosmetic changes include clipped wing tips to match the Yak-23’s square tail surfaces shape, and the C.205’s small elliptic stabilizers were replaced with tailored, slightly bigger parts from the scrap box. A bigger/deeper radiator and a different oil cooler replaced the original parts, and I placed them under the inner wings behind the landing gear wells. Both donors come from Spitfires, even though from different kits (IIRC, the oil cooler from an AZ Models Mk. V kit and the radiator from a FROG Mk. XIV). The flaps were lowered, too, because this detail was easy to realize with this kit.
Painting and markings:
The HA-100 received a contemporary camouflage, the RAF Tropical Paint Scheme consisting of Dark Earth and Middle Stone with Azure Blue undersides. The pattern was adapted from RAF Spitfires, and Modelmaster (2052 and 2054) and Humbrol (157) enamels were used, with a light overall black ink washing and some post panel shading. Being a former Italian aircraft, I painted the cockpit in a typical, Italian tone, a very light grayish green called “Verde Anticorrosione“, which was used during WWII on many interior surfaces – I used a mix of Revell 59 with some 45. The landing gear and the respective wells became aluminum (Humbrol 56), though.
One challenge became the characteristic black-and-white REAF ID bands on the wings. These were improvised with generic decal material from TL-Modellbau: on a 1 cm wide black band I simply added two white 2.5 mm stripes, for a very good result. Most other markings belong to an early REAF MiG-15, taken from a Microscale omnibus sheet for various MiG fighters. This provided the green-trimmed white fuselage band, the roundels and the fin flash, and a white spinner completed the REAF ID markings. Unfortunately the decals turned out to be brittle (ESCI-esque...) and disintegrated upon the first attempt to apply them, so I tried to save them with Microsol Decal Film, and this actually worked like a charm, even though the resurrected decals did not adhere well to the model's surface. The REAF 2 Squadron emblem comes from a vintage PrintScale Hawker Hurricane sheet, the white code letter on the fuselage came from an Xtradecal RAF codes sheet, and the black Arabic serials came from a Begemot sheet for MiG-29s.
The kit received some soot stains around the exhaust ports and the gun muzzles and was finally sealed with matt acrylic varnish (Italeri).
Even though it’s just a modded Macchi C.205, the result looks …different. From certain angles the aircraft reminds a lot of a P-51D Mustang, like one of the lightweight prototypes? The Egyptian markings add a confusing touch, though, and while the bodywork is not perfect, I am happy with the result. The Yak-23 tail fits perfectly, and with the narrow wings the HA-100 also reminds a bit of the two-engine Westland Whirlwind?
+++ DISCLAIMER +++
Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based on historical facts. BEWARE!
Some background:
As the Egyptian border was threatened by an Italian and German invasion during the Second World War, the Royal Air Force established more airfields in Egypt. The Royal Egyptian Air Force was sometimes treated as a part of the Royal Air Force, at other times a strict policy of neutrality was followed as Egypt maintained its official neutrality until very late in the war. As a result, few additional aircraft were supplied by Britain, however the arm did receive its first modern fighters, Hawker Hurricanes and a small number of Curtiss P-40 Tomahawks. In the immediate post-war period, cheap war surplus aircraft, including a large number of Supermarine Spitfire Mk.IXs were acquired.
Following the British withdrawal from the British Protectorate of Palestine and the establishment of the State of Israel on 14 May 1948, Egyptian forces crossed into Palestine as part of a wider Arab League military coalition in support of the Palestinians against the Israelis. During 1948–1949, Egypt received 62 refurbished Macchi C.205V Veltro (Italian: Greyhound) fighters. The C.205 was an Italian World War II fighter aircraft built by the Aeronautica Macchi. Along with the Reggiane Re.2005 and Fiat G.55, the Macchi C.205 was one of the three "Serie 5" Italian fighters built around the powerful German Daimler-Benz DB 605 engine.
The C.205 Veltro was a refinement of the earlier C.202 Folgore. With a top speed of some 640 km/h (400 mph) and equipped with a pair of 20 mm cannon as well as two 12.7 mm Breda machine guns, the Macchi C.205 had been highly respected by Allied and Axis pilots alike. Widely regarded as one of the best Italian aircraft of World War II, it proved to be extremely effective, destroying a large number of Allied bombers, and it proved capable of meeting fighters such as the North American P-51D Mustang on equal terms.
For the Egyptian order, eight C.205 and 16 C.202 were upgraded to C.205 standard in May 1948. In February 1949, three brand new and 15 ex-C.202, and in May another ten C.205 and C.202 each were brought to the Egyptian C.205 standard. This last contract was not finalized, though: Israeli secret services reacted with a bombing in Italy, which at the time was supplying both Israel and the Arab states, which, among others, destroyed Macchi facilities and damaged Egyptian C.205s still on order.
Only 15 completed Macchis were delivered to Egypt before the end of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, seeing brief combat against the Israeli Air Force. The new Veltros were fully equipped, while the Folgore conversions were armed with only two 12.7 mm Breda machine guns. They were the lightest series of the entire production, and consequently had the best performance, but were seriously under-armed. Some Veltros, equipped with underwing bomb racks were used in ground-attack sorties against Israeli targets.
This left the Egyptian air force with a lack of capable fighters, so that Egypt ordered nineteen additional Fiat G.55 fighters from Italian surplus stocks and searched for ways to remedy the situation, since the relations with Great Britain had severely suffered under the Arab-Israeli War. This led to the plan to build and develop aircraft independently and just based on national resources, and eventually to the Helwan HA-100, Egypt’s first indigenous combat aircraft – even though it was rather a thorough upgrade program than a complete new construction.
Opened in late 1950 to manufacture airplanes, the Helwan Aircraft Factory, located in the South of Cairo, took on the challenge to create a domestic, improved fighter from existing C.205 and C.202 airframes in Egyptian service and its Fiat engines still available from Italy. The resulting Helwan HA-100 retained most of the forward fuselage structure of the C.205 with the original engine mounts, as well as the wings, but measures were taken to improve aerodynamics and combat value. One of these was the introduction of a new (yet framed) bubble canopy, which afforded the pilot with a much better all-round field of view and also improved the forward view while taxiing. This modification necessitated a lowered spine section, and wind tunnel tests suggested a deteriorated longitudinal stability, so that the tail section was completely redesigned. The fin was considerably enlarged and now had a square outline, while the stabilizers were raised into an almost cruciform tail configuration and also enlarged to improve the aircraft’s responsiveness to directional changes. The wings were clipped to improve handling and roll characteristics at low to medium altitudes, where most dogfights in the Arab-Israeli War had taken place.
The HA-100 retained the license-built Daimler Bent DB 605 from Italy, but to adapt this Fiat Tifone engine to the typical desert climate in Egypt with higher ambient temperatures and constant sand dust in the air, the HA-100 received an indigenous dust filter, a more effective (and larger) ventral radiator and a bigger, single oil cooler that replaced the C.205’s small drum coolers under the engine, which were very vulnerable, esp. to ground fire from light caliber weapons. To gain space in the fuselage under the cockpit for new fuel tank, both radiator and oil cooler were re-located to positions under the inner wings, similar in layout to early Supermarine Spitfire Marks.
While the HA-100 left the drawing boards and an initial converted C.205 went through trials, relations with Britain had been restored and the official state of war with Israel ensured that arms purchases continued. This gave the REAF an unexpected technological push forward: In late 1949, Egypt already received its first jet fighter, the British Gloster Meteor F4, and shortly after some de Havilland Vampire FB5s, which rendered the HA-100 obsolete. Nevertheless, the project was kept alive to strengthen Egypt’s nascent aircraft industry, but the type was only met with lukewarm enthusiasm.
The first HA-100 re-builds were delivered to 2 Sqn Royal Egyptian Air Force at Edku (East of Alexandria) in mid-1951, painted in a camouflage scheme of Dark Earth and Middle Stone with Azure Blue undersides, using leftover RAF material from WWII. Later, REAF 1 Sqn at Almaza near Cairo received HA-100s, too. Eventually, around forty HA-100s were built for the REAF until 1952. The only export customer for the HA-100 was Syria: sixteen machines, rejected by the REAF, were delivered in early 1952, where they served alongside former RAF Spitfire F.Mk.22s.
The REAF HA-100s only had a short career, but they eventually faced frontline duties and fired in anger. This also marked their last deployments, which occurred during the early stages of the Suez Crisis in 1956.
Only about 15 HA-100s of REAF No. 2 Squadron were still in flying condition due to quickly worsening engine spares shortages, and the aircraft had, in the meantime, been hardwired to carry up to four “Sakr” unguided 122mm rockets on the underwing hardpoints. Due to their agility at low altitude, the HA-100s were primarily used for ground attacks and low-level reconnaissance duties. On their missions the aircraft still performed well, but at that time, all Egyptian aircraft had been stripped off of their camouflage and were operated in a bare metal finish – a poor decision, since the glinting airframes were highly visible both in the air and on the ground. Consequently, the vintage propeller aircraft became easy targets, resulting high losses, and the HA-100s were grounded. They were officially retired by April 1957, after the end of the Suez conflict, and scrapped.
General characteristics:
Crew: 1
Length: 9,10 m (29 ft 10 in)
Wingspan: 10.01 m (32 ft 9½ in)
Height: 3.52 m (11 ft 6¼ in)
Wing area: 16.8 m² (181 sq ft)
Airfoil: root: NACA 23018 (modified); tip: NACA 23009 (modified)
Empty weight: 2.695 kg (5,936 lb)
Gross weight: 3.621 kg (7,975 lb)
Max takeoff weight: 4.100 kg (9,030 lb)
Powerplant:
1× Fiat RA.1050 R.C.58 Tifone (license-built Daimler Bent DB 605) V-12 inverted liquid-cooled piston
engine with 1,100 kW (1,500 hp), driving a 3-bladed constant-speed propeller#
Performance:
Maximum speed: 642 km/h (399 mph, 347 kn) at 7,200 m (23,600 ft)
Cruise speed: 400 km/h (250 mph, 220 kn)
Range: 950 km (590 mi, 510 nmi)
Service ceiling: 11,500 m (37,700 ft)
Time to altitude: 3,000 m (9,800 ft) in 2 minutes 40 seconds
Wing loading: 202.9 kg/m2 (41.6 lb/sq ft)
Armament.
2× 12.7 mm (.5 in) Breda-SAFAT machine guns, 400 RPG, in the nose
2× 20 mm MG 151 cannon, 250 RPG, in the outer wings
2× underwing hardpoints for 160 kg (350 lb) each for bombs or four 122mm Sakr unguided rockets
The kit and its assembly:
This oddity was spawned from curiosity – when read about the lightweight Helwan HA-300 fighter from the early Sixties, I wondered when and how the Egyptian aircraft industry had started? I was even more curious because I had already attributed a what-if model, the purely fictional (and later) HA-410 fighter bomber, to Egyptian engineering. So, I researched Helwan’s origins, checked the time frame of its establishment and eventually came across the REAF’s post-WWII C.205 Veltros. What if there had been an indigenous update program…?
Consequently, this conversion’s basis is a C.205V kit from Delta 2. This kit is based upon a unique mold, quite similar to the later Italeri kit, but it is different and has some curious solutions. For instance, the landing gear struts are mounted into the wings with L-shaped attachment pegs – as if the landing gear is supposed to be retractable. Odd, but very stable. Another weird solution: the wing gun barrels are attached to the wings together with massive plastic wedges that fit into respective openings. Another quite rigid construction, even though it calls for trimming and PSR. Beyond these quirks, the kit is quite nice. It comes with a convincing mix of recessed panel lines and raised rivet heads. Some parts are a bit soft in shape, though, e. g. the cowling fairings, but overall I am positively surprised.
To change the aircraft’s look I did some conversions, though. The most obvious change is the new tail section, which was transplanted wholesale from a KP Yak-23 and had the C.205’s tail wheel attachment section transplanted from the Delta 2 kit. Originally, I wanted to move the whole cockpit forward, but then just replaced canopy and spine section with a clear part from a Hobby Boss MiG-15 and putty. Other, rather cosmetic changes include clipped wing tips to match the Yak-23’s square tail surfaces shape, and the C.205’s small elliptic stabilizers were replaced with tailored, slightly bigger parts from the scrap box. A bigger/deeper radiator and a different oil cooler replaced the original parts, and I placed them under the inner wings behind the landing gear wells. Both donors come from Spitfires, even though from different kits (IIRC, the oil cooler from an AZ Models Mk. V kit and the radiator from a FROG Mk. XIV). The flaps were lowered, too, because this detail was easy to realize with this kit.
Painting and markings:
The HA-100 received a contemporary camouflage, the RAF Tropical Paint Scheme consisting of Dark Earth and Middle Stone with Azure Blue undersides. The pattern was adapted from RAF Spitfires, and Modelmaster (2052 and 2054) and Humbrol (157) enamels were used, with a light overall black ink washing and some post panel shading. Being a former Italian aircraft, I painted the cockpit in a typical, Italian tone, a very light grayish green called “Verde Anticorrosione“, which was used during WWII on many interior surfaces – I used a mix of Revell 59 with some 45. The landing gear and the respective wells became aluminum (Humbrol 56), though.
One challenge became the characteristic black-and-white REAF ID bands on the wings. These were improvised with generic decal material from TL-Modellbau: on a 1 cm wide black band I simply added two white 2.5 mm stripes, for a very good result. Most other markings belong to an early REAF MiG-15, taken from a Microscale omnibus sheet for various MiG fighters. This provided the green-trimmed white fuselage band, the roundels and the fin flash, and a white spinner completed the REAF ID markings. Unfortunately the decals turned out to be brittle (ESCI-esque...) and disintegrated upon the first attempt to apply them, so I tried to save them with Microsol Decal Film, and this actually worked like a charm, even though the resurrected decals did not adhere well to the model's surface. The REAF 2 Squadron emblem comes from a vintage PrintScale Hawker Hurricane sheet, the white code letter on the fuselage came from an Xtradecal RAF codes sheet, and the black Arabic serials came from a Begemot sheet for MiG-29s.
The kit received some soot stains around the exhaust ports and the gun muzzles and was finally sealed with matt acrylic varnish (Italeri).
Even though it’s just a modded Macchi C.205, the result looks …different. From certain angles the aircraft reminds a lot of a P-51D Mustang, like one of the lightweight prototypes? The Egyptian markings add a confusing touch, though, and while the bodywork is not perfect, I am happy with the result. The Yak-23 tail fits perfectly, and with the narrow wings the HA-100 also reminds a bit of the two-engine Westland Whirlwind?
+++ DISCLAIMER +++
Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based on historical facts. BEWARE!
Some background:
As the Egyptian border was threatened by an Italian and German invasion during the Second World War, the Royal Air Force established more airfields in Egypt. The Royal Egyptian Air Force was sometimes treated as a part of the Royal Air Force, at other times a strict policy of neutrality was followed as Egypt maintained its official neutrality until very late in the war. As a result, few additional aircraft were supplied by Britain, however the arm did receive its first modern fighters, Hawker Hurricanes and a small number of Curtiss P-40 Tomahawks. In the immediate post-war period, cheap war surplus aircraft, including a large number of Supermarine Spitfire Mk.IXs were acquired.
Following the British withdrawal from the British Protectorate of Palestine and the establishment of the State of Israel on 14 May 1948, Egyptian forces crossed into Palestine as part of a wider Arab League military coalition in support of the Palestinians against the Israelis. During 1948–1949, Egypt received 62 refurbished Macchi C.205V Veltro (Italian: Greyhound) fighters. The C.205 was an Italian World War II fighter aircraft built by the Aeronautica Macchi. Along with the Reggiane Re.2005 and Fiat G.55, the Macchi C.205 was one of the three "Serie 5" Italian fighters built around the powerful German Daimler-Benz DB 605 engine.
The C.205 Veltro was a refinement of the earlier C.202 Folgore. With a top speed of some 640 km/h (400 mph) and equipped with a pair of 20 mm cannon as well as two 12.7 mm Breda machine guns, the Macchi C.205 had been highly respected by Allied and Axis pilots alike. Widely regarded as one of the best Italian aircraft of World War II, it proved to be extremely effective, destroying a large number of Allied bombers, and it proved capable of meeting fighters such as the North American P-51D Mustang on equal terms.
For the Egyptian order, eight C.205 and 16 C.202 were upgraded to C.205 standard in May 1948. In February 1949, three brand new and 15 ex-C.202, and in May another ten C.205 and C.202 each were brought to the Egyptian C.205 standard. This last contract was not finalized, though: Israeli secret services reacted with a bombing in Italy, which at the time was supplying both Israel and the Arab states, which, among others, destroyed Macchi facilities and damaged Egyptian C.205s still on order.
Only 15 completed Macchis were delivered to Egypt before the end of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, seeing brief combat against the Israeli Air Force. The new Veltros were fully equipped, while the Folgore conversions were armed with only two 12.7 mm Breda machine guns. They were the lightest series of the entire production, and consequently had the best performance, but were seriously under-armed. Some Veltros, equipped with underwing bomb racks were used in ground-attack sorties against Israeli targets.
This left the Egyptian air force with a lack of capable fighters, so that Egypt ordered nineteen additional Fiat G.55 fighters from Italian surplus stocks and searched for ways to remedy the situation, since the relations with Great Britain had severely suffered under the Arab-Israeli War. This led to the plan to build and develop aircraft independently and just based on national resources, and eventually to the Helwan HA-100, Egypt’s first indigenous combat aircraft – even though it was rather a thorough upgrade program than a complete new construction.
Opened in late 1950 to manufacture airplanes, the Helwan Aircraft Factory, located in the South of Cairo, took on the challenge to create a domestic, improved fighter from existing C.205 and C.202 airframes in Egyptian service and its Fiat engines still available from Italy. The resulting Helwan HA-100 retained most of the forward fuselage structure of the C.205 with the original engine mounts, as well as the wings, but measures were taken to improve aerodynamics and combat value. One of these was the introduction of a new (yet framed) bubble canopy, which afforded the pilot with a much better all-round field of view and also improved the forward view while taxiing. This modification necessitated a lowered spine section, and wind tunnel tests suggested a deteriorated longitudinal stability, so that the tail section was completely redesigned. The fin was considerably enlarged and now had a square outline, while the stabilizers were raised into an almost cruciform tail configuration and also enlarged to improve the aircraft’s responsiveness to directional changes. The wings were clipped to improve handling and roll characteristics at low to medium altitudes, where most dogfights in the Arab-Israeli War had taken place.
The HA-100 retained the license-built Daimler Bent DB 605 from Italy, but to adapt this Fiat Tifone engine to the typical desert climate in Egypt with higher ambient temperatures and constant sand dust in the air, the HA-100 received an indigenous dust filter, a more effective (and larger) ventral radiator and a bigger, single oil cooler that replaced the C.205’s small drum coolers under the engine, which were very vulnerable, esp. to ground fire from light caliber weapons. To gain space in the fuselage under the cockpit for new fuel tank, both radiator and oil cooler were re-located to positions under the inner wings, similar in layout to early Supermarine Spitfire Marks.
While the HA-100 left the drawing boards and an initial converted C.205 went through trials, relations with Britain had been restored and the official state of war with Israel ensured that arms purchases continued. This gave the REAF an unexpected technological push forward: In late 1949, Egypt already received its first jet fighter, the British Gloster Meteor F4, and shortly after some de Havilland Vampire FB5s, which rendered the HA-100 obsolete. Nevertheless, the project was kept alive to strengthen Egypt’s nascent aircraft industry, but the type was only met with lukewarm enthusiasm.
The first HA-100 re-builds were delivered to 2 Sqn Royal Egyptian Air Force at Edku (East of Alexandria) in mid-1951, painted in a camouflage scheme of Dark Earth and Middle Stone with Azure Blue undersides, using leftover RAF material from WWII. Later, REAF 1 Sqn at Almaza near Cairo received HA-100s, too. Eventually, around forty HA-100s were built for the REAF until 1952. The only export customer for the HA-100 was Syria: sixteen machines, rejected by the REAF, were delivered in early 1952, where they served alongside former RAF Spitfire F.Mk.22s.
The REAF HA-100s only had a short career, but they eventually faced frontline duties and fired in anger. This also marked their last deployments, which occurred during the early stages of the Suez Crisis in 1956.
Only about 15 HA-100s of REAF No. 2 Squadron were still in flying condition due to quickly worsening engine spares shortages, and the aircraft had, in the meantime, been hardwired to carry up to four “Sakr” unguided 122mm rockets on the underwing hardpoints. Due to their agility at low altitude, the HA-100s were primarily used for ground attacks and low-level reconnaissance duties. On their missions the aircraft still performed well, but at that time, all Egyptian aircraft had been stripped off of their camouflage and were operated in a bare metal finish – a poor decision, since the glinting airframes were highly visible both in the air and on the ground. Consequently, the vintage propeller aircraft became easy targets, resulting high losses, and the HA-100s were grounded. They were officially retired by April 1957, after the end of the Suez conflict, and scrapped.
General characteristics:
Crew: 1
Length: 9,10 m (29 ft 10 in)
Wingspan: 10.01 m (32 ft 9½ in)
Height: 3.52 m (11 ft 6¼ in)
Wing area: 16.8 m² (181 sq ft)
Airfoil: root: NACA 23018 (modified); tip: NACA 23009 (modified)
Empty weight: 2.695 kg (5,936 lb)
Gross weight: 3.621 kg (7,975 lb)
Max takeoff weight: 4.100 kg (9,030 lb)
Powerplant:
1× Fiat RA.1050 R.C.58 Tifone (license-built Daimler Bent DB 605) V-12 inverted liquid-cooled piston
engine with 1,100 kW (1,500 hp), driving a 3-bladed constant-speed propeller#
Performance:
Maximum speed: 642 km/h (399 mph, 347 kn) at 7,200 m (23,600 ft)
Cruise speed: 400 km/h (250 mph, 220 kn)
Range: 950 km (590 mi, 510 nmi)
Service ceiling: 11,500 m (37,700 ft)
Time to altitude: 3,000 m (9,800 ft) in 2 minutes 40 seconds
Wing loading: 202.9 kg/m2 (41.6 lb/sq ft)
Armament.
2× 12.7 mm (.5 in) Breda-SAFAT machine guns, 400 RPG, in the nose
2× 20 mm MG 151 cannon, 250 RPG, in the outer wings
2× underwing hardpoints for 160 kg (350 lb) each for bombs or four 122mm Sakr unguided rockets
The kit and its assembly:
This oddity was spawned from curiosity – when read about the lightweight Helwan HA-300 fighter from the early Sixties, I wondered when and how the Egyptian aircraft industry had started? I was even more curious because I had already attributed a what-if model, the purely fictional (and later) HA-410 fighter bomber, to Egyptian engineering. So, I researched Helwan’s origins, checked the time frame of its establishment and eventually came across the REAF’s post-WWII C.205 Veltros. What if there had been an indigenous update program…?
Consequently, this conversion’s basis is a C.205V kit from Delta 2. This kit is based upon a unique mold, quite similar to the later Italeri kit, but it is different and has some curious solutions. For instance, the landing gear struts are mounted into the wings with L-shaped attachment pegs – as if the landing gear is supposed to be retractable. Odd, but very stable. Another weird solution: the wing gun barrels are attached to the wings together with massive plastic wedges that fit into respective openings. Another quite rigid construction, even though it calls for trimming and PSR. Beyond these quirks, the kit is quite nice. It comes with a convincing mix of recessed panel lines and raised rivet heads. Some parts are a bit soft in shape, though, e. g. the cowling fairings, but overall I am positively surprised.
To change the aircraft’s look I did some conversions, though. The most obvious change is the new tail section, which was transplanted wholesale from a KP Yak-23 and had the C.205’s tail wheel attachment section transplanted from the Delta 2 kit. Originally, I wanted to move the whole cockpit forward, but then just replaced canopy and spine section with a clear part from a Hobby Boss MiG-15 and putty. Other, rather cosmetic changes include clipped wing tips to match the Yak-23’s square tail surfaces shape, and the C.205’s small elliptic stabilizers were replaced with tailored, slightly bigger parts from the scrap box. A bigger/deeper radiator and a different oil cooler replaced the original parts, and I placed them under the inner wings behind the landing gear wells. Both donors come from Spitfires, even though from different kits (IIRC, the oil cooler from an AZ Models Mk. V kit and the radiator from a FROG Mk. XIV). The flaps were lowered, too, because this detail was easy to realize with this kit.
Painting and markings:
The HA-100 received a contemporary camouflage, the RAF Tropical Paint Scheme consisting of Dark Earth and Middle Stone with Azure Blue undersides. The pattern was adapted from RAF Spitfires, and Modelmaster (2052 and 2054) and Humbrol (157) enamels were used, with a light overall black ink washing and some post panel shading. Being a former Italian aircraft, I painted the cockpit in a typical, Italian tone, a very light grayish green called “Verde Anticorrosione“, which was used during WWII on many interior surfaces – I used a mix of Revell 59 with some 45. The landing gear and the respective wells became aluminum (Humbrol 56), though.
One challenge became the characteristic black-and-white REAF ID bands on the wings. These were improvised with generic decal material from TL-Modellbau: on a 1 cm wide black band I simply added two white 2.5 mm stripes, for a very good result. Most other markings belong to an early REAF MiG-15, taken from a Microscale omnibus sheet for various MiG fighters. This provided the green-trimmed white fuselage band, the roundels and the fin flash, and a white spinner completed the REAF ID markings. Unfortunately the decals turned out to be brittle (ESCI-esque...) and disintegrated upon the first attempt to apply them, so I tried to save them with Microsol Decal Film, and this actually worked like a charm, even though the resurrected decals did not adhere well to the model's surface. The REAF 2 Squadron emblem comes from a vintage PrintScale Hawker Hurricane sheet, the white code letter on the fuselage came from an Xtradecal RAF codes sheet, and the black Arabic serials came from a Begemot sheet for MiG-29s.
The kit received some soot stains around the exhaust ports and the gun muzzles and was finally sealed with matt acrylic varnish (Italeri).
Even though it’s just a modded Macchi C.205, the result looks …different. From certain angles the aircraft reminds a lot of a P-51D Mustang, like one of the lightweight prototypes? The Egyptian markings add a confusing touch, though, and while the bodywork is not perfect, I am happy with the result. The Yak-23 tail fits perfectly, and with the narrow wings the HA-100 also reminds a bit of the two-engine Westland Whirlwind?
Elevating Expectations.
Supra raises the standards of refinement with innovative interior amenities that create extreme luxury tempered by intuitive design. The new SC interior is the perfect example. Elegantly functional features like Supra's E-Boost equipped racing-style driver's seat marries comfort and convenience with high performance. Versatile passenger relaxation like Triple-up Seating with a flip-up lean back in the lounge, a rear-facing seat behind the driver that houses a trash receptacle and storage, an available Gap Seat in the walk-through and a 36-can relocatable stay-cold AO Cooler continue the usability without compromising interior look, capacity or comfort. The standard 10-speaker Polk Sound System can be controlled through the media screen of the VISION Touch, with a remote mounted in a lounge side panel or in the passenger-side glovebox. Easy-access tune control is an understatement. Supra furthers the interior feast for the senses with LED Mood Lighting, hand-cover color-match interior accents and the plush feel of Spradling's stain and abrasion resistant multi-textured SupraSkinTM vinyl. The Supra SC raises its standards to luxury, you should too.
Just look at this! It's such an outrage against culture and refinement, such a piece of self-hatred, such an act of violence against ourselves, that it's a tiny suicide ...a minute contribution to the great collective, drawn-out suicide of western civilisation that's been going on since the early years of the last century.
This pleasing town house, of about 1715, was once the centrepiece of a terrace of three. It is unusual ...if not unique... for a Bristol terraced house of this date, in being of stone rather than brick. The panelled aprons under the windows balance the strong horizontals of the stringcourses and cornice. There is a handsome shell hood over the doorcase.
Sir Thomas Lawrence, child prodigy and future President of the Royal Academy, the greatest portraitist of his age and surely the most distinguished former Bristolian, was born here in 1796. Here. In this house. One day in the 1970s it woke up, poor thing, to find itself encased in a new office development. Two blocks faced with panels of pink aggregate closed in on either side like the jaws of a vice. Clearly the designers of the new offices hated the house and regarded it as a nuisance, for they set it back from the line of their own building so that in looking along Redcross Street you wouldn't know it was there.
In any civilised society the purpose of architecture would be understood instinctively by everyone. After all, it's not a complicated matter. It's purpose is to beautify and ennoble our surroundings. In its grander buildings architecture might aspire to give us a foretaste of Paradise ...which should be the aim of all great art. But these office blocks were not put up in a civilised age. As someone here pointed out the other day, architects (like all eggheads I think) hate ordinary people. They want to make us suffer by surrounding us with squalor and bullying us with intellectual dogma.
FCH-150 Hydrogen Fuel Cell Commercial Aircraft - IO Aircraft - Iteration 2
Iteration 2, Some refinements. Similar size as a 737 Max 10 apx 1/2 the operating costs - Wings and Canard fold to 100' Span, Fuselage Length 150', Configuration (Current) 184 Econ and 1st class, 5,000+ NM Range, Does not use liquid hydrogen. Uses 8,000 PSI Compressed H2 or CNG for 95% fuel weight reduction. Airframe, 3D Printed Graphene (technology already developed), kevlar and carbon fiber. Almost no metal used in the airframe 50%+ airframe weight reduction & 10+ X the strength.
I focus on Hypersonics and vtol, not this one. This applied many of those technologies to create the foundation of a true zero carbon commercial aircraft.
LengthL 150ft | Span 120.6ft | Cruise M.88-.92
Cruise: 35,000-38,000ft | Ceiling 41,000-45,000ft
Range: 5,000+ NM
Estimated Empty Weight: 65,000 LBS
Estimated T/O Weight (Full Fuel and Passengers/Baggage) 134,000 LBS
Estimated MTOW: 195,000
Fuel: 30,000 Gallons 8,000+ Max PSI Compressed Hydrogen or Natural Gas Using High Pressure Conforming Tank Technology, 500,000PSIA Integrity
Fuel Weight: Apx 9,000 LBS (Compared to 180,300 LBS if Liquid Fueled)
Current Passenger Configuration: 184 / 12 1st Class & 172 Main Cabin
Operating Costs: $2,500 - $3,500 hr
Estimated Maintenance Costs, Apx 1/2 Compared to 737's, A320's, etc
Estimated Unit Price in Production: Apx $105 Million
Reduction in Operating/Maintenance Costs Over the Life Cycle of the Aircraft, $20-$50 Million or greater.
Motors, zero maintenance required for greater then 5,000 operating hours.
-----------------------------------
100% viable Electric Commercial aircraft, in a 737 MAX class. Compressed Hydrogen Fueled (Not liquid [obsolete]), 100% electric. NO carbon foot print. Even the hydrogen can be generated on the ground via water electrolysis on top of terminals. Also saving operators $20-$50 million or more, over an aircraft's life cycle.
Non, zero carbon, could use CNG, then reformation to extract the Hydrogen.
Ready to build today, all tech is already developed. Makes ALL commercial aircraft in existence obsolete. PLUS all hybrid aicraft on the drawing board right now with Boeing, Airbus, etc.
Airframe is 3D printed Graphene wafering, 33X stronger then titatnium; and carbon fiber/kevlar.
Specs:
Length: 150 ft | Span: 120.6 ft | Cruise M.9-.92)
Ceiling: Estimate 45,000 ft. Cruise: 38,000 ft
Range: 5,000+ NM
Estimated Empty Weight: 65,000 LBS
Estimate T/O Weight (Full fuel and passengers): 134,000 LBS
MTOW Estimate: 195,000 LBS
Fuel: 30,000 Gallon 8,000 PSI Max Compressed Hydrogen or Natural Gas Using High Pressure Conforming Tank Technology
Fuel Weight: Apx 9,000 LBS (Compared to 180,300 LBS if Jet A liquid)
Current Passenger Configuration: 184 passengers; 172 Main Cabin & 12 1st Class
Operating Costs, apx $2,500-$3,500 hr.
Estiumated Maintenance Costs: Apx 1/2 current commercial aircraft.
Estimate Unit Price in Production: Apx $105 million
Reduction in Operating Costs Over the Aircrafts Life Cycle: $20-$50 Million (Or More) in Savings.
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+++ DISCLAIMER +++
Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based on historical facts. BEWARE!
Some background:
As the Egyptian border was threatened by an Italian and German invasion during the Second World War, the Royal Air Force established more airfields in Egypt. The Royal Egyptian Air Force was sometimes treated as a part of the Royal Air Force, at other times a strict policy of neutrality was followed as Egypt maintained its official neutrality until very late in the war. As a result, few additional aircraft were supplied by Britain, however the arm did receive its first modern fighters, Hawker Hurricanes and a small number of Curtiss P-40 Tomahawks. In the immediate post-war period, cheap war surplus aircraft, including a large number of Supermarine Spitfire Mk.IXs were acquired.
Following the British withdrawal from the British Protectorate of Palestine and the establishment of the State of Israel on 14 May 1948, Egyptian forces crossed into Palestine as part of a wider Arab League military coalition in support of the Palestinians against the Israelis. During 1948–1949, Egypt received 62 refurbished Macchi C.205V Veltro (Italian: Greyhound) fighters. The C.205 was an Italian World War II fighter aircraft built by the Aeronautica Macchi. Along with the Reggiane Re.2005 and Fiat G.55, the Macchi C.205 was one of the three "Serie 5" Italian fighters built around the powerful German Daimler-Benz DB 605 engine.
The C.205 Veltro was a refinement of the earlier C.202 Folgore. With a top speed of some 640 km/h (400 mph) and equipped with a pair of 20 mm cannon as well as two 12.7 mm Breda machine guns, the Macchi C.205 had been highly respected by Allied and Axis pilots alike. Widely regarded as one of the best Italian aircraft of World War II, it proved to be extremely effective, destroying a large number of Allied bombers, and it proved capable of meeting fighters such as the North American P-51D Mustang on equal terms.
For the Egyptian order, eight C.205 and 16 C.202 were upgraded to C.205 standard in May 1948. In February 1949, three brand new and 15 ex-C.202, and in May another ten C.205 and C.202 each were brought to the Egyptian C.205 standard. This last contract was not finalized, though: Israeli secret services reacted with a bombing in Italy, which at the time was supplying both Israel and the Arab states, which, among others, destroyed Macchi facilities and damaged Egyptian C.205s still on order.
Only 15 completed Macchis were delivered to Egypt before the end of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, seeing brief combat against the Israeli Air Force. The new Veltros were fully equipped, while the Folgore conversions were armed with only two 12.7 mm Breda machine guns. They were the lightest series of the entire production, and consequently had the best performance, but were seriously under-armed. Some Veltros, equipped with underwing bomb racks were used in ground-attack sorties against Israeli targets.
This left the Egyptian air force with a lack of capable fighters, so that Egypt ordered nineteen additional Fiat G.55 fighters from Italian surplus stocks and searched for ways to remedy the situation, since the relations with Great Britain had severely suffered under the Arab-Israeli War. This led to the plan to build and develop aircraft independently and just based on national resources, and eventually to the Helwan HA-100, Egypt’s first indigenous combat aircraft – even though it was rather a thorough upgrade program than a complete new construction.
Opened in late 1950 to manufacture airplanes, the Helwan Aircraft Factory, located in the South of Cairo, took on the challenge to create a domestic, improved fighter from existing C.205 and C.202 airframes in Egyptian service and its Fiat engines still available from Italy. The resulting Helwan HA-100 retained most of the forward fuselage structure of the C.205 with the original engine mounts, as well as the wings, but measures were taken to improve aerodynamics and combat value. One of these was the introduction of a new (yet framed) bubble canopy, which afforded the pilot with a much better all-round field of view and also improved the forward view while taxiing. This modification necessitated a lowered spine section, and wind tunnel tests suggested a deteriorated longitudinal stability, so that the tail section was completely redesigned. The fin was considerably enlarged and now had a square outline, while the stabilizers were raised into an almost cruciform tail configuration and also enlarged to improve the aircraft’s responsiveness to directional changes. The wings were clipped to improve handling and roll characteristics at low to medium altitudes, where most dogfights in the Arab-Israeli War had taken place.
The HA-100 retained the license-built Daimler Bent DB 605 from Italy, but to adapt this Fiat Tifone engine to the typical desert climate in Egypt with higher ambient temperatures and constant sand dust in the air, the HA-100 received an indigenous dust filter, a more effective (and larger) ventral radiator and a bigger, single oil cooler that replaced the C.205’s small drum coolers under the engine, which were very vulnerable, esp. to ground fire from light caliber weapons. To gain space in the fuselage under the cockpit for new fuel tank, both radiator and oil cooler were re-located to positions under the inner wings, similar in layout to early Supermarine Spitfire Marks.
While the HA-100 left the drawing boards and an initial converted C.205 went through trials, relations with Britain had been restored and the official state of war with Israel ensured that arms purchases continued. This gave the REAF an unexpected technological push forward: In late 1949, Egypt already received its first jet fighter, the British Gloster Meteor F4, and shortly after some de Havilland Vampire FB5s, which rendered the HA-100 obsolete. Nevertheless, the project was kept alive to strengthen Egypt’s nascent aircraft industry, but the type was only met with lukewarm enthusiasm.
The first HA-100 re-builds were delivered to 2 Sqn Royal Egyptian Air Force at Edku (East of Alexandria) in mid-1951, painted in a camouflage scheme of Dark Earth and Middle Stone with Azure Blue undersides, using leftover RAF material from WWII. Later, REAF 1 Sqn at Almaza near Cairo received HA-100s, too. Eventually, around forty HA-100s were built for the REAF until 1952. The only export customer for the HA-100 was Syria: sixteen machines, rejected by the REAF, were delivered in early 1952, where they served alongside former RAF Spitfire F.Mk.22s.
The REAF HA-100s only had a short career, but they eventually faced frontline duties and fired in anger. This also marked their last deployments, which occurred during the early stages of the Suez Crisis in 1956.
Only about 15 HA-100s of REAF No. 2 Squadron were still in flying condition due to quickly worsening engine spares shortages, and the aircraft had, in the meantime, been hardwired to carry up to four “Sakr” unguided 122mm rockets on the underwing hardpoints. Due to their agility at low altitude, the HA-100s were primarily used for ground attacks and low-level reconnaissance duties. On their missions the aircraft still performed well, but at that time, all Egyptian aircraft had been stripped off of their camouflage and were operated in a bare metal finish – a poor decision, since the glinting airframes were highly visible both in the air and on the ground. Consequently, the vintage propeller aircraft became easy targets, resulting high losses, and the HA-100s were grounded. They were officially retired by April 1957, after the end of the Suez conflict, and scrapped.
General characteristics:
Crew: 1
Length: 9,10 m (29 ft 10 in)
Wingspan: 10.01 m (32 ft 9½ in)
Height: 3.52 m (11 ft 6¼ in)
Wing area: 16.8 m² (181 sq ft)
Airfoil: root: NACA 23018 (modified); tip: NACA 23009 (modified)
Empty weight: 2.695 kg (5,936 lb)
Gross weight: 3.621 kg (7,975 lb)
Max takeoff weight: 4.100 kg (9,030 lb)
Powerplant:
1× Fiat RA.1050 R.C.58 Tifone (license-built Daimler Bent DB 605) V-12 inverted liquid-cooled piston
engine with 1,100 kW (1,500 hp), driving a 3-bladed constant-speed propeller#
Performance:
Maximum speed: 642 km/h (399 mph, 347 kn) at 7,200 m (23,600 ft)
Cruise speed: 400 km/h (250 mph, 220 kn)
Range: 950 km (590 mi, 510 nmi)
Service ceiling: 11,500 m (37,700 ft)
Time to altitude: 3,000 m (9,800 ft) in 2 minutes 40 seconds
Wing loading: 202.9 kg/m2 (41.6 lb/sq ft)
Armament.
2× 12.7 mm (.5 in) Breda-SAFAT machine guns, 400 RPG, in the nose
2× 20 mm MG 151 cannon, 250 RPG, in the outer wings
2× underwing hardpoints for 160 kg (350 lb) each for bombs or four 122mm Sakr unguided rockets
The kit and its assembly:
This oddity was spawned from curiosity – when read about the lightweight Helwan HA-300 fighter from the early Sixties, I wondered when and how the Egyptian aircraft industry had started? I was even more curious because I had already attributed a what-if model, the purely fictional (and later) HA-410 fighter bomber, to Egyptian engineering. So, I researched Helwan’s origins, checked the time frame of its establishment and eventually came across the REAF’s post-WWII C.205 Veltros. What if there had been an indigenous update program…?
Consequently, this conversion’s basis is a C.205V kit from Delta 2. This kit is based upon a unique mold, quite similar to the later Italeri kit, but it is different and has some curious solutions. For instance, the landing gear struts are mounted into the wings with L-shaped attachment pegs – as if the landing gear is supposed to be retractable. Odd, but very stable. Another weird solution: the wing gun barrels are attached to the wings together with massive plastic wedges that fit into respective openings. Another quite rigid construction, even though it calls for trimming and PSR. Beyond these quirks, the kit is quite nice. It comes with a convincing mix of recessed panel lines and raised rivet heads. Some parts are a bit soft in shape, though, e. g. the cowling fairings, but overall I am positively surprised.
To change the aircraft’s look I did some conversions, though. The most obvious change is the new tail section, which was transplanted wholesale from a KP Yak-23 and had the C.205’s tail wheel attachment section transplanted from the Delta 2 kit. Originally, I wanted to move the whole cockpit forward, but then just replaced canopy and spine section with a clear part from a Hobby Boss MiG-15 and putty. Other, rather cosmetic changes include clipped wing tips to match the Yak-23’s square tail surfaces shape, and the C.205’s small elliptic stabilizers were replaced with tailored, slightly bigger parts from the scrap box. A bigger/deeper radiator and a different oil cooler replaced the original parts, and I placed them under the inner wings behind the landing gear wells. Both donors come from Spitfires, even though from different kits (IIRC, the oil cooler from an AZ Models Mk. V kit and the radiator from a FROG Mk. XIV). The flaps were lowered, too, because this detail was easy to realize with this kit.
Painting and markings:
The HA-100 received a contemporary camouflage, the RAF Tropical Paint Scheme consisting of Dark Earth and Middle Stone with Azure Blue undersides. The pattern was adapted from RAF Spitfires, and Modelmaster (2052 and 2054) and Humbrol (157) enamels were used, with a light overall black ink washing and some post panel shading. Being a former Italian aircraft, I painted the cockpit in a typical, Italian tone, a very light grayish green called “Verde Anticorrosione“, which was used during WWII on many interior surfaces – I used a mix of Revell 59 with some 45. The landing gear and the respective wells became aluminum (Humbrol 56), though.
One challenge became the characteristic black-and-white REAF ID bands on the wings. These were improvised with generic decal material from TL-Modellbau: on a 1 cm wide black band I simply added two white 2.5 mm stripes, for a very good result. Most other markings belong to an early REAF MiG-15, taken from a Microscale omnibus sheet for various MiG fighters. This provided the green-trimmed white fuselage band, the roundels and the fin flash, and a white spinner completed the REAF ID markings. Unfortunately the decals turned out to be brittle (ESCI-esque...) and disintegrated upon the first attempt to apply them, so I tried to save them with Microsol Decal Film, and this actually worked like a charm, even though the resurrected decals did not adhere well to the model's surface. The REAF 2 Squadron emblem comes from a vintage PrintScale Hawker Hurricane sheet, the white code letter on the fuselage came from an Xtradecal RAF codes sheet, and the black Arabic serials came from a Begemot sheet for MiG-29s.
The kit received some soot stains around the exhaust ports and the gun muzzles and was finally sealed with matt acrylic varnish (Italeri).
Even though it’s just a modded Macchi C.205, the result looks …different. From certain angles the aircraft reminds a lot of a P-51D Mustang, like one of the lightweight prototypes? The Egyptian markings add a confusing touch, though, and while the bodywork is not perfect, I am happy with the result. The Yak-23 tail fits perfectly, and with the narrow wings the HA-100 also reminds a bit of the two-engine Westland Whirlwind?
+++ DISCLAIMER +++
Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based on historical facts. BEWARE!
Some background:
As the Egyptian border was threatened by an Italian and German invasion during the Second World War, the Royal Air Force established more airfields in Egypt. The Royal Egyptian Air Force was sometimes treated as a part of the Royal Air Force, at other times a strict policy of neutrality was followed as Egypt maintained its official neutrality until very late in the war. As a result, few additional aircraft were supplied by Britain, however the arm did receive its first modern fighters, Hawker Hurricanes and a small number of Curtiss P-40 Tomahawks. In the immediate post-war period, cheap war surplus aircraft, including a large number of Supermarine Spitfire Mk.IXs were acquired.
Following the British withdrawal from the British Protectorate of Palestine and the establishment of the State of Israel on 14 May 1948, Egyptian forces crossed into Palestine as part of a wider Arab League military coalition in support of the Palestinians against the Israelis. During 1948–1949, Egypt received 62 refurbished Macchi C.205V Veltro (Italian: Greyhound) fighters. The C.205 was an Italian World War II fighter aircraft built by the Aeronautica Macchi. Along with the Reggiane Re.2005 and Fiat G.55, the Macchi C.205 was one of the three "Serie 5" Italian fighters built around the powerful German Daimler-Benz DB 605 engine.
The C.205 Veltro was a refinement of the earlier C.202 Folgore. With a top speed of some 640 km/h (400 mph) and equipped with a pair of 20 mm cannon as well as two 12.7 mm Breda machine guns, the Macchi C.205 had been highly respected by Allied and Axis pilots alike. Widely regarded as one of the best Italian aircraft of World War II, it proved to be extremely effective, destroying a large number of Allied bombers, and it proved capable of meeting fighters such as the North American P-51D Mustang on equal terms.
For the Egyptian order, eight C.205 and 16 C.202 were upgraded to C.205 standard in May 1948. In February 1949, three brand new and 15 ex-C.202, and in May another ten C.205 and C.202 each were brought to the Egyptian C.205 standard. This last contract was not finalized, though: Israeli secret services reacted with a bombing in Italy, which at the time was supplying both Israel and the Arab states, which, among others, destroyed Macchi facilities and damaged Egyptian C.205s still on order.
Only 15 completed Macchis were delivered to Egypt before the end of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, seeing brief combat against the Israeli Air Force. The new Veltros were fully equipped, while the Folgore conversions were armed with only two 12.7 mm Breda machine guns. They were the lightest series of the entire production, and consequently had the best performance, but were seriously under-armed. Some Veltros, equipped with underwing bomb racks were used in ground-attack sorties against Israeli targets.
This left the Egyptian air force with a lack of capable fighters, so that Egypt ordered nineteen additional Fiat G.55 fighters from Italian surplus stocks and searched for ways to remedy the situation, since the relations with Great Britain had severely suffered under the Arab-Israeli War. This led to the plan to build and develop aircraft independently and just based on national resources, and eventually to the Helwan HA-100, Egypt’s first indigenous combat aircraft – even though it was rather a thorough upgrade program than a complete new construction.
Opened in late 1950 to manufacture airplanes, the Helwan Aircraft Factory, located in the South of Cairo, took on the challenge to create a domestic, improved fighter from existing C.205 and C.202 airframes in Egyptian service and its Fiat engines still available from Italy. The resulting Helwan HA-100 retained most of the forward fuselage structure of the C.205 with the original engine mounts, as well as the wings, but measures were taken to improve aerodynamics and combat value. One of these was the introduction of a new (yet framed) bubble canopy, which afforded the pilot with a much better all-round field of view and also improved the forward view while taxiing. This modification necessitated a lowered spine section, and wind tunnel tests suggested a deteriorated longitudinal stability, so that the tail section was completely redesigned. The fin was considerably enlarged and now had a square outline, while the stabilizers were raised into an almost cruciform tail configuration and also enlarged to improve the aircraft’s responsiveness to directional changes. The wings were clipped to improve handling and roll characteristics at low to medium altitudes, where most dogfights in the Arab-Israeli War had taken place.
The HA-100 retained the license-built Daimler Bent DB 605 from Italy, but to adapt this Fiat Tifone engine to the typical desert climate in Egypt with higher ambient temperatures and constant sand dust in the air, the HA-100 received an indigenous dust filter, a more effective (and larger) ventral radiator and a bigger, single oil cooler that replaced the C.205’s small drum coolers under the engine, which were very vulnerable, esp. to ground fire from light caliber weapons. To gain space in the fuselage under the cockpit for new fuel tank, both radiator and oil cooler were re-located to positions under the inner wings, similar in layout to early Supermarine Spitfire Marks.
While the HA-100 left the drawing boards and an initial converted C.205 went through trials, relations with Britain had been restored and the official state of war with Israel ensured that arms purchases continued. This gave the REAF an unexpected technological push forward: In late 1949, Egypt already received its first jet fighter, the British Gloster Meteor F4, and shortly after some de Havilland Vampire FB5s, which rendered the HA-100 obsolete. Nevertheless, the project was kept alive to strengthen Egypt’s nascent aircraft industry, but the type was only met with lukewarm enthusiasm.
The first HA-100 re-builds were delivered to 2 Sqn Royal Egyptian Air Force at Edku (East of Alexandria) in mid-1951, painted in a camouflage scheme of Dark Earth and Middle Stone with Azure Blue undersides, using leftover RAF material from WWII. Later, REAF 1 Sqn at Almaza near Cairo received HA-100s, too. Eventually, around forty HA-100s were built for the REAF until 1952. The only export customer for the HA-100 was Syria: sixteen machines, rejected by the REAF, were delivered in early 1952, where they served alongside former RAF Spitfire F.Mk.22s.
The REAF HA-100s only had a short career, but they eventually faced frontline duties and fired in anger. This also marked their last deployments, which occurred during the early stages of the Suez Crisis in 1956.
Only about 15 HA-100s of REAF No. 2 Squadron were still in flying condition due to quickly worsening engine spares shortages, and the aircraft had, in the meantime, been hardwired to carry up to four “Sakr” unguided 122mm rockets on the underwing hardpoints. Due to their agility at low altitude, the HA-100s were primarily used for ground attacks and low-level reconnaissance duties. On their missions the aircraft still performed well, but at that time, all Egyptian aircraft had been stripped off of their camouflage and were operated in a bare metal finish – a poor decision, since the glinting airframes were highly visible both in the air and on the ground. Consequently, the vintage propeller aircraft became easy targets, resulting high losses, and the HA-100s were grounded. They were officially retired by April 1957, after the end of the Suez conflict, and scrapped.
General characteristics:
Crew: 1
Length: 9,10 m (29 ft 10 in)
Wingspan: 10.01 m (32 ft 9½ in)
Height: 3.52 m (11 ft 6¼ in)
Wing area: 16.8 m² (181 sq ft)
Airfoil: root: NACA 23018 (modified); tip: NACA 23009 (modified)
Empty weight: 2.695 kg (5,936 lb)
Gross weight: 3.621 kg (7,975 lb)
Max takeoff weight: 4.100 kg (9,030 lb)
Powerplant:
1× Fiat RA.1050 R.C.58 Tifone (license-built Daimler Bent DB 605) V-12 inverted liquid-cooled piston
engine with 1,100 kW (1,500 hp), driving a 3-bladed constant-speed propeller#
Performance:
Maximum speed: 642 km/h (399 mph, 347 kn) at 7,200 m (23,600 ft)
Cruise speed: 400 km/h (250 mph, 220 kn)
Range: 950 km (590 mi, 510 nmi)
Service ceiling: 11,500 m (37,700 ft)
Time to altitude: 3,000 m (9,800 ft) in 2 minutes 40 seconds
Wing loading: 202.9 kg/m2 (41.6 lb/sq ft)
Armament.
2× 12.7 mm (.5 in) Breda-SAFAT machine guns, 400 RPG, in the nose
2× 20 mm MG 151 cannon, 250 RPG, in the outer wings
2× underwing hardpoints for 160 kg (350 lb) each for bombs or four 122mm Sakr unguided rockets
The kit and its assembly:
This oddity was spawned from curiosity – when read about the lightweight Helwan HA-300 fighter from the early Sixties, I wondered when and how the Egyptian aircraft industry had started? I was even more curious because I had already attributed a what-if model, the purely fictional (and later) HA-410 fighter bomber, to Egyptian engineering. So, I researched Helwan’s origins, checked the time frame of its establishment and eventually came across the REAF’s post-WWII C.205 Veltros. What if there had been an indigenous update program…?
Consequently, this conversion’s basis is a C.205V kit from Delta 2. This kit is based upon a unique mold, quite similar to the later Italeri kit, but it is different and has some curious solutions. For instance, the landing gear struts are mounted into the wings with L-shaped attachment pegs – as if the landing gear is supposed to be retractable. Odd, but very stable. Another weird solution: the wing gun barrels are attached to the wings together with massive plastic wedges that fit into respective openings. Another quite rigid construction, even though it calls for trimming and PSR. Beyond these quirks, the kit is quite nice. It comes with a convincing mix of recessed panel lines and raised rivet heads. Some parts are a bit soft in shape, though, e. g. the cowling fairings, but overall I am positively surprised.
To change the aircraft’s look I did some conversions, though. The most obvious change is the new tail section, which was transplanted wholesale from a KP Yak-23 and had the C.205’s tail wheel attachment section transplanted from the Delta 2 kit. Originally, I wanted to move the whole cockpit forward, but then just replaced canopy and spine section with a clear part from a Hobby Boss MiG-15 and putty. Other, rather cosmetic changes include clipped wing tips to match the Yak-23’s square tail surfaces shape, and the C.205’s small elliptic stabilizers were replaced with tailored, slightly bigger parts from the scrap box. A bigger/deeper radiator and a different oil cooler replaced the original parts, and I placed them under the inner wings behind the landing gear wells. Both donors come from Spitfires, even though from different kits (IIRC, the oil cooler from an AZ Models Mk. V kit and the radiator from a FROG Mk. XIV). The flaps were lowered, too, because this detail was easy to realize with this kit.
Painting and markings:
The HA-100 received a contemporary camouflage, the RAF Tropical Paint Scheme consisting of Dark Earth and Middle Stone with Azure Blue undersides. The pattern was adapted from RAF Spitfires, and Modelmaster (2052 and 2054) and Humbrol (157) enamels were used, with a light overall black ink washing and some post panel shading. Being a former Italian aircraft, I painted the cockpit in a typical, Italian tone, a very light grayish green called “Verde Anticorrosione“, which was used during WWII on many interior surfaces – I used a mix of Revell 59 with some 45. The landing gear and the respective wells became aluminum (Humbrol 56), though.
One challenge became the characteristic black-and-white REAF ID bands on the wings. These were improvised with generic decal material from TL-Modellbau: on a 1 cm wide black band I simply added two white 2.5 mm stripes, for a very good result. Most other markings belong to an early REAF MiG-15, taken from a Microscale omnibus sheet for various MiG fighters. This provided the green-trimmed white fuselage band, the roundels and the fin flash, and a white spinner completed the REAF ID markings. Unfortunately the decals turned out to be brittle (ESCI-esque...) and disintegrated upon the first attempt to apply them, so I tried to save them with Microsol Decal Film, and this actually worked like a charm, even though the resurrected decals did not adhere well to the model's surface. The REAF 2 Squadron emblem comes from a vintage PrintScale Hawker Hurricane sheet, the white code letter on the fuselage came from an Xtradecal RAF codes sheet, and the black Arabic serials came from a Begemot sheet for MiG-29s.
The kit received some soot stains around the exhaust ports and the gun muzzles and was finally sealed with matt acrylic varnish (Italeri).
Even though it’s just a modded Macchi C.205, the result looks …different. From certain angles the aircraft reminds a lot of a P-51D Mustang, like one of the lightweight prototypes? The Egyptian markings add a confusing touch, though, and while the bodywork is not perfect, I am happy with the result. The Yak-23 tail fits perfectly, and with the narrow wings the HA-100 also reminds a bit of the two-engine Westland Whirlwind?
Eating healthy is straightforward, so long as you determine what eating healthy means. It isn’t nearly your food intake but additionally about how exactly you consume, when you take in, where you consume, and why you consume. Each these facets is significant in your diet and can affect your overall health. Let’s cover basic principles before we tackle The Walking Dead Road to Survival Hack because inevitably the foods you eat is equipped with essentially the most affect your well being. What Should I Eat To Be Healthy?
When that you were younger you almost certainly learned all about your food pyramid but like a lot of the things you're once taught, in the event you haven’t used these records within your life it’s likely that you just’ve forgotten. That’s okay though, because your food pyramid was flawed. It didn’t distinguish between not to mention and processed grains, it encouraged the consumption of unhealthy foods as “fats” also it was unhelpful when loading your meal plate.
All of the problems have already been solved together with the coming of the Healthy Eating Plate diagram. Vegetable Variety - The most your plate need to use The Walking Dead Road to Survival Hack with a number of vegetables. Be likely to provide an variety of colors. These could include leafy greens, peas, corn, carrots, peppers, or beets.
As long as there’s many different vegetables in your plate then you’re well on your own way to some healthy start. Whole Grains - Whole grains should fill almost as much of your plate as the vegetables. These are better than refined grains, and may not wrongly identified as them. Since refined grains take away the bran and germ on the grain kernel, leaving the endosperm the fibers, iron, and B vitamins are eliminated through the grain.
Some refined grains are termed as ‘enriched’ simply because’ve had B vitamins and iron added directly into their composition following refinement but this won't make sure they are add up to not to mention. Your body needs the soluble fiber obtained in cereals to decrease blood cholesterol and blood glucose levels. Fiber also lessens the odds of developing gallstones, kidney stones, hemorrhoids, and diverticulitis. Healthy Protein - Next comes proteins to consider precious plate real estate property. Not all proteins are the same; some are generally more healthy as opposed to others. Experts suggest finding the most of your protein from fish, beans and nuts to reduce about the quantity of animal fat you’re ingesting.
Consuming greater amounts of fish based protein will likely naturally raise the omega-3 fatty acid intake which ends up in lower triglyceride (blood fat) levels, lower levels of depression, and fewer inflammation of muscles and joints. Fresh Fruits - Fruits is going to take up approximately the same volume of space in your plate as proteins and can turn out filling the others of your plate. Much like your vegetable choices you’ll need to make likely to add a range of fruits for your diet. Most fruits employ a natural sugars which will help someone to imagine them because your dietary desserts. Dairy - While it truly is true that you'll require The Walking Dead Road to Survival Cheats it can not should be as present within your diet you may think. The truth is you merely need about one or two servings of dairy foods each day. Remember that one 8 oz. glass of milk, 2 oz. of cheese, or 8 oz. of yogurt comes to one dairy serving. Healthy Oils - When we discuss healthy oils we’re dealing with plant based oils including: olive, canola, soy, sunflower, peanut, and corn.
These oils must be utilised in the cooking process well as over dinner salads like a dressing, they're able to even be substituted to be a dipping choice for your entire grain bread at the table. They really should be used sparingly whichever avenue you ultimately choose take, to add in them. WATER - One of essentially the most important aspects of your daily diet is hydration. Always make sure you’re consuming enough water. The average person should seek to drink about eight 8-ounce servings of water daily (that’s most of of any gallon), even if this number is relative instead of an exact science. Most people drink much less than this, and although you are able to go crazy within the hydration front it is extremely unlikely, so make an effort to drink about 64 ounces of water every day by quenching your thirst when necessary. How Should I Eat To Be Healthy? Even if consumed all with the foods which you’re ‘supposed’ to it is possible to still be unhealthy should you don’t eat them from the correct manner. So here are ten techniques for eating healthy properly. Don’t Skip Meals - If you think that cutting lunch from the day is really a simple approach to cut calories out of your diet program you will be wrong.
When you skip dinner you’re robbing your whole body from the nutrients so it must function. This means that you happen to be more prone to overeat, so that they can make up for the missing nutrients, the next occasion consumed. Avoid missing or skipping meals by consuming in evenly spaced intervals. Embrace Variety - While you don’t need to enjoy from every food group during mealtime, you'll want to add no less than somewhat variety to every mealtime. This may signify in the morning you've got dairy, fruits, proteins, and grain; but switch this for lunch including fruits, vegetables, grains, and proteins; while dinner may possibly contain grains, proteins, and vegetables. After all as William Cowper once stated, ‘variety may be the very spice of life’. Avoid Trans Fats - Though oils can be quite a good way to obtain fat consumption as part of your diet eating trans fats is tremendously advised not to. Trans fats are artificially created inside an industrial procedure that adds hydrogen to liquid oils to produce a more solid substance. Of course, since we understand we would like to eat sector that happen to be minimally processed it's clear that any of us should avoid these trans fats at any cost.
Pay Attention To Portions - The importance of portion control are not overstated. This is one of one of the most crucial areas of eating healthily. Any food eaten in too much isn't great for your nutritional intake or maybe your waistline (yes, that has fruits and vegetables). Our perception of portions are heavily skewed on account of our tendency to consume out, where restaurants serve excessively large portions to justify their prices. Remember that your portion size should directly correlate that has a serving size. With Isolator Meal Prep Containers it is possible to easily portion any occasion . without going overboard. Do Not Use Supplements As Substitutes - Supplements are merely that, vitamins to the vitamin supplements your system needs who's’s not receiving from what you eat. They should certainly not, ever be taken like a substitute for food though. The most effective and efficient solution to get your evryday dose of vitamin supplements is via your dietary intake. Decrease Alcohol Intake - Everything without excess, alcohol included. It’s okay to consume alcohol without excess (one glass daily) but drinking more can boost the likelihood of cancers along with other health conditions. When learning how to enjoy healthier it can be important to remember that also includes all you could put in your whole body, even alcohol. Increase Potassium and Decrease Sodium - These two are linked together given that they both effect your blood glucose. While an overabundance of sodium activly works to raise your blood pressure levels, potassium-rich foods work to reduce hypertension.
By decreasing your sodium intake to about one teaspoon on a daily basis (or less) and improving the quantity of potassium you ingest it is possible to effectively conserve a healthy blood pressure levels.Notice Your Calcium & Vitamin D Intake - Take notice with the number of both calcium and vitamin D you’re getting, since these two vitamins work very closely together. While getting enough calcium can be as easy as being confident that you consume/drink your two servings of dairy each day, ensuring that you've enough vitamin D with your system is usually considerably more difficult.Consuming enough vitamin D using your meals are unlikely and receiving it from sunlight might be dangerous, so oftentimes sport nutrition will probably be essential in helping fortify the body. Avoid Liquid Calories - If you’re drinking anything apart from water, itrrrs likely that you’re having liquid calories. While you don’t must avoid them as a whole, do understand that they are empty calories, and thus after having consumed them you still be hungry. While tea (herbal/black) and low (black) can have minimal calories other available choices, for example soda and juice consist of sugars, calories, and sodium. So take care which beverages you ultimately choose to consume. Always Be Mindful - Keeping a food diary is one on the guidelines on how to be sure that you happen to be staying on course with eating what you might be meant to and how we are likely to. It keeps you accountable while providing you having a visual to trace your progress. Eating mindfully ensures you aren’t just shoving whatever it is possible to find in your mouth as you hungry, but eating what's perfect for both the body and mind. When Should I Eat To Be Healthy We covered slideshow bit from the last section but it’s a vital enough topic to warrant it’s own complete section. Knowing when to consume is not difficult.
People think it’s hard simply because think they ought to be using a schedule (and although that does make it easier) it is not difficult enough as it really is. If you're hungry, eat! Isolator Fitness Isobags are ideal for sticking with a scheduled meal plan. This is just not to convey you must be snacking on chips and cheese each time you sense a bit pang with your stomach. In fact, before starting eating by any means try drinking a glass of water to produce sure you’re not confusing thirst with hunger. As humans we have already been programs you just read the body cues for nourishment but because we don’t often ‘go hungry’ we frequently confuse other cues (for example boredom, thirst and stress) as hunger cues. Frequency - Studies have proven that as being a general rule, eating smaller meals more frequently has hardly any more beneficial qualities than eating larger meals less often. It is all based around the individual eating. Since many people don’t know if they are truly hungry adapting either of the models is usually helpful in order to avoid overeating. (Remember: If consume often increase the risk for meals smaller, and when you want larger meals then have fewer.) Breakfast - It is recommended by nutritionists to enjoy breakfast in the hour of stumbling out of bed. This is mainly because how the longer waiting that will put food for your system the hungrier you'll become plus the more probable you're to produce poor dietary choices.
Dinner - Most doctors will advise you you should eat dinner no later than 3 hours before heading to bed, so that your whole body incorporates a possiblity to digest the foodstuff, before you decide to get to sleep. Going to sleep with undigested food as part of your stomach causes food to digest slower and much less effectively than if you had been awake through the digestion process. Since digestion time varies depending for the individual the recommended time and energy to wait between meal and bed is roughly 3 hours. Around A Workout - When you contemplate really should eat in reference in your workout, it’s not about whether it is best to eat before or after it but what you need to eat both both before and after it. Before your exercise routine you’ll would like to eat quality carbohydrates, and lean proteins to make certain that you've enough available energy during your regular workout. After your exercise routine it is best to also eat protein to maintain vitality up while making an effort to repair muscles. In addition, it is best to eat bananas or drink orange juice to replenish potassium which helps restore one's body's fluid levels. Home vs Restaurant - Home wins. Everytime. When consume in your house you might have treating every factor of eating. You control how your food is made, you control the portion on the plate, therefore you take control of your distractions. In a restaurant rarely are common from the ingredients printed, not to mention the procedure by which it’s made, the portions are invariably over a a single serving size as well as the distractions are abundant. More food for a lower quality is not good for what you eat. Table vs Television - Always choose eating at the table. Even in case you’re home alone. Eating in front on the television is recipe for disaster the way it encourages mindless eating. remember tip #10 from above, be conscious of what you’re eating. When that you are distracted through the television your thoughts is paying more care about what you’re watching and fewer focus to what you’re eating. This will usually cause someone to eat more because you're ignoring your system gets hotter efforts to convince you that you are full. The more food you consume, a lot more calories one's body consumes; and even more calories consumed often equals more fat accumulated. Desk vs Cafeteria - Cafeteria. Always. Mostly you desire to make sure that that you are being conscious of what you happen to be eating so which you will not overfeed yourself. There is another aspect to the present one though, you ought to be also getting up and moving throughout your mood. When you spend the complete day in your desk you might be avoiding training and putting yourself at danger for coronary disease, diabetes, and cancer. So get up and move. Socialization is often a huge portion of lunch from the office too. People who relax using their work to socialize during meal times are almost certainly going to go back refreshed is actually better concentration, than others that seldom leave their workshop. Why Should I Eat To Be Healthy This section isn’t to describe for your requirements the reasons why you need to nibble on healthily as a way to lead a normal life. It is about recognizing, understanding, and manipulating the factors behind your eating. For instance, being bored is just not a justification to nibble on.Other bad reasons to nibble on include (but are not limited by. Need ComfortThese are instances of mindless eating. If you’re not hungry, you shouldn’t be eating, even if the meal is free and appears or smells delicious therefore you’re feeling sad and stressed and you also just take some comfort. Caving to those societal cues is the place where America has become one of essentially the most obese nations within the world. When you’re feeling these pressures it’s better to take yourself out in the situation. Going for a quick walk neighborhood can distract the mind of sufficient length to forget about the meals and concentrate your attention with a healthier solution. The main reason you ought to be eating is usually to nourish one's body if this’s hungry. Since you'll be able to’t nourish with refined food and junk food, you ought to avoid these and go for more nutritional choices instead. Making sure that you've simply because prepared and filled with you by any means times is one in the most effective to be to normal with eating healthy and avoiding the temptations of junk. Meal prep quickly eliminates the actual argument for junk food since it’s as close as the lunch bag all day every day.
Elevating Expectations.
Supra raises the standards of refinement with innovative interior amenities that create extreme luxury tempered by intuitive design. The new SC interior is the perfect example. Elegantly functional features like Supra's E-Boost equipped racing-style driver's seat marries comfort and convenience with high performance. Versatile passenger relaxation like Triple-up Seating with a flip-up lean back in the lounge, a rear-facing seat behind the driver that houses a trash receptacle and storage, an available Gap Seat in the walk-through and a 36-can relocatable stay-cold AO Cooler continue the usability without compromising interior look, capacity or comfort. The standard 10-speaker Polk Sound System can be controlled through the media screen of the VISION Touch, with a remote mounted in a lounge side panel or in the passenger-side glovebox. Easy-access tune control is an understatement. Supra furthers the interior feast for the senses with LED Mood Lighting, hand-cover color-match interior accents and the plush feel of Spradling's stain and abrasion resistant multi-textured SupraSkinTM vinyl. The Supra SC raises its standards to luxury, you should too.
Elevating Expectations.
Supra raises the standards of refinement with innovative interior amenities that create extreme luxury tempered by intuitive design. The new SC interior is the perfect example. Elegantly functional features like Supra's E-Boost equipped racing-style driver's seat marries comfort and convenience with high performance. Versatile passenger relaxation like Triple-up Seating with a flip-up lean back in the lounge, a rear-facing seat behind the driver that houses a trash receptacle and storage, an available Gap Seat in the walk-through and a 36-can relocatable stay-cold AO Cooler continue the usability without compromising interior look, capacity or comfort. The standard 10-speaker Polk Sound System can be controlled through the media screen of the VISION Touch, with a remote mounted in a lounge side panel or in the passenger-side glovebox. Easy-access tune control is an understatement. Supra furthers the interior feast for the senses with LED Mood Lighting, hand-cover color-match interior accents and the plush feel of Spradling's stain and abrasion resistant multi-textured SupraSkinTM vinyl. The Supra SC raises its standards to luxury, you should too.
Elevating Expectations.
Supra raises the standards of refinement with innovative interior amenities that create extreme luxury tempered by intuitive design. The new SC interior is the perfect example. Elegantly functional features like Supra's E-Boost equipped racing-style driver's seat marries comfort and convenience with high performance. Versatile passenger relaxation like Triple-up Seating with a flip-up lean back in the lounge, a rear-facing seat behind the driver that houses a trash receptacle and storage, an available Gap Seat in the walk-through and a 36-can relocatable stay-cold AO Cooler continue the usability without compromising interior look, capacity or comfort. The standard 10-speaker Polk Sound System can be controlled through the media screen of the VISION Touch, with a remote mounted in a lounge side panel or in the passenger-side glovebox. Easy-access tune control is an understatement. Supra furthers the interior feast for the senses with LED Mood Lighting, hand-cover color-match interior accents and the plush feel of Spradling's stain and abrasion resistant multi-textured SupraSkinTM vinyl. The Supra SC raises its standards to luxury, you should too.
Elevating Expectations.
Supra raises the standards of refinement with innovative interior amenities that create extreme luxury tempered by intuitive design. The new SC interior is the perfect example. Elegantly functional features like Supra's E-Boost equipped racing-style driver's seat marries comfort and convenience with high performance. Versatile passenger relaxation like Triple-up Seating with a flip-up lean back in the lounge, a rear-facing seat behind the driver that houses a trash receptacle and storage, an available Gap Seat in the walk-through and a 36-can relocatable stay-cold AO Cooler continue the usability without compromising interior look, capacity or comfort. The standard 10-speaker Polk Sound System can be controlled through the media screen of the VISION Touch, with a remote mounted in a lounge side panel or in the passenger-side glovebox. Easy-access tune control is an understatement. Supra furthers the interior feast for the senses with LED Mood Lighting, hand-cover color-match interior accents and the plush feel of Spradling's stain and abrasion resistant multi-textured SupraSkinTM vinyl. The Supra SC raises its standards to luxury, you should too.
FCH-150 Hydrogen Fuel Cell Commercial Aircraft - IO Aircraft - Iteration 2
Iteration 2, Some refinements. Similar size as a 737 Max 10 apx 1/2 the operating costs - Wings and Canard fold to 100' Span, Fuselage Length 150', Configuration (Current) 184 Econ and 1st class, 5,000+ NM Range, Does not use liquid hydrogen. Uses 8,000 PSI Compressed H2 or CNG for 95% fuel weight reduction. Airframe, 3D Printed Graphene (technology already developed), kevlar and carbon fiber. Almost no metal used in the airframe 50%+ airframe weight reduction & 10+ X the strength.
I focus on Hypersonics and vtol, not this one. This applied many of those technologies to create the foundation of a true zero carbon commercial aircraft.
LengthL 150ft | Span 120.6ft | Cruise M.88-.92
Cruise: 35,000-38,000ft | Ceiling 41,000-45,000ft
Range: 5,000+ NM
Estimated Empty Weight: 65,000 LBS
Estimated T/O Weight (Full Fuel and Passengers/Baggage) 134,000 LBS
Estimated MTOW: 195,000
Fuel: 30,000 Gallons 8,000+ Max PSI Compressed Hydrogen or Natural Gas Using High Pressure Conforming Tank Technology, 500,000PSIA Integrity
Fuel Weight: Apx 9,000 LBS (Compared to 180,300 LBS if Liquid Fueled)
Current Passenger Configuration: 184 / 12 1st Class & 172 Main Cabin
Operating Costs: $2,500 - $3,500 hr
Estimated Maintenance Costs, Apx 1/2 Compared to 737's, A320's, etc
Estimated Unit Price in Production: Apx $105 Million
Reduction in Operating/Maintenance Costs Over the Life Cycle of the Aircraft, $20-$50 Million or greater.
Motors, zero maintenance required for greater then 5,000 operating hours.
-----------------------------------
100% viable Electric Commercial aircraft, in a 737 MAX class. Compressed Hydrogen Fueled (Not liquid [obsolete]), 100% electric. NO carbon foot print. Even the hydrogen can be generated on the ground via water electrolysis on top of terminals. Also saving operators $20-$50 million or more, over an aircraft's life cycle.
Non, zero carbon, could use CNG, then reformation to extract the Hydrogen.
Ready to build today, all tech is already developed. Makes ALL commercial aircraft in existence obsolete. PLUS all hybrid aicraft on the drawing board right now with Boeing, Airbus, etc.
Airframe is 3D printed Graphene wafering, 33X stronger then titatnium; and carbon fiber/kevlar.
Specs:
Length: 150 ft | Span: 120.6 ft | Cruise M.9-.92)
Ceiling: Estimate 45,000 ft. Cruise: 38,000 ft
Range: 5,000+ NM
Estimated Empty Weight: 65,000 LBS
Estimate T/O Weight (Full fuel and passengers): 134,000 LBS
MTOW Estimate: 195,000 LBS
Fuel: 30,000 Gallon 8,000 PSI Max Compressed Hydrogen or Natural Gas Using High Pressure Conforming Tank Technology
Fuel Weight: Apx 9,000 LBS (Compared to 180,300 LBS if Jet A liquid)
Current Passenger Configuration: 184 passengers; 172 Main Cabin & 12 1st Class
Operating Costs, apx $2,500-$3,500 hr.
Estiumated Maintenance Costs: Apx 1/2 current commercial aircraft.
Estimate Unit Price in Production: Apx $105 million
Reduction in Operating Costs Over the Aircrafts Life Cycle: $20-$50 Million (Or More) in Savings.
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Working on the prototype ears for my "Catalina Clan" dolls. I think I like the ones on the far right, but they need refinement work in the worst way. They are literally the first thing I've ever made with clay.
These are all OCs created by me. They are part of the "Catalina Clan." A group of werecat sisters and cousins. I love pink! I love kittens!
Right to left: Cheshyre, Orchyd, and Kit
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If you were to put an Alfasud and an Alfa 33 Permanent 4 on hoists and gaze at their bellies, you would have some trouble spotting differences. The flat-four motors look much the same; so do the gearboxes, the suspensions, much of the exhaust systems and the floor pressings.
Of course, the Permanent 4 has allwheel drive, and that means there’s a stout steel tube running down the centreline to drive a live rear axle, but this aside, the pair are near as dammit identical. The reason is simple - the 33 is merely a re-shelled Alfasud. And there’s nothing wrong with that. Not when the Sud's entrails were so good in the first place and the engineering philosophies behind them so sound.
Today, the Sud is best known for the frightening speed with which it turns to dust. Sub-standard steel, poor paintwork and foam-filled box-sections that soak up water are just some of the flaws that earned the Sud its terrible reputation. Yet the car still earns respect because of its handling, which reached a new plane for front-wheel-drive cars. This, and the boxer engine’s fabulous smoothness, gained the car a place on plenty of short lists.
Indeed, the Sud’s qualities here are so exceptional they obscure the fact that it has other strings to its bow. It was designed by a small team led by Rudolph Hruska, who hired the talents of a then- fledgling ItalDesign to shape and package the car. The singular approach of this group produced a machine of remarkably few unpleasant compromises.
It is immensely practical, for a start. Excellent packaging provides ample room for four adults and all their luggage, visibility is good, refinement and cruising ability well above average for its day. Servicing is a doddle, too, the carb, distributor and oil filter all being very accessible. It was, after all, designed as an ordinary family car as well as a real Alfa.
So if the Sud doesn’t have a twin-cam motor and rear-wheel drive, it nevertheless keeps faith with the tradition of innovative engineering and, most important of all, it drives like an Alfa. The aim was to endow a front-driver with the handling characteristics of a rear-drive machine, and, amazingly, Alfa succeeded.
Examine the innards of a Sud, and you begin to see why. It might incorporate MacPherson struts up front, but the suspension geometry was designed to provide a high roll centre and plenty of negative camber, both of which counter the understeer inherent to such a nose- heavy design. Mounting the brake discs inboard reduces both unsprung weight and the effects of torque reaction under braking, and careful bushing of all the suspension mounts cuts road noise.
1971 Alfasud 1.5Ti vs. 1991 Alfa Romeo 33 Permanent 4
Alfasud (top) puts huge loads on outside front tyre, cornering neutrally. Has very sharp steering. New 33 looks undramatic, but is travelling faster. It understeers at limit, has more rubbery steering. Alfasud interior clad in cruddy plastic (third from top); 33 only a little better. Soundproofing robs 33 of foot room. Short-legged driving position in both.
At the rear, Alfa’s liking for rigid rear axles lives on: a dead beam is located by pairs of Watt linkages at each end and a Panhard rod in the middle to provide sideways location. This is an ingenious solution. The Watt linkages allow plenty of vertical movement while restricting scope for rear-wheel steering, and because they are bolted direct to the axle, they force the dead beam to double as an anti-roll bar during cornering without in any way limiting suppleness. Add to this the layout’s low cost and the limited space it takes up, and it is easy to overlook the fact that it isn’t fully, independent. Coils, which encircle the dampers, are the springing medium.
The Sud might share its flat-four engine layout with the Citroen GS, but the Italian motor is water-cooled, and remarkable for using a one-piece cylinder block, whereas most boxer crankcases are split. There is a single overhead camshaft per bank.
The flat four was chosen not just for its inherent smoothness - a boxer motor is naturally better balanced than an in-line four - but for the low centre of gravity it allows, which helps the car’s handling. The low engine height also allows a lower, aerodynamically favourable, bonnet line.
Not that the body is terribly clean through the air by today’s standards with its 0.41 Cd, but that wasn’t a bad figure. More effort went into engineering the body for space, lightness and stiffness. Deep box sections help, and are one of the reasons the Sud acquired its double bulkhead, the forward wall further sealing the noisy bits from the cabin. In the space behind, the battery, wiper and fan motors, brake servo, fusebox and coil are housed away from dirt and spray.
The Ti, the direct antecedent of the Permanent 4 and the car we feature in our comparison, came three years after the Sud was announced in late 1971, and featured a modest battery of changes to appeal to enthusiasts, the most important of which was more power, something the chassis was well capable of containing.
The first 1974 Tis stayed with the 1186cc engine but used a twin-choke carb to boost power from 63bhp to 68bhp, which was not much, especially as torque dropped back from 71 lb ft to 67lb ft. However, a five-speed gearbox was standard, there were spoilers front and rear, real carpets and a tachometer.
Drivers loved the Ti but moaned about the power shortfall, which brought about a 76bhp 1286cc model in 1977. A year after that came the 85bhp 1.5 Ti motor, and with it the Sud’s first facelift, which ran to a new facia, allegedly improved rust protection, 165/70x13 tyres rather than 145s, trim changes and, for the Ti, wheel- arch extensions and restyled spoilers.
It’s one of these cars (my own, in fact) that we test here, survivors of the original series being exceptionally rare. Though more powerful, the series-2s lost none of the first car’s handling prowess and ride quality, characteristics that would gradually desert later versions of the Sud as Alfa successfully fiddled with it.
Recapturing that magic from the early days is something Alfa has been trying to do ever since. The problems began in the Alfasud’s twilight days, when the need to improve power and grip upset its delightful manners. The extra power induced torque-steer - despite equal-length drive shafts - and wider, lower profile tyres spoiled the ride. On top of that, alterations to the front suspension geometry, the springs and anti-roll bar undermined the wonderfully neutral feel.
When the 33 emerged as a replacement in 1983, it brought many of these problems with it, because apart from a new bodyshell and a redesigned interior, there was a little that was truly new in the 33. The short list of novelties ran to an instrument binnacle that adjusted with the steering column (later dropped), a change to outboard front discs and drum rear brakes, a retrograde step except that it made the stoppers easier to service and, most important of all, vastly improved corrosion protection. And that was it.
Two facelifts and dozens of derivatives later, we have the new Permanent 4, however, a car that appears to offer far more than 33s past. The fact that the gearbox lies behind the boxer engine and that the car has a dead beam rear axle makes it easy to convert the 33 to four-wheel drive, and indeed there was a part-time 4x4 estate some years back.
The Permanent 4 takes things a stage further by being full-time four-wheel drive, its centrally mounted viscous differential sending 95 percent of the drive to the front wheels unless traction trouble strikes. ABS is standard, the computer disconnecting drive to the rear wheels when it’s triggered.
Power comes from the ultimate version of the boxer engine, which has twin overhead cams per bank, 16 valves and Bosch Motronic ignition and injection. From 1712cc it produces 137bhp and 116 lb ft of torque at 4600rpm, quite an improvement on the 1.5 Ti’s 85bhp and 98 lb ft of torque at 3500rpm.
They both sound much the same when you fire up, though, the flat fours settling to an even, electric motor-like hum. Needless to say, the 1.7 has more life in it, the revs climbing eagerly to the backdrop of a rattling rasp that’s quite unique. The rasp is more subdued from the 1.5, and so is the performance, which by today’s standards would be called languid even for a family saloon. But the smaller engine endears with smoothness that lives to the red line - in the 1.7’s case, there’s more throbbing, if to a higher rev limit - and a more even torque spread. The 16-valve boxer serves maximum zest only when past 4000rpm.
1971 Alfasud 1.5Ti vs. 1991 Alfa Romeo 33 Permanent 4
In a straight line (opposite top) both cars ride firmly, but Permanent 4 less crashy than some old 33s. It’s the quicker of the pair by a mile. Both roomy in the back despite compact dimensions (opp middle). The Sud has more instruments, and a left foot rest. Otherwise, 33 has more equipment and better ergonomics - Sud’s heater fan switch is on a stalk and is easier to trigger than wipers. Rearward visibility poor on high-tailed 33. Engines: Sud’s single-carb 85bhp 1.5 (top); 33’s injected quad-cam 137bhp 1.7. Note double bulkhead.
To get the best of both cars the gearbox has to be used, but in neither case is the shift particularly good. Redesigned linkages make the 33’s change tighter and less floppy, but it’s doubtful whether it’s actually any quicker. Further impediments to rapid transit include the seat and steering wheel positions, which have never been right in either car. The Permanent 4 has a pair of good Recaros, but the steering wheel is curiously angled no matter how it’s adjusted, and the pedals are too bunched.
1971 Alfasud 1.5Ti vs. 1991 Alfa Romeo 33 Permanent 4
In the Sud the driver’s stance is still more emphatically stretched-arms crumpled-legs, but at least there’s a rest for an idle left foot-the 33 does without. The Permanent 4 is certainly the quieter cruiser, mainly because wind noise is better quelled. Both cars are vociferous under acceleration, though keen drivers won’t object, and at a steady speed the motors miraculously pipe down.
Neither car rides brilliantly - rapidly- taken humps and bumps are checked quite severely by the dampers, and the lower-profile tyres of the Permanent 4 patter more. But this 33 certainly is more supple than earlier examples, absorbing bumps effectively enough that, most of the time, the ride goes unnoticed. The same is true of the Sud.
It’s in the chassis department that the odds swing in the Sud’s favour. Of course, it can’t muster anywhere near the grip of the 33, with its skinny tyres, nor the 33’s security in tricky conditions, but it handles more pleasingly, sends more messages.
1971 Alfasud 1.5Ti vs. 1991 Alfa Romeo 33 Permanent 4
The biggest difference is the Sud’s responsiveness. It reacts instantly to the wheel, whether it’s entering a bend or halfway through, and resists understeer like almost no other front-driver, ancient or modern. It’s a cliche to say it, but it really does corner like a kart. This terrific quality is backed by accurate, reasonably quick steering that delivers plenty of feel.
The 33’s assisted steering is numb and not much quicker, though less effort is required. Initial vagueness and a surprisingly lethargic response to inputs don’t help. The Permanent 4 also understeers more. There’s no doubt, though, that the 33 is vastly more effective cross-country. It’s much quicker, of course (0-60mph in 8.5sec, 126mph against the Sud’s 11.7 and 102mph), but it’s also grippier and more effortless. And entertaining, too, the most fun any 33’s ever been, and more than the majority of rival rocket shoppers.
But it lacks the neutral handling and delicacy of response that marked out the Sud, and for that reason it’s often less satisfying. If Alfa could combine these with the extra grip and go, the Permanent 4 would be highly desirable.
The 4 also ought to make less noise, provide a slicker gearshift, a smoother ride and deliver decent ergonomics. Above all, it ought to be better made. But the 33 stands out with its marvellous engine - unmatched for entertainment value in this class - distinctive styling and capable chassis. Those who enjoy engineering will savour its layout, too.
That contrasts well with a couple of the cars in this comparison, the Audi and the Citroen, which abandon completely the philosophies promoted by their predecessors 20 years earlier. The ZX does without a flat four and fluid suspension, the 100 without a rotary engine and step-ahead styling, despite the fact that these approaches yielded such promise. They were killed by commercial cowardice in the first case and, in the second, spectacular warranty bills.
The Sud concept, on the other hand, remains intact to a startling extent. But on its own that's not enough to make the 33 a class leader 20 years on. Alfa has not had the money, nor perhaps the will, to develop the mechanicals to the pitch they might have reached today. It's to the Italians’ benefit that most rival manufacturers have been similarly reluctant to advance. Richard Bremner.
Madonna and Child
www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/437248
www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/41.190.13/
Паоло ди Джованни Феи. Мадонна с младенцем. 1370е гг. Музей Метрополитен, Нью-Йорк.
ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Паоло_ди_Джованни_Ф...
Artist: Paolo di Giovanni Fei (Italian, San Quirico, active by 1369–died 1411)
Date:1370s
Medium:Tempera on wood, gold ground
Dimensions:Overall, with engaged frame, 34 1/4 x 23 1/4 in. (87 x 59.1 cm); painted surface 27 x 16 7/8 in. (68.6 x 42.9 cm)
Classification:Paintings
Credit Line:Bequest of George Blumenthal, 1941
Accession Number:41.190.13
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 625
This independent panel of the Madonna nursing her child is among the masterpieces of fourteenth-century Sienese painting. It transforms a common, maternal activity into an icon of devotion and is painted with Fei's special feeling for decorative richness and technical refinement. The engaged frame is original, as are the gold-backed, glass medallions with images of the Annunciation, saints, and the head of Christ—a technique known as verre églomisé. The picture may originally have stood on an altar or hung in a domestic interior.
Catalogue Entry
This imposing picture, one of Fei’s most accomplished, is completely intact, with its original engaged frame richly decorated with gilded pastiglia and small cabochon stones alternating with medallions of verre églomisé (see Eisler 1961 for a discussion of this technique). The top and bottom center medallions are lost. The others depict, from top left to bottom right: the Archangel Gabriel and the Virgin Annunciate, Saints Paul and Peter, Saints John the Baptist and John the Evangelist (or Matthew), and an unidentified saint (or Saint John the Evangelist) and probably Saint Catherine of Alexandria. The central medallion on the Virgin's cloak is also in verre églomisé and depicts the head of Christ.
An early work by the artist, the picture is usually dated to the 1370s. Its composition, with an actively posed child set against a rigidly frontal Madonna, recalls works by Ambrogio Lorenzetti such as his landmark Madonna and Child of 1319 (Vico Alto, Siena). Like his contemporaries Lippo Vanni and Bartolo di Fredi, Fei was attentive to the innovations of his great forebears, translating some of their most memorable compositions into works of refined elegance. His paintings are invariably more planar and the execution is always exquisite. In this case the brushstrokes delicately follow the form, endowing the features of the figures with the effect of a shallow relief.
The picture, whose provenance cannot be traced prior to the twentieth century, may have been painted for a domestic setting, but it is worth noting that occasionally pictures of this format were also adapted for use on an altar. Such, for example, is the case with a Madonna of Humility by Fei, which was incorporated as the centerpiece of an elaborate altar in the cathedral of Siena commissioned from Andrea Bregno by Cardinal Francesco Piccolomini in the 1480s.
Among the interesting technical details is the evidence that a compass was used to mark out the tondi in the spandrels and the series of arches decorating the main arch above the Madonna. As is so often the case, the blue of the Madonna’s mantle has darkened and the modeling is no longer visible.
[Keith Christiansen 2011]
Provenance
Sir R. Torrens; F. C. Clift, London (until 1925; sale, Christie's, London, July 17, 1925, no. 118, as Sienese School, for 780 gns. to Sekeyan); [Sekeyan, Paris, from 1925]; ?[Durlacher, Paris and New York, 1925]; George Blumenthal, New York (by 1926–d. 1941; cat., vol. 1, 1926, pl. XXIII bis, as by Paolo di Giovanni Fei)
Exhibition History
Corning, N.Y. Corning Museum of Glass. "The Origin and Development of Verre Églomisé," May 1–September 15, 1961, no catalogue.
Hartford. Wadsworth Atheneum. "An Exhibition of Italian Panels & Manuscripts from the Thirteenth & Fourteenth Centuries in Honor of Richard Offner," April 9–June 6, 1965, no. 34.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Italian Renaissance Frames," June 5–September 2, 1990, no. 3.
References
Stella Rubinstein-Bloch. Catalogue of the Collection of George and Florence Blumenthal. Vol. 1, Paintings—Early Schools. Paris, 1926, unpaginated, pl. XXIII bis, as by Paolo di Giovanni Fei.
Bernhard Berenson. Italian Pictures of the Renaissance. Oxford, 1932, p. 183.
[F. Mason] Perkins in Allgemeines Lexikon der bildenden Künstler. Ed. Hans Vollmer. Vol. 26, Leipzig, 1932, p. 211.
Bernhard Berenson. Pitture italiane del rinascimento. Milan, 1936, p. 158.
Dorothy C. Shorr. The Christ Child in Devotional Images in Italy During the XIV Century. New York, 1954, pp. 68, 73, 191, ill. p. 82, states that the motif of the suckling Child who grabs his foot first appears in a panel by a Paduan follower of Lorenzetti (Museo Civico, Padua), and that Fei depicts the motif a second time in a picture formerly in the Platt collection, Englewood, New Jersey.
Colin Eisler. "Verre Églomisé and Paolo di Giovanni Fei." Journal of Glass Studies 3 (1961), pp. 30–37, ill. (overall and details of medallions), discusses the technique of "verre églomisé" used to create the medallions on the engaged frame and the Virgin's cloak, suggesting that they may have been done by Fei himself; identifies the heads on the medallions in the frame as (from top left to bottom right): the Archangel Gabriel and the Virgin Annunciate, Saints Paul and Peter, Saints John the Baptist and Matthew, and Saints John the Evangelist and (tentatively) Catherine of Alexandria; identifies the head on the Virgin's cloak as Christ; suggests that the lost medallion at the top center of the frame may have depicted the dove of the Holy Spirit.
Michael Mallory. "Toward a Chronology for Paolo di Giovanni Fei." Art Bulletin 46 (December 1964), p. 530, calls it an early work.
Bernard Berenson. Italian Pictures of the Renaissance: Central Italian and North Italian Schools. London, 1968, vol. 1, p. 129.
Burton B. Fredericksen and Federico Zeri. Census of Pre-Nineteenth-Century Italian Paintings in North American Public Collections. Cambridge, Mass., 1972, pp. 69, 346, 608.
Simona Grazzini in Jacopo della Quercia nell'arte del suo tempo. Exh. cat., Palazzo Pubblico, Siena. Florence, 1975, p. 18, fig. I.2.
Michael Mallory. The Sienese Painter Paolo di Giovanni Fei (c. 1345–1411). PhD diss., Columbia University. New York, 1976, pp. 32–38, 41–55, 225, 227–28, no. 2, pl. 5, discusses the artist's sources for the composition, including two works by Ambrogio Lorenzetti (San Francesco, Siena, and Vico l'Abate) and one attributed to Ceccarelli (formerly San Martino, Siena); relates it to a similar work by Fei then with Wildenstein, London (formerly Platt collection, Englewood, New Jersey), cataloguing both paintings as Fei's earliest works, from about 1380.
Federico Zeri with the assistance of Elizabeth E. Gardner. Italian Paintings: A Catalogue of the Collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Sienese and Central Italian Schools. New York, 1980, pp. 58–59, pl. 32, state that although the work cannot be securely dated, the fact that the composition is based on a much earlier Simonesque prototype may indicate that it was made early in the artist's career; relate it to the Madonna by Ceccarelli (San Martino, Siena); depart slightly from Eisler's [see Ref. 1961] identification of the saints in the medallions, tentatively placing John the Evangelist opposite Saint John the Baptist and calling the head at the bottom left unidentified.
Keith Christiansen. "Fourteenth-Century Italian Altarpieces." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin 40 (Summer 1982), pp. 10, 12, fig. 13 (color), believes that the composition is probably based on a lost work by Ambrogio Lorenzetti; dates it about 1380, early in Fei's career when he was most influenced by Ambrogio.
David Alan Brown. Andrea Solario. Milan, 1987, p. 202 n. 152, fig. 152.
Timothy J. Newbery and Laurence B. Kanter in Italian Renaissance Frames. Exh. cat., The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 1990, pp. 34–35, no. 3, ill. (color), describe the frame, dating it about 1390.
Adam S. Labuda in Opus Sacrum. Ed. Józef Grabski. Exh. cat., Royal Castle, Warsaw. Vienna, 1990, pp. 43–44, fig. 2.
Erling S. Skaug. Punch Marks from Giotto to Fra Angelico: Attribution, Chronology, and Workshop Relationships in Tuscan Panel Painting. Oslo, 1994, vol. 1, p. 56 n. 54.
Mojmír S. Frinta. "Part I: Catalogue Raisonné of All Punch Shapes." Punched Decoration on Late Medieval Panel and Miniature Painting. Prague, 1998, pp. 219, 318, classifies the punch marks appearing in this painting.
Renaissance. Christie's, New York. January 29, 2014, p. 64, fig. 1 (color), under no. 125.
Frame
An exceptionally elaborate, original engaged frame with raised gesso (pastiglia) designs, embellished with glass medallions (verre églomisé) painted by the artist.
See also Newbery and Kanter 1990.
Timeline of Art History (2000-present)
Essays
Italian Painting of the Later Middle Ages
Italian Renaissance Frames
Sienese Painting
Timelines
Italian Peninsula, 1000–1400 A.D.
MetPublications
European Paintings in The Metropolitan Museum of Art by Artists Born before 1865: A Summary Catalogue
"Fourteenth-Century Italian Altarpieces": The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, v. 40, no. 1 (Summer, 1982)
Italian Paintings: A Catalogue of the Collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Vol. 3, Sienese and Central Italian Schools
Italian Renaissance Frames
The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide
This is a SEAT Mii city car done in Miniland scale for the Eurobricks SEAT building contest.
Still think I might do a few refinements, but overall I'm pretty happy with the results so far.
Comments welcome!
Built in 1895-1896, this Chicago School-style thirteen-story skyscraper was designed by Louis Sullivan and Dankmar Adler for the Guaranty Construction Company. It was initially commissioned by Hascal L. Taylor, whom approached Dankmar Adler to build "the largest and best office building in the city,” but Taylor, whom wanted to name the building after himself, died in 1894, just before the building was announced. Having already had the building designed and ready for construction, the Guaranty Construction Company of Chicago, which already had resources lined up to build the project, bought the property and had the building constructed, with the building instead being named after them. In 1898, the building was renamed after the Prudential Insurance Company, which had refinanced the project and became a major tenant in the building after it was completed. Prudential had the terra cotta panels above the main entrances to the building modified to display the company’s name in 1898, upon their acquisition of a partial share in the ownership of the tower. The building became the tallest building in Buffalo upon its completion, and was a further refinement of the ideas that Sullivan had developed with the Wainwright Building in St. Louis, which was built in 1890-92, and featured a design with more Classical overtones, which were dropped with the design of the Guaranty Building in favor of a more purified Art Nouveau and Chicago School aesthetic, and with more intricate visual detail, with the ornate terra cotta panels cladding the entire structure, leaving very few areas with sparse detail. The building is an early skyscraper with a steel frame supporting the terra cotta panel facade, a departure from earlier load bearing masonry structures that had previously been predominant in many of the same applications, and expresses this through large window openings at the base and a consistent wall thickness, as there was no need to make the exterior walls thicker at the base to support the load from the structure above. The building also contrasts with the more rigid historically-influenced Classical revivalism that was growing in popularity at the time, and follows Sullivan’s mantra of “form ever follows function” despite having a lot of unnecessary detail on the exterior cladding and interior elements. The building’s facade also emphasizes its verticality through continual vertical bands of windows separated by pilasters that are wider on the first two floors, with narrower pilasters above, with the entire composition of the building following the tripartite form influenced by classical columns, with distinct sections comprising the base, shaft, and capital, though being a radical and bold abstraction of the form compared to the historical literalism expressed by most of its contemporaries, more directly displaying the underlying steel structure of the building.
The building is clad in rusty terra cotta panels which feature extensive Sullivanesque ornament inspired by the Art Nouveau movement, which clad the entirety of the building’s facades along Church Street and Pearl Street, with simpler red brick and painted brick cladding on the facades that do not front public right-of-ways, which are visible when the building is viewed from the south and west. The white painted brick cladding on the south elevation marks the former location of the building’s light well, which was about 30 feet wide and 68 feet deep, and was infilled during a 1980s rehabilitation project, adding an additional 1,400 square feet of office space, and necessitating an artificial light source to be installed above the stained glass ceiling of the building’s lobby. The building’s windows are mostly one-over-one double-hung windows in vertical columns, with one window per bay, though this pattern is broken at the painted portions of the non-principal facades, which feature paired one-over-one windows, on the second floor of the principal facades, which features Chicago-style tripartite windows and arched transoms over the building’s two main entry doors, on the thirteenth floor of the principal facades, which features circular oxeye windows, and at the base, which features large storefront windows that include cantilevered sections with shed glass roofs that wrap around the columns at the base of the building. The building’s terra cotta panels feature many natural and geometric motifs based on plants and crystalline structures, the most common being a “seed pod” motif that symbolizes growth, with a wide variation of patterns, giving the facade a dynamic appearance, which is almost overwhelming, but helps to further grant the building a dignified and monumental appearance, and is a signature element of many of the significant works of Adler and Sullivan, as well as Sullivan’s later independent work. The building’s pilasters halve in number but double in thickness towards the base, with wide window openings underneath pairs of window bays above on the first and second floors, with the pilasters terminating at circular columns with large, decorative, ornate terra cotta capitals in the central bays, and thick rectilinear pilasters at the corners and flanking the entry door openings. The circular columns penetrate the extruded storefront windows and shed glass roofs below, which formed display cases for shops in the ground floor of the building when it first opened, and feature decorative copper trim and mullions framing the large expanses of plate glass. The base of the building is clad in medina sandstone panels, as well as medina sandstone bases on the circular columns. The major entry doors feature decorative copper trim surrounds, a spandrel panel with ornate cast copper detailing above and the name “Guaranty” emblazoned on the face of each of the two panels at the two entrances, decorative transoms above with decorative copper panels as headers, and arched transoms on the second floor with decorative terra cotta trim surrounds. Each of the two major entrance doors is flanked by two ornate Art Nouveau-style wall-mounted sconces mounted on the large pilasters, with smaller, partially recessed pilasters on either side. The building features two cornices with arched recesses, with the smaller cornice running as a belt around the transition between the base and the shaft portions of the building, with lightbulbs in each archway, and the larger cornice, which extends further out from the face of the building, running around the top of the building’s Swan Street and Pearl Street facades, with a circular oxeye window in each archway. The lower corner recessed into the facade at the ends, while the upper cornice runs around the entire top of the facade above, with geometric motifs in the central portions and a large cluster of leaves in a pattern that is often repeated in Sullivan’s other work at the corners. The spandrel panels between the windows on the shaft portion of the building feature a cluster of leaves at the base and geometric patterns above, with a repeat of the same recessed arch detail as the cornice at the sill line of each window. The pilasters feature almost strictly geometric motifs, with a few floral motifs thrown in at key points to balance the composition of the facade with the windows. A small and often overlooked feature of the ground floor is a set of stone steps up to an entrance at the northwest corner of the building, which features a decorative copper railing with Sullivanesque and Art Nouveau-inspired ornament, which sits next to a staircase to the building’s basement, which features a more utilitarian modern safety railing in the middle.
The interior of the building was heavily renovated over the years before being partially restored in 1980, with the lobby being reverted back to its circa 1896 appearance. The Swan Street vestibule has been fully restored, featuring a marble ceiling, decorative mosaics around the top of the walls, a decorative antique brass light fixture with Art Nouveau detailing and a ring of lightbulbs in the center, the remnant bronze stringer of a now-removed staircase to the second floor in a circular glass wall at the north end of the space, and a terazzo floor. The main lobby, located immediately to the west, features a Tiffany-esque stained glass ceiling with ellipsoid and circular panels set into a bronze frame that once sat below a skylight at the base of the building’s filled-in light well, marble cladding on the walls, mosaics on the ceiling and around the top of the walls, a bronze staircase with ornate railing at the west end of the space, which features a semi-circular landing, a basement staircase with a brass railing, a terrazzo floor, and multiple historic three-bulb wall sconces, as well as brass ceiling fixtures matching those in the vestibule. The building’s elevators, located in an alcove near the base of the staircase, features a decorative richly detailed brass screen on the exterior, with additional decorative screens above, with the elevator since having been enclosed with glass to accommodate modern safety standards and equipment, while preserving the visibility of the original details. Originally, when the building was built, the elevators descended open shafts into a screen wall in the lobby, with the elevators originally being manufactured by the Sprague Electric Railway and Motor Company, with these being exchanged in 1903 for water hydraulic elevators that remained until a renovation in the 1960s. Sadly, most of the historic interior detailing of the upper floors was lost during a series of renovations in the 20th Century, which led to them being fully modernized during the renovation in the 1980s, with multiple tenant finish projects since then further modifying the interiors of the upper floors.
The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973, and designated a National Historic Landmark in 1975, owing to its architectural significance, and to help save the building, which had suffered a major fire in 1974 that led to the city of Buffalo seeking to demolish it. A renovation in the early 1980s managed to modernize the building while restoring the lobby and the exterior, which was carried out under the direction of the firm CannonDesign, and partial funding from federal historic tax credits. The building was purchased in 2002 by Hodgson Russ, a law firm, which subsequently further renovated the building to suit their needs, converting the building into their headquarters in 2008. This renovation was carried out under the direction of Gensler Architects and the local firm Flynn Battaglia Architects. The building today houses offices on the upper floors, with a visitor center, known as the Guaranty Interpretative Center, on the first floor, with historic tours offered of some of the building’s exterior and interior spaces run by Preservation Buffalo Niagara. The building was one of the most significant early skyscrapers, and set a precedent for the modern skyscrapers that began to be built half a century later.