The first prototype North American YOV-10A Bronco, BuNo 152879, at the Garrett AiResearch Flight Test hangar in the summer of 1968. The aircraft by this time had received a number of modifications, most notably a 40-foot span wing and uprated T76 engines. The reason for its use by Garrett was to accumulate a lot of hours on the engines so they could anticipate issues that might arise in service as it was just being introduced to squadrons in Vietnam.

Interestingly the 40-foot wing was not a production type wing in that the tailbooms were still the same distance apart as on the original 30-foot wings fitted to the prototypes. On the production models the booms were each 6 inches farther out from the aircraft centerline. It also has the original type horizontal stabilizer but does have improved vertical stabilizer top fairings that are similar but not identical to the production versions.

This is one of several photos taken by Garrett and are the only photos I've seen of 152879 with a 40-foot wing. Oddly, after it left Phoenix it was re-fitted with a 30-foot wing fitted with wingtip extensions bringing the span to 34 feet. This configuration was introduced on several prototypes earlier in the test program as an interim measure while the 40-foot wing was being designed. Not sure why they went "backwards" from the longer wing on 152879 but it was used for a time at PAX and might have had something to do with testing they were using it for. Possibly to get more speed out of it.

If anyone happens to come across other photos of this aircraft with the 40-foot wing as in this photo, I would love to see them!

Seen coming in on finals at Old Warden, Bedfordshire, after a display during the Shuttleworth Collection's 2015 Wings and Wheels Show.

The Fauvel AV.36 was a single-seat tailless glider designed in France in the 1950s by Charles Fauvel. Although the "AV" in AV.36 stands for Aile Volante (Flying Wing), it was not a true flying wing: it featured two large fins mounted on stubby tailbooms extending back from the wing's trailing edge, and accommodated the pilot within a stubby fuselage. The aircraft was designed to be quickly disassembled for road transport, with the nose detaching, and the fins able to fold back against the trailing edge of the wing. A refined version with a slightly longer wingspan, the AV.361 was introduced in 1960.

The AV.36 lent itself to easy motorisation, with some builders installing an engine at the rear of the cockpit pod to drive a pusher propeller turning between the tail fins, and the Bölkow factory manufactured some aircraft in this configuration as the AV.36 C11.

Plans for the AV.36 have not been available in France since Fauvel's death in 1979, but as of 2012 they are still available from Canadian supplier Falconar Avia of Edmonton, Alberta. - from Wikipedia.

Off-Airport - Cincinnati

Union Township Veterans Memorial Park

Cincinnati, OH

Bell GUH-1H Iroquois (205) c/n 4168, 63-12972, United States Army

This view looks from the Land Rovers back at the Beverley from atop which yesterday's image was taken.

Two stripped-down Army Series One Land Rovers are parked on the left of the image whilst a third is preparing to enter the Beverley on the right. Perhaps someone can explain why the personnel on the Land Rovers are wearing caps in one and berets in the other - NCOs to the left, squaddies to the right?

In the distance, there's quite a number of personnel in ranks to the right of the second Beverley but I don't know what they're doing. The background scenery suggests that this was probably at RAF Eastleigh, just outside Nairobi, Kenya. Scanned from a B&W print.

The Blackburn B-101 Beverley was a 1950s British heavy transport aircraft built by Blackburn and General Aircraft and flown by squadrons of RAF Transport Command from 1957 until 1967. You can see the pitot tube(?) and APU intake atop the fuselage from where that shot was taken.

Designed and built by General Aircraft as the GAL.60 Universal Freighter, the first aircraft had its maiden flight on 20 June 1950 at Brough in Yorkshire. The modified GAL.65 saw clamshell doors replaced a combination of a door and ramp, and the tailplane boom received seating for 36 passengers. The Bristol Hercules engines became Bristol Centaurus with reverse-pitch propellers, a feature that gave it an impressive STOL capability and the ability to reverse under its own power. The take-off run at full load was given as 750m, the landing run at full load, 300m.

In 1952 the RAF ordered the Beverley C.1 (Beverley, Cargo Mark 1). The aircraft was a high-wing cantilever monoplane with a fixed undercarriage. The large fuselage had a tailboom fitted with a tailplane with twin fins. The tailboom allowed access to the rear of the fuselage through the enormous removable clamshell doors seen above. An 11m main fuselage space was supplemented by passenger accommodation in the tailboom. The main cargo hold could accommodate 94 troops, with another 36 in the tail-boom.

The aircraft was designed for carrying large bulk loads and landing them on rough or imperfect runways, or mere dirt strips. It could trace its design back to the GAL49 Hamilcar glider of WWII. At the time of its entry into service, it was the largest aircraft in the RAF. Paratroopers in the upper passenger area jumped through a hatch in the base of the boom just in front of the leading edge of the tailplane. The Beverley was equipped with toilets, which were situated in the tail beyond the paratroop doors located on the floor of the tail boom.

In total, 49 of the aircraft were produced, with the last manufactured in 1958, and final retirement from RAF service was in 1967. The longest serving Beverleys were in the Far East. 34 Squadron received its aircraft at RAF Seletar in October 1960 and continued flying them until the end of 1967. Initially, the aircraft were silver overall, but later, those operated by the squadrons based in the Middle East were given an overall sand camouflage finish as seen above. Only one Beverley has survived: XB259 is on display at Fort Paull, just east of Hull.

This Beverley is seen offloading cargo on a rather lumpy packed-dirt pan beside a tent camp somewhere in the Middle East (possibly Aden but Kuwait is more likely) in 1961. The trucks might be Bedford four-tonners. A relative was a pilot on the aircraft. Scanned from a small B&W negative.

The Blackburn B-101 Beverley was a 1950s British heavy transport aircraft built by Blackburn and General Aircraft and flown by squadrons of RAF Transport Command from 1957 until 1967.

Designed and built by General Aircraft as the GAL.60 Universal Freighter, the first aircraft had its maiden flight on 20 June 1950 at Brough in Yorkshire. The modified GAL.65 saw clamshell doors replaced a combination of a door and ramp, and the tailplane boom received seating for 36 passengers. The Bristol Hercules engines became Bristol Centaurus with reverse-pitch propellers, a feature that gave it an impressive STOL capability and the ability to reverse under its own power. The take-off run at full load was given as 750m, the landing run at full load, 300m.

In 1952 the RAF ordered the Beverley C.1 (Beverley, Cargo Mark 1). The aircraft was a high-wing cantilever monoplane with a fixed undercarriage. The large fuselage had a tailboom fitted with a tailplane with twin fins. The tailboom allowed access to the rear of the fuselage through removable clamshell doors. An 11m main fuselage space was supplemented by passenger accommodation in the tailboom. The main cargo hold could accommodate 94 troops, with another 36 in the tail-boom.

The aircraft was designed for carrying large bulk loads and landing them on rough or imperfect runways, or mere dirt strips. It could trace its design back to the GAL49 Hamilcar glider of WWII. At the time of its entry into service, it was the largest aircraft in the RAF. Paratroopers in the upper passenger area jumped through a hatch in the base of the boom just in front of the leading edge of the tailplane. The Beverley was equipped with toilets, which were situated in the tail beyond the paratroop doors located on the floor of the tail boom.

In total, 49 of the aircraft were produced, with the last manufactured in 1958, and final retirement from RAF service was in 1967. The longest serving Beverleys were in the Far East. 34 Squadron received its aircraft at RAF Seletar in October 1960 and continued flying them until the end of 1967. Initially, the aircraft were silver overall, but later, those operated by the squadrons based in the Middle East were given an overall sand camouflage finish as seen above. Only one Beverley has survived: XB259 is on display at Fort Paull, just east of Hull.

Irish Air Corps Alouette III with 30th Anniversary tailboom seen at Casement Aerodrome, Baldonnel (EIME), 26 November 1993

Cincinnati - Municipal / Lunken Field (LUK / KLUK)

Cincinnati, OH

MBB-Kawasaki BK-117B-1 c/n 7206, N117UC, University Air Care (Omniflight Helicopters)

-to ???? from KLUK

Departing after a fuel stop on a beautiful fall evening.

Off-Airport - Cincinnati

Union Township Veterans Memorial Park

Cincinnati, OH

Bell GUH-1H Iroquois (205) c/n 4168, 63-12972, United States Army

This Beverley is seen parked on a hard-packed desert floor somewhere in the Middle East (possibly Aden but Kuwait is more likely) in 1961. In addition to the young lad posing for my relative, note the three individuals next to the main undercarriage tyres. Scanned from a B&W negative. XL131 first flew in 1957 and was scrapped in 1969.

The Blackburn B-101 Beverley was a 1950s British heavy transport aircraft built by Blackburn and General Aircraft and flown by squadrons of RAF Transport Command from 1957 until 1967.

Designed and built by General Aircraft as the GAL.60 Universal Freighter, the first aircraft had its maiden flight on 20 June 1950 at Brough in Yorkshire. The modified GAL.65 saw clamshell doors replaced a combination of a door and ramp, and the tailplane boom received seating for 36 passengers. The Bristol Hercules engines became Bristol Centaurus with reverse-pitch propellers, a feature that gave it an impressive STOL capability and the ability to reverse under its own power. The take-off run at full load was given as 750m, the landing run at full load, 300m.

In 1952 the RAF ordered the Beverley C.1 (Beverley, Cargo Mark 1). The aircraft was a high-wing cantilever monoplane with a fixed undercarriage. The large fuselage had a tailboom fitted with a tailplane with twin fins. The tailboom allowed access to the rear of the fuselage through removable clamshell doors. An 11m main fuselage space was supplemented by passenger accommodation in the tailboom. The main cargo hold could accommodate 94 troops, with another 36 in the tail-boom.

The aircraft was designed for carrying large bulk loads and landing them on rough or imperfect runways, or mere dirt strips. It could trace its design back to the GAL49 Hamilcar glider of WWII. At the time of its entry into service, it was the largest aircraft in the RAF. Paratroopers in the upper passenger area jumped through a hatch in the base of the boom just in front of the leading edge of the tailplane. The Beverley was equipped with toilets, which were situated in the tail beyond the paratroop doors located on the floor of the tail boom.

In total, 49 of the aircraft were produced, with the last manufactured in 1958, and final retirement from RAF service was in 1967. The longest serving Beverleys were in the Far East. 34 Squadron received its aircraft at RAF Seletar in October 1960 and continued flying them until the end of 1967. Initially, the aircraft were silver overall, but later, those operated by the squadrons based in the Middle East were given an overall sand camouflage finish as seen above. Only one Beverley has survived: XB259 is on display at Fort Paull, just east of Hull.

I suspect that most of the modern RAF wouldn't be happy being offered this as an airfield, although those operating the C-130 and Atlas might be prepared to use such a bleak location on occasion.

With my Christmas break having started today, I spent some time tinkering with my Pave Low. I've strengthened the tailboom and have built the engines. I removed the tailboom to work on it and the engines weren't fitted when I took this picture. However, with various bits removed/ not on it yet, I could quite easily take a picture of the bottom of the beast, to show off some of the details.

Whilst looking at more pictures, I realised that Pave Lows have long fuel dump pipes attached to the sides of the sponsons. They are hard to see, because the external fuel tanks hide them from view from most angles. They run alongside the sponsons, starting quite close to the front, where fuel tanks are mounted inside, and end close to the trailing edge. So, after I took this picture, I added them to my model too.

I've made a fair bit of progress since posting the first WIP picture a while ago. The wings are mostly done as is much of the outside of the fuselage, but there still is a lot to do: structural stuff, an interior, the engine and prop, parts of the bottom of the wings the external stores, the aft and bottom of the tailboom and the stickers. I'm happy with where it's going.

I made lots of progress on my Sea King over the weekend. Most of the cab is done and much of the tailboom and I rebuilt the sponsons. Since I took this picture, I also closed up the hole in the roof above the tailwheel and beefed up the structure. There are still challenges, but I am getting there.

Again the EC225 but the tailboom this time. All rivets working together, still a very efficient method to hold a structure together.

Cincinnati - Municipal / Lunken Field (LUK / KLUK)

Cincinnati, OH

Brantly B-2B c/n 2020, N9023M, Untitled

-to ???? from KLUK

Serial Number 480

MFR Year 1952

Bell 47D-1

Introduced in 1949, it had an open tubework tailboom reminiscent of the Bell Model 30, ship number 3, and a three-seat configuration.

I'm very much enjoying building my Huey and spent a few hours on it last evening and this morning and made a lot of progress, although some of it may not be immediately obvious if you compare this picture to the one I took two days ago. However, I've passed a major hurdle in that I got the sliding doors to work and, when open, to fit nicely along the aft fuselage. The structural bits for the cabin are complete, the bottom of the fuselage is mostly done, I've started work on the tailboom and I've built a LtCol. Kilgore figure.

I've have included some of the reference materials I'm using in the build: books, blueprints and my own design drawings, but sadly I forgot the "Apocalypse Now" Blu-ray box set.

Cincinnati - Municipal / Lunken Field (LUK / KLUK)

Cincinnati, OH

Brantly B-2B c/n 2020, N9023M, Untitled

-to KLUK from ????

The S-55 is of all metal construction with a piston engine easily accessible via two large clamshell doors in the nose. The engine is connected to the main transmission by a 45-degree drive shaft. This arrangement of power plant and drive train allows the placement of a large and unobstructed cabin directly below the main rotor blades. The S-55's two-man cockpit is placed above and slightly forward of the cabin with the seats placed on either side of the drive shaft that offers excellent visibility. The high-set tailboom carries a vertical tailplane and a two-bladed anti-torque rotor.

The S-55 dates from 1949. Sikorsky manufactured a total of 1,281 S-55's in ten years of continuous production commencing in 1949. It was used by many military services including the RCAF (as the UH-19) on construction of the Mid-Canada Line and by the RCN (as the HO4S-3) on ‘plane guard’ duties with aircraft carriers.

Sadly damaged by mould, this image shows a Beverley in front of what appears to be a number of mud-brick structures, somewhere in the Middle East in 1961. This is possibly Aden, although the RAF base at Khormaksar featured paved runways and hard standing. The background buildings would appear to be similar to those found today in, for example, the Shibam Hadramawt world heritage site in Yemen, but I don't think the RAF flew to Yemen in those days.

The aircraft is a different one to that seen in the images I posted yesterday and the day before (identification letter D on the side rather than J). Taken by a relative who was a pilot on the plane. Scanned from a B&W print. I don't know why there's a large ring of stones laid out in the foreground.

The Blackburn B-101 Beverley was a 1950s British heavy transport aircraft built by Blackburn and General Aircraft and flown by squadrons of RAF Transport Command from 1957 until 1967.

Designed and built by General Aircraft as the GAL.60 Universal Freighter, the first aircraft had its maiden flight on 20 June 1950 at Brough in Yorkshire. The modified GAL.65 saw clamshell doors replaced a combination of a door and ramp, and the tailplane boom received seating for 36 passengers. The Bristol Hercules engines became Bristol Centaurus with reverse-pitch propellers, a feature that gave it an impressive STOL capability and the ability to reverse under its own power. The take-off run at full load was given as 750m, the landing run at full load, 300m.

In 1952 the RAF ordered the Beverley C.1 (Beverley, Cargo Mark 1). The aircraft was a high-wing cantilever monoplane with a fixed undercarriage. The large fuselage had a tailboom fitted with a tailplane with twin fins. The tailboom allowed access to the rear of the fuselage through removable clamshell doors. An 11m main fuselage space was supplemented by passenger accommodation in the tailboom. The main cargo hold could accommodate 94 troops, with another 36 in the tail-boom.

The aircraft was designed for carrying large bulk loads and landing them on rough or imperfect runways, or mere dirt strips. It could trace its design back to the GAL49 Hamilcar glider of WWII. At the time of its entry into service, it was the largest aircraft in the RAF. Paratroopers in the upper passenger area jumped through a hatch in the base of the boom just in front of the leading edge of the tailplane. The Beverley was equipped with toilets, which were situated in the tail beyond the paratroop doors located on the floor of the tail boom.

In total, 49 of the aircraft were produced, with the last manufactured in 1958, and final retirement from RAF service was in 1967. The longest serving Beverleys were in the Far East. 34 Squadron received its aircraft at RAF Seletar in October 1960 and continued flying them until the end of 1967. Initially, the aircraft were silver overall, but later, those operated by the squadrons based in the Middle East were given an overall sand camouflage finish as seen above. Only one Beverley has survived: XB259 is on display at Fort Paull, just east of Hull.

A de Havilland DH 112 Venom jet fighter, just landed at Church Fenton airfield.

The asymmetry is not limited to the location of the engine: the driveshaft for the tail rotor does not run down the middle of the tailboom, most likely because the gearbox that connects the engine to the rotors was mounted to the left of the engine. Funnily enough, on later twin-engined versions the shaft is still angled.

Serial Number 480

MFR Year 1952

Bell 47D-1

Introduced in 1949, it had an open tubework tailboom reminiscent of the Bell Model 30, ship number 3, and a three-seat configuration.

Note that this 1954 model S-55 does not have the 'angled down' tailboom fitted to most US models, to avoid tailboom rotor strikes- in this pic you can actually see how close the main rotor can get to the boom.

Pave Lows were used for special operations and for Combat Search-And-Rescue (CSAR). Both missions typically involve flying in hostile airspace. Because of this Pave Lows were fitted with terrain-following radar and an array of missile and radar warning equipment. To increase the helicopters' range, they were also equipped with larger external fuel tanks fitted to the stub wings and a nose-mounted air-to-air refuelling probe. The helicopters also had extensive communications equipment, with most of the associated antennas located on the upper aft fuselage and the tailboom.

An Italian Caproni Ca 3 heavy three-engined bomber which crash landed in terrain held by Austro-Hungarian forces. The extant of the damage says much for the sturdiness of the building of the machine. The nose is rather damaged and some parts of the wings but the dual fuselage construction and the central nacelle are little damaged. I think the crew could walk away from this crash rellatively unharmed.

As ever lots and lots of A-H military are looking at the machine, in between them scores of booty hunters.

These Caproni Ca 3 bombers could fly al the way to Vienna to bomb there and return.

This Caproni Ca 3 was brought down on 25.X.1917 [25 October 1917] at the Cepovan Valley. (Cepovanertal). Mark the distinctive painted circles on the tailboom.

picryl.com/media/abgesturzter-italcaproni-im-cepovanertal...

There were a couple of comments earlier this week on my stream about whether the image seen in comment 1 below was taken inside a Beverley. I didn't think so, and am posting a larger and better version of an earlier image on my stream to help any further discussion. To my mind the rear door seen above is too squared-off and tall to be comparable to the one seen below.

The Blackburn B-101 Beverley was a 1950s British heavy transport aircraft built by Blackburn and General Aircraft and flown by squadrons of RAF Transport Command from 1957 until 1967.

In 1952 the RAF ordered the Beverley C.1 (Beverley, Cargo Mark 1), an aircraft with a high-wing cantilever monoplane and a fixed undercarriage. The large fuselage had a tailboom fitted with a tailplane with twin fins. The tailboom allowed access to the rear of the fuselage through removable clamshell doors. An 11m main fuselage space was supplemented by passenger accommodation in the tailboom (portholes visible in the image above). The main cargo hold could accommodate 94 troops, with another 36 in the tail-boom.

The aircraft was designed for carrying large bulk loads and landing them on rough or imperfect runways, or mere dirt strips. It could trace its design back to the GAL49 Hamilcar glider of WWII. At the time of its entry into service, it was the largest aircraft in the RAF. Paratroopers in the upper passenger area jumped through a hatch in the base of the boom just in front of the leading edge of the tailplane. The Beverley was equipped with toilets, which were situated in the tail beyond the paratroop doors located on the floor of the tail boom.

In total, 49 of the aircraft were produced, with the last manufactured in 1958, and final retirement from RAF service was in 1967. The longest-serving Beverleys were in the Far East. 34 Squadron received its aircraft at RAF Seletar in October 1960 and continued flying them until the end of 1967.

Initially, the aircraft were silver overall, but later, those operated by the squadrons based in the Middle East were given an overall sand camouflage finish, although the one above would appear to be in Transport Command livery. Only one Beverley has survived: XB259 is on display at Fort Paull, just east of Hull, England.

This particular example appears to be involved in loading training/practice and was probably at RAF Seletar. The recoverable data on the back give it as negative no. 11240/59, Unit 'Sec' and date as 9 November 1966. It is scanned from a 6x4 print I was given sometime in the '66-'67 timeframe when I lived in Singapore.

This unidentified aircrew Flight Lieutenant is clearly working on his tan atop a Beverley transport aircraft; I'm not sure what the fixture is that he's leaning against. The background scenery suggests that this was probably at RAF Eastleigh, just outside Nairobi, Kenya. I assume the vertical tube with the nozzle on top is a pitot tube; the intake to the right is probably for an auxiliary power unit. Together with the (HF?) radio aerial wires, these give the aircraft a rather agricultural air... The troops with the stripped-down Land Rovers give a great sense of the height from which this shot was taken. The 526 aircraft stern of the Beverley might be a Douglas C-47 Skytrain but that's a guess. Scanned from a B&W print.

The Blackburn B-101 Beverley was a 1950s British heavy transport aircraft built by Blackburn and General Aircraft and flown by squadrons of RAF Transport Command from 1957 until 1967.

Designed and built by General Aircraft as the GAL.60 Universal Freighter, the first aircraft had its maiden flight on 20 June 1950 at Brough in Yorkshire. The modified GAL.65 saw clamshell doors replaced a combination of a door and ramp, and the tailplane boom received seating for 36 passengers. The Bristol Hercules engines became Bristol Centaurus with reverse-pitch propellers, a feature that gave it an impressive STOL capability and the ability to reverse under its own power. The take-off run at full load was given as 750m, the landing run at full load, 300m.

In 1952 the RAF ordered the Beverley C.1 (Beverley, Cargo Mark 1). The aircraft was a high-wing cantilever monoplane with a fixed undercarriage. The large fuselage had a tailboom fitted with a tailplane with twin fins. The tailboom allowed access to the rear of the fuselage through removable clamshell doors. An 11m main fuselage space was supplemented by passenger accommodation in the tailboom. The main cargo hold could accommodate 94 troops, with another 36 in the tail-boom.

The aircraft was designed for carrying large bulk loads and landing them on rough or imperfect runways, or mere dirt strips. It could trace its design back to the GAL49 Hamilcar glider of WWII. At the time of its entry into service, it was the largest aircraft in the RAF. Paratroopers in the upper passenger area jumped through a hatch in the base of the boom just in front of the leading edge of the tailplane. The Beverley was equipped with toilets, which were situated in the tail beyond the paratroop doors located on the floor of the tail boom.

In total, 49 of the aircraft were produced, with the last manufactured in 1958, and final retirement from RAF service was in 1967. The longest serving Beverleys were in the Far East. 34 Squadron received its aircraft at RAF Seletar in October 1960 and continued flying them until the end of 1967. Initially, the aircraft were silver overall, but later, those operated by the squadrons based in the Middle East were given an overall sand camouflage finish as seen above. Only one Beverley has survived: XB259 is on display at Fort Paull, just east of Hull.

Delaware - Municipal-Jim Moore Field (DLZ)

Delaware, OH

Bell 407GXi c/n 54906, N552CP, Columbus Police

-to OH52 from OH52

I assume this was a training flight for the CPD's new Bell.

Off-Airport - Vandalia

Sabec Memorial VFW Post 9582

Vandalia, OH

Bell UH-1H Iroquois (205) c/n 4740, 65-9696, US Army

Mounted on a trailer for use as a traveling exhibit.

Built as a UH-1D-BF, converted to UH-1H circa 1970. Ex-Ohio Army National Guard, on display at this location by August of 2001. Info via Joe Baugher's page.

Off-Airport - Pataskala

Pataskala, OH

Bell/Garlick Helicopters OH-58C Kiowa (206A-1) c/n 40688, N637HA, Untitled (Helicopter Applicators)

-to ???? from Off-Airport-Pataskala

Ex-70-15137; originally built as an OH-58A.

Once scouting for enemies, now dusting crops.

This is XH124, seen on display at the RAF Museum London in Hendon in 1984. Lack of maintenance in the face of British weather led to the deterioration of the airframe and it was scrapped in 1989.

The Blackburn B-101 Beverley was a 1950s British heavy transport aircraft built by Blackburn and General Aircraft and flown by squadrons of RAF Transport Command from 1957 until 1967.

Designed and built by General Aircraft as the GAL.60 Universal Freighter, the first aircraft had its maiden flight on 20 June 1950 at Brough in Yorkshire. The modified GAL.65 saw clamshell doors replaced a combination of a door and ramp, and the tailplane boom received seating for 36 passengers. The Bristol Hercules engines became Bristol Centaurus with reverse-pitch propellers, a feature that gave it an impressive STOL capability and the ability to reverse under its own power. The take-off run at full load was given as 750m, the landing run at full load, 300m.

In 1952 the RAF ordered the Beverley C.1 (Beverley, Cargo Mark 1). The aircraft was a high-wing cantilever monoplane with a fixed undercarriage. The large fuselage had a tailboom fitted with a tailplane with twin fins. The tailboom allowed access to the rear of the fuselage through removable clamshell doors. An 11m main fuselage space was supplemented by passenger accommodation in the tailboom. The main cargo hold could accommodate 94 troops, with another 36 in the tail-boom.

The aircraft was designed for carrying large bulk loads and landing them on rough or imperfect runways, or mere dirt strips. It could trace its design back to the GAL49 Hamilcar glider of WWII. At the time of its entry into service, it was the largest aircraft in the RAF. Paratroopers in the upper passenger area jumped through a hatch in the base of the boom just in front of the leading edge of the tailplane. The Beverley was equipped with toilets, which were situated in the tail beyond the paratroop doors located on the floor of the tail boom.

In total, 49 of the aircraft were produced, with the last manufactured in 1958, and final retirement from RAF service was in 1967. The longest serving Beverleys were in the Far East. 34 Squadron received its aircraft at RAF Seletar in October 1960 and continued flying them until the end of 1967. Initially, the aircraft were silver overall, but later, those operated by the squadrons based in the Middle East were given an overall sand camouflage finish as seen above. Only one Beverley has survived: XB259 is on display at Fort Paull, just east of Hull.

Scanned from a negative.

Westland Dragonfly HR. Mk.5

The first helicopter produced by Westland, the Dragonfly was built under licence from Sikorsky and used by the Royal Navy for Search and Rescue. This one took part in the rescue effort during the Dutch Flood disaster in Feb 1953.

On display with The Helicopter Museum from 1989, in January 1990 the aircraft was seriously damaged in 100mph+ gales, overturning and sustaining broken cockpit glazings, tailboom and main rotorblades. The blades and boom were repaired by the Apprentice Training School at Westland Industrial Products and new cockpit glazings were manufactured.

Seen on display at the Weston Helicopter museum

Taken with a Nikon D7000

This Beverley is seen approaching a grass strip outside Nairobi in Kenya in circa 1958. Piloted by a relative, the photo was taken by his wife. The field was the home of the Kenya Flying Club, where my relative was the chief flying instructor in his spare time. I don't know exactly where the airfield was...

The Blackburn B-101 Beverley was a 1950s British heavy transport aircraft built by Blackburn and General Aircraft and flown by squadrons of RAF Transport Command from 1957 until 1967.

Designed and built by General Aircraft as the GAL.60 Universal Freighter, the first aircraft had its maiden flight on 20 June 1950 at Brough in Yorkshire. The modified GAL.65 saw clamshell doors replaced a combination of a door and ramp, and the tailplane boom received seating for 36 passengers. The Bristol Hercules engines became Bristol Centaurus with reverse-pitch propellers, a feature that gave it an impressive STOL capability and the ability to reverse under its own power. The take-off run at full load was given as 750m, the landing run at full load, 300m.

In 1952 the RAF ordered the Beverley C.1 (Beverley, Cargo Mark 1). The aircraft was a high-wing cantilever monoplane with a fixed undercarriage. The large fuselage had a tailboom fitted with a tailplane with twin fins. The tailboom allowed access to the rear of the fuselage through removable clamshell doors. An 11m main fuselage space was supplemented by passenger accommodation in the tailboom. The main cargo hold could accommodate 94 troops, with another 36 in the tail-boom.

The aircraft was designed for carrying large bulk loads and landing them on rough or imperfect runways, or mere dirt strips. It could trace its design back to the GAL49 Hamilcar glider of WWII. At the time of its entry into service, it was the largest aircraft in the RAF. Paratroopers in the upper passenger area jumped through a hatch in the base of the boom just in front of the leading edge of the tailplane. The Beverley was equipped with toilets, which were situated in the tail beyond the paratroop doors located on the floor of the tail boom.

In total, 49 of the aircraft were produced, with the last manufactured in 1958, and final retirement from RAF service was in 1967. The longest serving Beverleys were in the Far East. 34 Squadron received its aircraft at RAF Seletar in October 1960 and continued flying them until the end of 1967. Initially, the aircraft were silver overall, but later, those operated by the squadrons based in the Middle East were given an overall sand camouflage finish as seen above. Only one Beverley has survived: XB259 is on display at Fort Paull, just east of Hull.

Scanned from a slide.

The Aérospatiale SA 330 Puma is a four-bladed, twin-engined medium transport/utility helicopter. The Puma was originally built by Sud Aviation of France, and continued to be made by Aérospatiale. It was also license-built in Romania as the IAR 330; two advanced, unlicensed derivatives, the Denel Rooivalk and Atlas Oryx, were made in South Africa. The Puma was a commercial success and was quickly developed into more advanced models such as the AS332 Super Puma and AS532 Cougar, manufactured by Eurocopter since the early 1990s. These descendants of the Puma remain in production in the 21st century.

The Puma has seen combat in a range of theatres by a number of different operators; significant operations include the Gulf War, the South African Border War, the Portuguese Colonial War, the Yugoslav Wars, the Lebanese Civil War, the Iraq War, and the Falklands War. The type also saw popular use in the civilian field and has been operated by a number of civil operators.

As a troop carrier, up to 16 soldiers can be seated on foldable seats; in a casualty evacuation configuration, the cabin can hold six litters and four additional personnel; the Puma can also perform cargo transport duties, using alternatively an external sling or the internal cabin, with a maximum weight of 2500 kg. Civilian Pumas feature a variety of passenger cabin layouts, including those intended for VIP services. In a search and rescue capacity, a hoist is commonly installed, often mounted on the starboard fuselage.

A pair of roof-mounted Turbomeca Turmo turboshaft engines power the Puma's four-blade main rotor. The helicopter's rotors are driven at a speed of roughly 265 rpm via a five reduction stage transmission. The design of the transmission featured several unique and uncommon innovations for the time, such as single-part manufacturing of the rotor shaft and the anti-vibration measures integrated into the main gearbox and main rotor blades. The Puma also featured an automatic blade inspection system, which guarded against and alerted crews to fatigue cracking in the rotor blades. There are two hydraulic systems on board, these operate entirely independent of one another, one system powers only the aircraft's flight controls while the other serves the autopilot, undercarriage, rotor brake, and the flight controls.

In flight, the Puma was designed to be capable of high speeds, exhibit great maneuverability, and have good hot-and-high performance; the engines have an intentionally high level of reserve power to enable a Puma to effectively fly at maximum weight with only one functioning engine and proceed with its mission if circumstances require. The cockpit has conventional dual controls for a pilot and copilot, a third seat is provided in the cockpit for a reserve crew member or commander. The Puma features a SFIM-Newmark Type 127 electro-hydraulic autopilot; the autopilot is capable of roll and pitch stabilization, the load hook operator can also enter corrective adjustments of the helicopter's position from his station through the autopilot.

The Puma is readily air-transportable by tactical airlift aircraft such as the Transall C-160 and the Lockheed C-130 Hercules; the main rotor, landing gear, and tailboom are all detachable to lower space requirements. Ease of maintenance was one of the objectives pursued in the Puma's design; many of the components and systems that would require routine inspection were positioned to be visible from ground level, use of life-limited components was minimised, and key areas of the mechanical systems were designed to be readily accessed. The Puma is also capable of operating at nighttime, in inhospitable flying conditions, or in a wide range of climates from Arctic to desert environments.

Although not included during the original production run, numerous operators of Pumas have installed additional features and modern equipment over the aircraft's service life. The RAF have equipped their Puma fleet with Global Positioning System (GPS) navigation equipment, along with an assortment of self-defense measures including infrared jammers and automatic flares/chaff dispensers, and night vision goggles for night-time flights. The French Army Light Aviation have modernised their Pumas to meet International Civil Aviation Organization standards, this involved additional digital systems to the aircraft, this has included new mission command and control systems, such as the Sitalat data link. Third party companies such as South Africa's Thunder City have provided life extension and modernisation programmes for the Puma, some operators have chosen to refurbish their fleets with glass cockpits.

On the original model, the tapering of the tailboom was achieved using half-stud offsets, with it simply stepping from three-studs wide to two studs wide. On the new version I decided to make this a bit smoother using plate hinges, with the sides mounted at a slight angle.

Enterprise City Park, AL, USA

Large is better, please.

Do you see the Army helicopter? It's an old UH-1H "Huey" that is on static display at the front of the park...about 1/4 mile from where I was standing.

Right side of tree...yellow marking on the tailboom.

Left side of the tree...US star & bars emblem.

I had my long lens (400mm) on the camera and saw a view down toward the lake that I thought was interesting with the morning sun filtering through the trees.

Ff_IMG_2181, 1 Dec 07

This Beverley is seen "buzzing" the Kenya Flying Club on a grass strip outside Nairobi in circa 1958. The Beverley was piloted by a relative, whose wife took this photo. The field was the home of the Kenya Flying Club, where my relative was the chief flying instructor in his spare time.

The Blackburn B-101 Beverley was a 1950s British heavy transport aircraft built by Blackburn and General Aircraft and flown by squadrons of RAF Transport Command from 1957 until 1967.

Designed and built by General Aircraft as the GAL.60 Universal Freighter, the first aircraft had its maiden flight on 20 June 1950 at Brough in Yorkshire. The modified GAL.65 saw clamshell doors replaced a combination of a door and ramp, and the tailplane boom received seating for 36 passengers. The Bristol Hercules engines became Bristol Centaurus with reverse-pitch propellers, a feature that gave it an impressive STOL capability and the ability to reverse under its own power. The take-off run at full load was given as 750m, the landing run at full load, 300m.

In 1952 the RAF ordered the Beverley C.1 (Beverley, Cargo Mark 1). The aircraft was a high-wing cantilever monoplane with a fixed undercarriage. The large fuselage had a tailboom fitted with a tailplane with twin fins. The tailboom allowed access to the rear of the fuselage through removable clamshell doors. An 11m main fuselage space was supplemented by passenger accommodation in the tailboom. The main cargo hold could accommodate 94 troops, with another 36 in the tail-boom.

The aircraft was designed for carrying large bulk loads and landing them on rough or imperfect runways, or mere dirt strips. It could trace its design back to the GAL49 Hamilcar glider of WWII. At the time of its entry into service, it was the largest aircraft in the RAF. Paratroopers in the upper passenger area jumped through a hatch in the base of the boom just in front of the leading edge of the tailplane. The Beverley was equipped with toilets, which were situated in the tail beyond the paratroop doors located on the floor of the tail boom.

In total, 49 of the aircraft were produced, with the last manufactured in 1958, and final retirement from RAF service was in 1967. The longest serving Beverleys were in the Far East. 34 Squadron received its aircraft at RAF Seletar in October 1960 and continued flying them until the end of 1967. Initially, the aircraft were silver overall, but later, those operated by the squadrons based in the Middle East were given an overall sand camouflage finish as seen above. Only one Beverley has survived: XB259 is on display at Fort Paull, just east of Hull.

The red and cream light monoplane in the foreground (VP-KGK) features a colonial aircraft registration for Kenya (VP-K). I'm not sure exactly what make it might be and would be glad for someone to tell me...

Scanned from a slide.

Converted Douglas C-47A-75-DL twin-radial military transport, 1944

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Markings: Chinese National Antarctic Research Expedition (CHINARE), 'XUE YING' 601

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Two Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-67R turboprops, 1424-shp each

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Nikon AF Nikkor 80-200mm f/4.5-5.6D

DSC_4885 Anx2 1400h Q90 0.5k-1.5k

Delaware - Municipal-Jim Moore Field (DLZ)

Delaware, OH

Schweizer 300C (269C) c/n S-1396, N3625T, Untitled (Rotorcraft Training Center LLC)

-to DLZ from DLZ (touch-and-go)

Myrtle Beach - Helicopter Adventures Heliport

Myrtle Beach, SC

Robinson Helicopter R44 Raven II c/n 10044, N144DM, Untitled (Helicopter Adventures)

-to HeliAdvHeli from HeliAdvHeli

Airbus, A330-200MRTT, msn 1700, ex IB EC-MJA, tempo reg EC-349, now only marked MRTT073, recently converted to MRTT is now doing test flights before going to paintshop and further deliver to Spanish Ejército del Aire as TK.24-03. Note that full fuel transfer system is installed except for the tailboom.

c/n WA/H/50

Built in 1952 as a Dragonfly HR.3 but converted to HR.5 standard in 1957. Sold off in 1970 and on display as part of the Fleet Air Arm Museum at Yeovilton from April 1974 to March 1976, after which she came to the museum here.

The Helicopter Museum

Weston-super-Mare, North Somerset, UK

2nd October 2020

The following information is from The Helicopter Museum website:-

The WS-51 was originally a Sikorsky design, anglicised by Westland with a British engine in the late 1940s and marking their debut as helicopter manufacturers. The major customer was the Royal Navy who saw the helicopter as ideal for plane guard duties aboard the aircraft carriers and for Search and Rescue work and other duties. The Dragonfly was used in the SAR and training role and eventually served for some 15 years before being retired in the mid 1960s.

The 50th production Dragonfly WG719 first flew from Yeovil on September 19 1952 as a HR. Mk. 3. It was delivered to No. 705 Squadron, Fleet Air Arm, at Gosport on October 7. In February 1953 four WS-51 Dragonfly helicopters from 705 Squadron including WG719 took part in the relief effort during the Dutch Flood disaster. Stranded people were located, winched up and flown to safety, 200 on the first day and a further 534 by the end of 6th February. Sycamore helicopter G-ALSX (in The Museum) also took part in the rescue operations.

In 1957 it was converted by Westland to HR. Mk.5 standard. It then served with the Station Flight at Yeovilton from April 1958 until that September. After a spell of modifications at Fleetlands WG719 joined No.776 Squadron, the Fleet Requirements Unit, in August 1959 until Apri1 1961. It was reconditioned at Fleetlands in June 1961 and then served with the Britannia Royal Navy College, Dartmouth, from September 1963 to April 1967.

In June 1967 it moved for storage at Fleetlands and was sold to Twyford Moors Limited in May 1970, moving to their base at Southampton Heliport. It remained there, in the open, until 1973. It was purchased privately by Elfan ap Rees in November 1973 and loaned to the Fleet Air Arm Museum at Yeovilton, where it was displayed from April 1974 until March 1976. WG719 then moved to Weston-super-Mare for partial refurbishing and was displayed at the 1976 Air Day. Later it was loaned to the Central Flying School Royal Air Force for anniversary celebrations at RAF Shawbury where it was further restored and returned to its original silver overall colour scheme.

On display with The Helicopter Museum from 1989, in January 1990 the aircraft was seriously damaged in 100mph+ gales, overturning and sustaining broken cockpit glazings, tailboom and main rotorblades. The blades and boom were repaired by the Apprentice Training School at Westland Industrial Products and new cockpit glazings were manufactured.

+++ DISCLAIMER +++

Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based historical facts. BEWARE!

How it came to be:

It has been a long time since I built a "real" airplane kit, and this one here is a one-of-a-kind. After a bleak phase with lots of reading about German WWII airplane projects I found a spark to fire up a project I kept in the back of my mind for a long time: building one of these semi-fictional WWII airplanes from scratch. These astonishing designs were on the drawing boards at their time and rarely made it beyond that. Only a few reached prototype status at the end of the war, but today these partly weird designs are the basis of today's Luft '46 model kit genre: What-if airplanes, based on sketches, construction plans and pure speculation, in the case the war would have gone on.

At this point I want to make clear that this kit has NO political background. It is not even intended, and any Nazi symbolism is intentionally avoided and rejected. It is rather a hommage to an impressive design and, from my personal point of view, pure science fiction, based on vague historic facts.

Some historic background on this plane:

This plane is a Focke-Wulf study from 1941 for a heavy fighter. It was developes shortly after the Fw 190 introduction and surely influenced by the twin-boom Fw 189 reconnaissance aircraft, which became very popular due to its high agility, stable flight characteristics and toughness against enemy fire. The small "Flitzer" turbine engine fighter will surely also have had some impact, since it was on Focke Wulf's drawing boards in 1943, too.

This beast here would have been a much larger airplane, though: a heavy, high performance fighter built around the potent BMW 803 engine: a 28 cylinder, liquid-cooled radial engine in the 4.000 hp output range - comparable to the P&W-R-4360 Wasp Major engine (the so-called "corncob") which actually found its way into the Vought F2G Corsair but "just" put out 3.000 hp.

For reference, this Focke Wulf design was quite comparable to the US American XP-54, both in design and performance

The Focke Wulf fighter never received an official designation, and saw some mutation in the course of 1943. Even though the basic layout as a twin-boom, single pusher engine airplane with a tricycle landing gear was retained, the radiator placements, wing and tail shape changed.

From the original 1941 annular radiator design (a ring opening around the central fuselage), the arrangement was modified in April 1943 to a single drum radiator in the nose and, alternatively, twin drum radiators in the front ends of the tailbooms. The latter design is the layout I chose for my model, or better: where I ended up (see below).

Valuable sources:

Walter Schick, Ingolf Meyer: Luftwaffe Secret Projects, Fighters 1939-1945, Hinckley, 2005 (this is an English translation of the original German edition, Stuttgart, 1994, but with many colored illustrations added).

Sundin, Claes; Bergstroem, Christer: Deutsche Jaqgdflugzeuge 1939-1945 in Farbprofilen, Bonn, 1999.

www.luft46.com - a great online institution which offers many facts, information and artwork about secret German WWII airplane designs like this one - you can find a nice CG graphic of the initial 1941 design of this machine there.

wp.scn.ru - "Wings Palette" - a Russian website which collects plane profiles and some details about the respective machine's history. A nice reference archive, since a lot information concerning colors can be found there, too. Handling is poor, though. But once you get it, it is a great model kit building source.

The construction:

Anyway, this Focke Wulf design never left the drawing board, and this model here is just an interpretation of the vague design sketches I found in literature. It is also limited by the use of various existing kits as a kitbashing basis. My idea was to build a what-if version of the airplane if it had entered service, which would allow some deviations from the blueprints and also leave some room for a semi-realistic Luftwaffe livery.

What went into this model:

Grumman Panther (1:72, Matchbox/Revell):

- Main body,

- Parts of the outer wings

- Cockpit interior

- Canopy

Lockheed P-38E Lightning (1:72; Airfix):

- Tailbooms

- Horizontal fin

- Cockpit parts

- Landing gear

- Propeller spinners

Messerschmidt Me 262 A-2a (1:72, Hobby Master):

- Outer wings

- Wheels

Dornier Do 217N (1:72, Italeri):

- Engine cowling (rear central fuselage)

- Propellers

Other smaller donations:

- Kamow Ka-25 (1:72, Airfix): Vertical fins

- Chance Vought XF5U-1 (1:72, Hasegawa): Propeller spinners

- Chance Vought F4U (1:72, Matchbox): Engine block

- Messerschmidt Me-110 (1:72, Matchbox): Pilot figure

...and a lot of small stuff of unknown origin!

Laying the foundations

The basic choice for donation kits was quickly done: the central body would come from the Grumman F9F-4 Panther kit from Matchbox (currently released by Revell). Its overall proportions match well with the Focke Wulf design's central body and its size well, and the kit's construction with folded wings and a separate tail fin allowed easy modification for the pusher engine layout.

Originally, I wanted to use the Panther's jet intakes as radiator openings for a fictional (and more elegant) design alternative to the "official" radiator solutions, but I had to skip this idea (see below). The slender tailbooms come from a vintage Airfix P-38H kit and are much more slender than the Focke Wulf designs. Furthermore, the original Focke Wulf main landing gear looks as if it would retract inwards - which collided with my intial radiator ideas! Due to the pusher propeller, a much longer landing gear than the Panther's wpould be necessary, and this would have needed much bigger compartments. Enlarging them appeared too complex, and there's be actually no space with my inital wing root radiator idea. Therefore, I decided to retract the main wheels into the twin booms, and the P-38 pieces were just perfect for my ideas (and at hand). They'd undergo major modifications, though.

The twin booms were to be mounted onto the Panther's inner wings, and from there the rest of the model design would come when the parts were needed or available, since matching proportions for a balanced look is an important aspect when you build from scratch - a lesson I learned through varioius mecha bashings and modifications. I had some plans though: for the outer wings, for instance, I considered straight wings from a Fw 190 or parts from a Do 335 "Arrow", since these are slightly swept and would match the original drawings quite well.

The body parts get assembled

Work started straightforward with the tailbooms: they needed total cleaning, so that the P-38 look would disappear as much as possible: intercooolers and turbochargers had to go, and the engines were to "disappear", too. The Airfix kit is pretty old and clumsy, but offers massive material to work with. Another positive aspect is that the main landing gear compartments are complete parts, including the doors and all the inside. A neat arrangement which would later allow a switch between extended and retracted wheels!

The Panther's fuselage was cut open at the rear end to hold the BMW 803 engine, which requiered a new cowling. This came from a Dornier Do 217 with BMW 801 engines from Italeri, the BMW 803 dummy inside comes from a Matchbox F4U kit. The diameters of both segments were pretty equal and were easily merged with putty.

The Panther's front end was taken as it is, including the cockpit. The latter is actually very detailed for a Matchbox kit, with side consoles, a dashboard with instruments and even steering stick is included. I just fitted a better seat and a WWII pilot figure, which received an oxygen mask and its head was turned left for a more vivid look.

Since the front wheel had to be much longer than the Panther pieces I decided to use the P-38 front landing gear. Consequently, I enlarged its compartment (towards the nose, with a transplanted interior) and moved the Panther's nose guns from their original low position upwards. The kit's nose was filled with lots of lead in order to ensure a good weight on the front wheel for free standing on its tricycle undercarriage.

The BMW 803's contraprops had to be built from scratch. The basis were two leftover three-bladed rotors from the aforementioned Do 217 Italeri kit (they had just the correct diameter!) for the static display version, and two transparent plastic discs of the same diameter in order to mimic running propellers for photo shooting purposes in flight.

The spinners were a nightmare, though. They come from a wrecked 1:72 Hasegawa kit of a Chance Vought XF5U-1 (The "Flying Pancake"). Cut into three pieces, the three-bladed props were implanted into the spinner segments and a metal axis inserted, so that the propellers can be moved and interchanged. A plastic tube inside of the engine dummy is the respective adapter and offers a stable hold.

Trouble! ...and even more trouble!

As rough work progressed, some fundamental problems became obvious:

a) the P-38 booms were too long at their front, and their diameter was much too large. Cutting the front ends off did not help much, since I would have had to create new front covers/noses from putty and their bulky shape would look very unsinspired - way off of the Focke Wulf design! Hence, I finally decided to switch my personal design plan from the wing root intake arrangement to the authetic twin drum radiator layout from April 1943.

The Panther's air intakes would be totally closed, leaving pretty "fat" wing roots of high thickness. But since armament was supposed to be loacted in both the nose and wing roots of this machine (see below), this offered a good chance to cover the mess up a little.

Finding something to act as drum radiators was another problem that followed suit! At first I thought I'd become happy with two leftover engines from a Matchbox PB4-Y2 Privateer in 1:72 scale. These are/were actually Twin Wasp radial engines, but their diameter, the grates inside and their cooling flaps made them suited for my kit. They fitted well, but it just did not look right (see some of the WIP pics).

Heavy-hearted I skipped this approach and also built the drums radiators from scratch. I finally found some good parts in model railraod equipment: in a HO Modulars set from Cornerstone with various roof detils for industrial buildings, I found two nice "tubs" (parts for motorized vents) which were merged with lots of putty and sanding onto the clipped tail booms. The radiator arrangement inside was made up from parts from a 1:72 scale Panzer IV(!) and from the Airfix P-38 spinners. The cooling flaps are very thin Plasticard. Comparing this solution with the original plane sketches, the result looks convicing and more "realistic" than originally planned! Whew...

b) The wing root/twin boom area was another source of headaches, since I had to merge parts that were never supposed to meet, in places even less intended for construction. But a mini drill with a diamond cutter and epoxy putty are wonderful things!

Spacers between the Panther hull and the booms had to be made, closing a 5mm gap on each side because the propeller needed this much space between the booms. Parts of the leftover Panther kit's outer wings were the basis, and the original P-38's horizonmtal fin could be used, too. Sound simple, but almost the complete area had to be remodeled with putty.

The big picture becomes clear(er)

Now that the main part of the body was finished, the final missing pieces could be added and first details defined.

For the outer wings, I finally settled on parts from a Me 262 from Hobby Boss. These have the advantage that they are massive pieces (not two halves, as usual) and that the Me 262's engine nacelles could easily be left away. As a result, I had two thin, slightly swept wings which could easily be cut into the right length for my project. Fixing them to the P-38 tail booms was another story, though!

The original Focke Wulf design uses simpler and thicker wings, which look very similar to the Do 335. But I justify my choice with the advancements in aerodynamics since the 1943 revision of the original plane's design and the effective introduction of the Me 262 into production and service. Using these parts or a similar design for high speeds in another airplane appears plausible in order to get this machine into the air quickly, and the slender Me 262 wings blend well with the angles of the inner wings from the Panther.

The vertical fins also puzzled me for some time. The round P-38 fins had definitively to go, but the different Focke Wulf design sketches did not show a definitive vertical fin shape or arrangement. Since I wanted an old-fashioned, not jet-like look, I went for parts from the scrap box again. And, believe it or not, the model's retro-looking vertical fins actually come from a helicopter: from an antique 1:72 scale Kamow Ka-25 "Hokum" from Airfix!

The main landing gear was taken from the P-38, but the wheels come from the scrap box. I am not sure where these come from - they could come from a Douglas Skyknight from Matchbox. Since the Airfix kit's contruction offers the main landing gear to be inserted as complete units, I also used the covers for the retracted gear for the photo shootings, for some pictures in flight.

Armament:

Being a heavy daylight fighter, I stuck to the original 1941 design armament: four fixed 20mm MG 151/20 in the nose, plus "provision for two larger calibre cannons", plus two or four machine guns installed in the wing-roots. The firepower would have been massive!

For my model I adopted the four 20mm guns in the upper nose and added four 30mm MK 103 cannons in the wing roots. Since these offered now lots of space, this arrangement would make the thick wing and the blended bodywork plausible, without looking exagerrated.

The nose guns are just thin polystyrol sticks, the larger calibre guns are syringe needles cut to length with the beloved diamond cutter.

But beyond the guns, I also wanted to add some of the experimental air-to-air weapons that were under development against allied bomber forces in 1945. Among those was the world's probably first guided AAM, the Kramer X-4: a relatively small, wire-guided missile with a range of just 3 miles and a contact detonator.

Tests with this innovative weapon were conducted in the late war months, and the X-4 was suppoesed to be carried by e. g. Me 262 fighters. The targeting procedure would easily overstress a single pilot's capabilities, though, esp. in the heat of a bomber formation attack at high speeds. Therefore, field tests were rather performed by multi-seated planes like the Ju 88, and the X-4 did not enter serious service.

But this missile would have been a plausible weapon for this Focke Wulf design, and so two X-4s found their way with starting racks under my model's wings.

Each missile consists of nine parts and had to be built from scratch. The body is a streamlined, modern 250 lbs. Mk 81 bomb, the wings were cut from thin polystyrol. The wire spools on the wing tips are actually parts from a HO scale fence(!), the acoustic detonator nose are leftover tool handles from a 1:35 scale tank kit.

Livery and markings:

Being a semi-fictional design that never left the drawing board, I tried to implement a "typical" late war Luftwaffe livery. Benchmarks were Me 262 fighter paint schemes, as well as late Fw 190D-9 and Ta-152 machines. Since the plane itself was already centre of attraction, the paint job should be rather subtle, yet authentic.

All interior areas (cockpit, engine, landing gear) were painted in RLM 02. For the outside I ended up with a basic livery in RLM 74/75/76, using colors from Testor's Military Models and Figures range, 2071, 2084, 2085, 2086.

The upper splinter scheme with faded/mottled fuselage sides (which includes RLM 02 in order to create a soft color transition from the dark upper sides into the light RLM 76 underneath, a common practice in field conditions) was derived from a Me 262 profile. This machine also contributed the dark green (RLM 82) color fields on the nose and other fuselage parts. These would not have been standard livery, I think, rather improvised in the field. But this subtle detail prevents the plane from being all grey-in-grey.

The markings come from various decal sheets and were a kind of challenge. I intended to mark this machine as being part of an Erprobungskommando (test unit), or EKdo or EK, for short. But these squadrons would not have special designations, though. Prototypes woud carry a "V"-number (for Versuch/test), but I wanted a machine already in service. So I made up a semi-fictional squadron marking as a part of the late Reich defense.

Typical markings are the colored band at the rear fuselage, its color and scheme being associated with certain Jagdgeschwader (JG) wings, dedicated to interception tasks. The red tail band(s) denote this machine as being part of JG 1, which comprised several Staffeln/groups and squadrons with individual emblems. The JG 1's red tail band would not have been used in the late war years in real life, but, hey, it LOOKS good, and we're finally doing fictional things here! As a side note, JG 1 was the only wing (to be exact: 1./JG 1 and later, in April 1945 III./JG 1) to use the He 162 Salamender jet fighter, so JG 1 appears to be a general plausible choice for this fictional Focke Wulf fighter.

The red wave symbol should, AFAIK, mark the 2nd group of that wing, but it could also be a symbol for the pilot's rank - that's quite obscure and had not been handled consistently. For squadron markings I setlled on 6./JG 1 - the red wyvern was this group's squadron emblem.

Decals come from aftermarkets sheet from TL-Modellbau (superb quality) and others i e. from a MiG-25 from Hasegawa (the red bort number) or the leftover decal sheet of the Hobby Boss Me 262 (mostly stencellings and warning signs).

After application of the decals on the semi-matte paint, everything was sealed under matte varnish.

The X-4 missiles were painted in a color livery I found for a museum X-4. Other test missiles were painted in black and white, checkered. Not sure if the field use missiles would have looked that bright, but for a test unit, the blank fuselage and the hi-vis, orange fins look just right and make a nice contrast to the dull rest of the machine.

Finally...

Lots of work, but the result looks better and more harmonious than I expected. O.K., the Panther's fuselage and cockpit deviate from the Focke Wulf sketches - but the plane I built would have had entered service 3 years after its redesign to the drum radiator design, and details like the bubble canopy or more modern weaponry would have certainly been incorporated.

The finish is not as good as a kit "out of the box", but considering the massive putty work, this machine looks quite good :)

And, after all, it is a fictional design!

+++ DISCLAIMER +++

Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based historical facts. BEWARE!

How it came to be:

It has been a long time since I built a "real" airplane kit, and this one here is a one-of-a-kind. After a bleak phase with lots of reading about German WWII airplane projects I found a spark to fire up a project I kept in the back of my mind for a long time: building one of these semi-fictional WWII airplanes from scratch. These astonishing designs were on the drawing boards at their time and rarely made it beyond that. Only a few reached prototype status at the end of the war, but today these partly weird designs are the basis of today's Luft '46 model kit genre: What-if airplanes, based on sketches, construction plans and pure speculation, in the case the war would have gone on.

At this point I want to make clear that this kit has NO political background. It is not even intended, and any Nazi symbolism is intentionally avoided and rejected. It is rather a hommage to an impressive design and, from my personal point of view, pure science fiction, based on vague historic facts.

Some historic background on this plane:

This plane is a Focke-Wulf study from 1941 for a heavy fighter. It was developes shortly after the Fw 190 introduction and surely influenced by the twin-boom Fw 189 reconnaissance aircraft, which became very popular due to its high agility, stable flight characteristics and toughness against enemy fire. The small "Flitzer" turbine engine fighter will surely also have had some impact, since it was on Focke Wulf's drawing boards in 1943, too.

This beast here would have been a much larger airplane, though: a heavy, high performance fighter built around the potent BMW 803 engine: a 28 cylinder, liquid-cooled radial engine in the 4.000 hp output range - comparable to the P&W-R-4360 Wasp Major engine (the so-called "corncob") which actually found its way into the Vought F2G Corsair but "just" put out 3.000 hp.

For reference, this Focke Wulf design was quite comparable to the US American XP-54, both in design and performance

The Focke Wulf fighter never received an official designation, and saw some mutation in the course of 1943. Even though the basic layout as a twin-boom, single pusher engine airplane with a tricycle landing gear was retained, the radiator placements, wing and tail shape changed.

From the original 1941 annular radiator design (a ring opening around the central fuselage), the arrangement was modified in April 1943 to a single drum radiator in the nose and, alternatively, twin drum radiators in the front ends of the tailbooms. The latter design is the layout I chose for my model, or better: where I ended up (see below).

Valuable sources:

Walter Schick, Ingolf Meyer: Luftwaffe Secret Projects, Fighters 1939-1945, Hinckley, 2005 (this is an English translation of the original German edition, Stuttgart, 1994, but with many colored illustrations added).

Sundin, Claes; Bergstroem, Christer: Deutsche Jaqgdflugzeuge 1939-1945 in Farbprofilen, Bonn, 1999.

www.luft46.com - a great online institution which offers many facts, information and artwork about secret German WWII airplane designs like this one - you can find a nice CG graphic of the initial 1941 design of this machine there.

wp.scn.ru - "Wings Palette" - a Russian website which collects plane profiles and some details about the respective machine's history. A nice reference archive, since a lot information concerning colors can be found there, too. Handling is poor, though. But once you get it, it is a great model kit building source.

The construction:

Anyway, this Focke Wulf design never left the drawing board, and this model here is just an interpretation of the vague design sketches I found in literature. It is also limited by the use of various existing kits as a kitbashing basis. My idea was to build a what-if version of the airplane if it had entered service, which would allow some deviations from the blueprints and also leave some room for a semi-realistic Luftwaffe livery.

What went into this model:

Grumman Panther (1:72, Matchbox/Revell):

- Main body,

- Parts of the outer wings

- Cockpit interior

- Canopy

Lockheed P-38E Lightning (1:72; Airfix):

- Tailbooms

- Horizontal fin

- Cockpit parts

- Landing gear

- Propeller spinners

Messerschmidt Me 262 A-2a (1:72, Hobby Master):

- Outer wings

- Wheels

Dornier Do 217N (1:72, Italeri):

- Engine cowling (rear central fuselage)

- Propellers

Other smaller donations:

- Kamow Ka-25 (1:72, Airfix): Vertical fins

- Chance Vought XF5U-1 (1:72, Hasegawa): Propeller spinners

- Chance Vought F4U (1:72, Matchbox): Engine block

- Messerschmidt Me-110 (1:72, Matchbox): Pilot figure

...and a lot of small stuff of unknown origin!

Laying the foundations

The basic choice for donation kits was quickly done: the central body would come from the Grumman F9F-4 Panther kit from Matchbox (currently released by Revell). Its overall proportions match well with the Focke Wulf design's central body and its size well, and the kit's construction with folded wings and a separate tail fin allowed easy modification for the pusher engine layout.

Originally, I wanted to use the Panther's jet intakes as radiator openings for a fictional (and more elegant) design alternative to the "official" radiator solutions, but I had to skip this idea (see below). The slender tailbooms come from a vintage Airfix P-38H kit and are much more slender than the Focke Wulf designs. Furthermore, the original Focke Wulf main landing gear looks as if it would retract inwards - which collided with my intial radiator ideas! Due to the pusher propeller, a much longer landing gear than the Panther's wpould be necessary, and this would have needed much bigger compartments. Enlarging them appeared too complex, and there's be actually no space with my inital wing root radiator idea. Therefore, I decided to retract the main wheels into the twin booms, and the P-38 pieces were just perfect for my ideas (and at hand). They'd undergo major modifications, though.

The twin booms were to be mounted onto the Panther's inner wings, and from there the rest of the model design would come when the parts were needed or available, since matching proportions for a balanced look is an important aspect when you build from scratch - a lesson I learned through varioius mecha bashings and modifications. I had some plans though: for the outer wings, for instance, I considered straight wings from a Fw 190 or parts from a Do 335 "Arrow", since these are slightly swept and would match the original drawings quite well.

The body parts get assembled

Work started straightforward with the tailbooms: they needed total cleaning, so that the P-38 look would disappear as much as possible: intercooolers and turbochargers had to go, and the engines were to "disappear", too. The Airfix kit is pretty old and clumsy, but offers massive material to work with. Another positive aspect is that the main landing gear compartments are complete parts, including the doors and all the inside. A neat arrangement which would later allow a switch between extended and retracted wheels!

The Panther's fuselage was cut open at the rear end to hold the BMW 803 engine, which requiered a new cowling. This came from a Dornier Do 217 with BMW 801 engines from Italeri, the BMW 803 dummy inside comes from a Matchbox F4U kit. The diameters of both segments were pretty equal and were easily merged with putty.

The Panther's front end was taken as it is, including the cockpit. The latter is actually very detailed for a Matchbox kit, with side consoles, a dashboard with instruments and even steering stick is included. I just fitted a better seat and a WWII pilot figure, which received an oxygen mask and its head was turned left for a more vivid look.

Since the front wheel had to be much longer than the Panther pieces I decided to use the P-38 front landing gear. Consequently, I enlarged its compartment (towards the nose, with a transplanted interior) and moved the Panther's nose guns from their original low position upwards. The kit's nose was filled with lots of lead in order to ensure a good weight on the front wheel for free standing on its tricycle undercarriage.

The BMW 803's contraprops had to be built from scratch. The basis were two leftover three-bladed rotors from the aforementioned Do 217 Italeri kit (they had just the correct diameter!) for the static display version, and two transparent plastic discs of the same diameter in order to mimic running propellers for photo shooting purposes in flight.

The spinners were a nightmare, though. They come from a wrecked 1:72 Hasegawa kit of a Chance Vought XF5U-1 (The "Flying Pancake"). Cut into three pieces, the three-bladed props were implanted into the spinner segments and a metal axis inserted, so that the propellers can be moved and interchanged. A plastic tube inside of the engine dummy is the respective adapter and offers a stable hold.

Trouble! ...and even more trouble!

As rough work progressed, some fundamental problems became obvious:

a) the P-38 booms were too long at their front, and their diameter was much too large. Cutting the front ends off did not help much, since I would have had to create new front covers/noses from putty and their bulky shape would look very unsinspired - way off of the Focke Wulf design! Hence, I finally decided to switch my personal design plan from the wing root intake arrangement to the authetic twin drum radiator layout from April 1943.

The Panther's air intakes would be totally closed, leaving pretty "fat" wing roots of high thickness. But since armament was supposed to be loacted in both the nose and wing roots of this machine (see below), this offered a good chance to cover the mess up a little.

Finding something to act as drum radiators was another problem that followed suit! At first I thought I'd become happy with two leftover engines from a Matchbox PB4-Y2 Privateer in 1:72 scale. These are/were actually Twin Wasp radial engines, but their diameter, the grates inside and their cooling flaps made them suited for my kit. They fitted well, but it just did not look right (see some of the WIP pics).

Heavy-hearted I skipped this approach and also built the drums radiators from scratch. I finally found some good parts in model railraod equipment: in a HO Modulars set from Cornerstone with various roof detils for industrial buildings, I found two nice "tubs" (parts for motorized vents) which were merged with lots of putty and sanding onto the clipped tail booms. The radiator arrangement inside was made up from parts from a 1:72 scale Panzer IV(!) and from the Airfix P-38 spinners. The cooling flaps are very thin Plasticard. Comparing this solution with the original plane sketches, the result looks convicing and more "realistic" than originally planned! Whew...

b) The wing root/twin boom area was another source of headaches, since I had to merge parts that were never supposed to meet, in places even less intended for construction. But a mini drill with a diamond cutter and epoxy putty are wonderful things!

Spacers between the Panther hull and the booms had to be made, closing a 5mm gap on each side because the propeller needed this much space between the booms. Parts of the leftover Panther kit's outer wings were the basis, and the original P-38's horizonmtal fin could be used, too. Sound simple, but almost the complete area had to be remodeled with putty.

The big picture becomes clear(er)

Now that the main part of the body was finished, the final missing pieces could be added and first details defined.

For the outer wings, I finally settled on parts from a Me 262 from Hobby Boss. These have the advantage that they are massive pieces (not two halves, as usual) and that the Me 262's engine nacelles could easily be left away. As a result, I had two thin, slightly swept wings which could easily be cut into the right length for my project. Fixing them to the P-38 tail booms was another story, though!

The original Focke Wulf design uses simpler and thicker wings, which look very similar to the Do 335. But I justify my choice with the advancements in aerodynamics since the 1943 revision of the original plane's design and the effective introduction of the Me 262 into production and service. Using these parts or a similar design for high speeds in another airplane appears plausible in order to get this machine into the air quickly, and the slender Me 262 wings blend well with the angles of the inner wings from the Panther.

The vertical fins also puzzled me for some time. The round P-38 fins had definitively to go, but the different Focke Wulf design sketches did not show a definitive vertical fin shape or arrangement. Since I wanted an old-fashioned, not jet-like look, I went for parts from the scrap box again. And, believe it or not, the model's retro-looking vertical fins actually come from a helicopter: from an antique 1:72 scale Kamow Ka-25 "Hokum" from Airfix!

The main landing gear was taken from the P-38, but the wheels come from the scrap box. I am not sure where these come from - they could come from a Douglas Skyknight from Matchbox. Since the Airfix kit's contruction offers the main landing gear to be inserted as complete units, I also used the covers for the retracted gear for the photo shootings, for some pictures in flight.

Armament:

Being a heavy daylight fighter, I stuck to the original 1941 design armament: four fixed 20mm MG 151/20 in the nose, plus "provision for two larger calibre cannons", plus two or four machine guns installed in the wing-roots. The firepower would have been massive!

For my model I adopted the four 20mm guns in the upper nose and added four 30mm MK 103 cannons in the wing roots. Since these offered now lots of space, this arrangement would make the thick wing and the blended bodywork plausible, without looking exagerrated.

The nose guns are just thin polystyrol sticks, the larger calibre guns are syringe needles cut to length with the beloved diamond cutter.

But beyond the guns, I also wanted to add some of the experimental air-to-air weapons that were under development against allied bomber forces in 1945. Among those was the world's probably first guided AAM, the Kramer X-4: a relatively small, wire-guided missile with a range of just 3 miles and a contact detonator.

Tests with this innovative weapon were conducted in the late war months, and the X-4 was suppoesed to be carried by e. g. Me 262 fighters. The targeting procedure would easily overstress a single pilot's capabilities, though, esp. in the heat of a bomber formation attack at high speeds. Therefore, field tests were rather performed by multi-seated planes like the Ju 88, and the X-4 did not enter serious service.

But this missile would have been a plausible weapon for this Focke Wulf design, and so two X-4s found their way with starting racks under my model's wings.

Each missile consists of nine parts and had to be built from scratch. The body is a streamlined, modern 250 lbs. Mk 81 bomb, the wings were cut from thin polystyrol. The wire spools on the wing tips are actually parts from a HO scale fence(!), the acoustic detonator nose are leftover tool handles from a 1:35 scale tank kit.

Livery and markings:

Being a semi-fictional design that never left the drawing board, I tried to implement a "typical" late war Luftwaffe livery. Benchmarks were Me 262 fighter paint schemes, as well as late Fw 190D-9 and Ta-152 machines. Since the plane itself was already centre of attraction, the paint job should be rather subtle, yet authentic.

All interior areas (cockpit, engine, landing gear) were painted in RLM 02. For the outside I ended up with a basic livery in RLM 74/75/76, using colors from Testor's Military Models and Figures range, 2071, 2084, 2085, 2086.

The upper splinter scheme with faded/mottled fuselage sides (which includes RLM 02 in order to create a soft color transition from the dark upper sides into the light RLM 76 underneath, a common practice in field conditions) was derived from a Me 262 profile. This machine also contributed the dark green (RLM 82) color fields on the nose and other fuselage parts. These would not have been standard livery, I think, rather improvised in the field. But this subtle detail prevents the plane from being all grey-in-grey.

The markings come from various decal sheets and were a kind of challenge. I intended to mark this machine as being part of an Erprobungskommando (test unit), or EKdo or EK, for short. But these squadrons would not have special designations, though. Prototypes woud carry a "V"-number (for Versuch/test), but I wanted a machine already in service. So I made up a semi-fictional squadron marking as a part of the late Reich defense.

Typical markings are the colored band at the rear fuselage, its color and scheme being associated with certain Jagdgeschwader (JG) wings, dedicated to interception tasks. The red tail band(s) denote this machine as being part of JG 1, which comprised several Staffeln/groups and squadrons with individual emblems. The JG 1's red tail band would not have been used in the late war years in real life, but, hey, it LOOKS good, and we're finally doing fictional things here! As a side note, JG 1 was the only wing (to be exact: 1./JG 1 and later, in April 1945 III./JG 1) to use the He 162 Salamender jet fighter, so JG 1 appears to be a general plausible choice for this fictional Focke Wulf fighter.

The red wave symbol should, AFAIK, mark the 2nd group of that wing, but it could also be a symbol for the pilot's rank - that's quite obscure and had not been handled consistently. For squadron markings I setlled on 6./JG 1 - the red wyvern was this group's squadron emblem.

Decals come from aftermarkets sheet from TL-Modellbau (superb quality) and others i e. from a MiG-25 from Hasegawa (the red bort number) or the leftover decal sheet of the Hobby Boss Me 262 (mostly stencellings and warning signs).

After application of the decals on the semi-matte paint, everything was sealed under matte varnish.

The X-4 missiles were painted in a color livery I found for a museum X-4. Other test missiles were painted in black and white, checkered. Not sure if the field use missiles would have looked that bright, but for a test unit, the blank fuselage and the hi-vis, orange fins look just right and make a nice contrast to the dull rest of the machine.

Finally...

Lots of work, but the result looks better and more harmonious than I expected. O.K., the Panther's fuselage and cockpit deviate from the Focke Wulf sketches - but the plane I built would have had entered service 3 years after its redesign to the drum radiator design, and details like the bubble canopy or more modern weaponry would have certainly been incorporated.

The finish is not as good as a kit "out of the box", but considering the massive putty work, this machine looks quite good :)

And, after all, it is a fictional design!

Myrtle Beach - Helicopter Adventures Heliport

Myrtle Beach, SC

Robinson Helicopter R44 Raven c/n 1137, N224RH, Untitled (Helicopter Adventures)

My Labor Day weekend project. This OH-6/AH-6/MH-6 is now properly hovering as it should be. This is the helicopter you often see fighting side-by-side with the Army Black Hawks. Check out Black Hawk Down if you have not seen it.

Any helicopter pilot will be able to tell you LTE, or Loss of Tailrotor Effectiveness, is a bad bad situation. In this case, the TR is simply napping. Mickey is still blissfully showing off his "look, mom, no hands!" A bad, bad, bad situation...

If you think this is crazy flying, see how this Little Bird used to hover without even turning the main rotor! Now that's pure magic.

EDITOR: All geeky pilot talks aside, I realized I needed to explain this setup a bit more. This is a GI Joe helicopter that I've had for a year or so now. I've had it on a stand, and also hung from the ceiling tiles at work. But this is my proudest display yet of mounting it on a ceiling fan. I would like to spray paint the fan to match the army green. But for now, that's not gonna happen.

Weight and Balance is a true issue here. If the cockpit is too heavy, the main rotor will strike the tailboom. General balancing is also not trivial. Right now the chopper also has a slight vibration with every revolution of the blades. Will work on it more next time.

Upcoming enhancements: navigation and search lights, working tail rotor, engine sound effect (how annoying will that be!).

Operator: Leonardo Helicopters

Aircraft: Leonardo Helicopters AW101-612

Registration: ZZ106

C/n: 50275

Location: Exeter Airport (EXT/EGTE)

Date: 23-1-2019

Remark: Was delivered to Norway as 0275 (see tailboom) in June 2019