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Inferno/SP - 11.04.2009
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[ Foto por Tyello - http://www.flickr.com/photos/tyello ]
Review LG LED IPS Monitor 23MP65HQ (LG 23EA63V replaced) An Phat PC by dtien87 ductien daoductien - www.anphatpc.com.vn
I ordered a replacement handle for one of my vintage Le Creuset pans from www.etsy.com/shop/WorksinWood . The new handle is elm and looks very nice! It's a little bit chunkier than the original handle but is comfortable to use. I've posted a series of pictures showing how I replaced the old handle with the new one.
Here you can see the old one on the pan and the new one on the counter.
The project to replace the 61-year-old Salmon River Bridge on Highway 97 north of Prince George, is going to tender.
The old bridge will be replaced with a new structure that can handle oversize transport trucks. Wider and with a greater load capacity, it will support the movement of heavy loads required to service the resource sectors in the North such as oil and gas, LNG and forestry. The total value of the project is estimated at $24 million and work is expected to begin in the fall of 2016.
Learn more: news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2016TRAN0133-001013
+++ DISCLAIMER +++
Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based historical facts. BEWARE!
Some background:
Following the RLM’s selection of the Bf 109 as its next single-seat fighter (beating Heinkel’s He 112, based on a tactical requirement dating back to 1933), Ernst Heinkel became interested in a new fighter that would leap beyond the performance of the Bf 109 as much as the Bf 109 had over the biplanes it replaced. Other German designers had similar ambitions, including Kurt Tank at Focke-Wulf. There was never an official project on the part of the RLM, but new designs were important enough to fund projects from both companies to provide "super-pursuit" designs for evaluation. This would result in the single-engined He 100 fighter, and the promising twin-engine Fw 187 Falke Zerstörer-style heavy fighter.
The He 100 was a radical, new approach with the aim of ultimate performance in a simple airframe. Walter Günter, one half of the famous Günter brothers, looked at the existing He 112, which had competed against the Bf 109 in 1936 and already been heavily revised into the He 112B version. Looking at the aircraft’s potential he decided it had reached the end of its evolution. So he started over with a completely new design, called "Projekt 1035".
Learning from past mistakes on the 112 project, the design was to be as easy to build as possible, yet 700 km/h (440 mph) was a design goal. To ease production, the new design had considerably fewer parts than the 112 and those that remained contained fewer compound curves. In comparison, the 112 had 2,885 parts and 26,864 rivets, while the P.1035 was made of 969 unique parts with 11.543 rivets. The new straight-edged wing was a source of much of the savings; after building the first wings, Otto Butter reported that the reduction in complexity and rivet count (along with the Butter brothers' own explosive rivet system) saved an astonishing 1.150 man hours per wing.
The super-pursuit type was not a secret, but Ernst Heinkel preferred to work in private and publicly display his products only after they were developed sufficiently to make a stunning first impression. As an example of this, the mock-up for the extremely modern-looking He 100 was the subject of company Memo No.3657 on 31 January that stated: "The mock-up is to be completed by us... as of the beginning of May... and be ready to present to the RLM... and prior to that no one at the RLM is to know of the existence of the mock-up."
In order to get the promised performance out of the aircraft, the design included a number of drag-reducing features. On the simple end were a well-faired cockpit and the absence of struts and other drag-inducing supports on the tail. The landing gear (including the tail wheel) was retractable and completely enclosed in flight.
The He 100 was based on the DB 601 power plant, the same engine as the Bf 109 (and also used in the Bf 110 heavy fighter). In order to achieve the designed performance increase, drag reduced as well as weight and frontal area: the engine was mounted directly to the forward fuselage, which was strengthened and literally tailored to the DB 601, as opposed to conventional mounting on engine bearers. The cowling was very tight-fitting, and as a result the aircraft had something of a slab-sided appearance.
Walter turned to the somewhat risky and still experimental method of cooling the engine via evaporative cooling. Such systems had been in vogue in several countries at the time. Heinkel and the Günter brothers were avid proponents of the technology, and had previously used it on the He 119, with promising results. Evaporative or "steam" cooling promised a completely drag-free cooling system. The DB 601 was a pressure-cooled engine in that the water/glycol coolant was kept in liquid form by pressure, even though its temperature was allowed to exceed the normal boiling point. Heinkel's system took advantage of that fact and the cooling energy loss associated with the phase change of the coolant as it boils.
Beyond the technical risk of the cooling system, the engine itself became a problem: the production priority for Messerschmitt aircraft caused a serious shortage of advanced aero engines in Germany during the late 1930s, as there was insufficient capacity to support another aircraft using the same engines. The only available alternate engine was the Junkers Jumo 211, and Heinkel was encouraged to consider its use in the He 100. However, the early Jumo 211 then available did not use a pressurized cooling system, and it was therefore not suitable for the He 100's innovative evaporative cooling system. Furthermore, a Jumo 211-powered He 100 would not have been able to outperform the contemporary DB 601-powered Bf 109 because the supercharger on the early Jumo 211 was not fully shrouded.
In order to provide as much power as possible from the DB 601, the 100 used exhaust ejectors for a small amount of additional thrust. The supercharger inlet was moved from the normal position on the side of the cowling to a location in the leading edge of the left wing. Although cleaner-looking, the long, curved induction pipe most probably negated any benefit.
One aspect of the original Projekt 1035 was the intent to capture the absolute speed record for Heinkel and Germany. Both Messerschmitt and Heinkel vied for this record before the war. Messerschmitt ultimately won that battle with the first prototype of the Me 209, but the He 100 briefly held the record when Heinkel test pilot Hans Dieterle flew the eighth prototype to 746.606 km/h (463.919 mph) on 30 March 1939.
The third and eighth prototypes were specially modified for speed, with unique outer wing panels of reduced span. The third prototype crashed during testing. The record flight was made using a special version of the DB 601 engine that offered 2,010 kW (2,700 hp) and had a service life of just 30 minutes.
Despite all these successes, the He 100 did not catch up immediately: it took until 1941 that series production was started - or better: allowed. The reason for this delay is subject to debate. Officially, the Luftwaffe rejected the He 100 for years to concentrate single-seat fighter development on the Messerschmitt Bf 109, despite its shortcomings. Following the adoption of the Bf 109 and Bf 110 as the Luftwaffe's standard fighter types, the RLM also announced a "rationalization" policy that placed fighter development at Messerschmitt and bomber development at Heinkel.
Based on the "D" model, which was a refined version of the prototypes and pre-production aircraft, the "G" model became the final evolution of the He 100 and was in late 1943 finally put into service as a pure interceptor, when massive Allied bomber raids started to threaten Germany.
The He 100 G had the D's enlarged horizontal stabilizer, but the big change was the eventual abandonment of the surface cooling system, which proved to be too complex and failure-prone. Instead a larger and simpler version of the D’s retractable radiator was installed, and this appeared to completely cure the vaporization system problems with only a little sacrifice in top speed and rate of climb. The radiator was inserted in a "plug" below the cockpit, and as a result the wings were widened slightly.
Armament was also improved: the engine-mounted 20mm MG FF Motorkanone (firing through the propeller hub) was replaced by the new, very powerful and compact MK 108 30mm cannon. The original pair of 7.92mm MG 17 machine guns in the wing roots (synchronized to fire through the propeller disc) was replaced by a pair of more powerful 13mm MG 131 machine guns, necessitating characteristic bulges on the wings’ upper surface – the MG 131s were placed behind the landing gear wells, their barrels running through them.
This initial G-1 type was soon followed by the G-2 variant, which featured a new canopy with a lowered spine, offering a much better all-round view. The first He 100 G-2s were delivered in early 1944, and many of these aircraft had additional weapons installed, e. g. a pair of 20mm MG 151/20 machine cannons in the outer wings – the “leftover” internal space from the defunct vaporization cooler system was effectively recycled . From late 1944 on, these machines were also outfitted with the more powerful DB 601E engine, even though there was no dedicated designation of this version.
While the aircraft didn't match its original design goal of 700 km/h (430 mph) once it was loaded down with weapons, and despite the larger canopy and the external radiator, it was still capable of sustained speeds in the 644 km/h (400 mph) range. Additionally, the low drag airframe proved to be good for both speed and range: as a result the He 100 had a combat range between 900 and 1.000 km (560 to 620 mi) compared to the Bf 109's 600 km (370 mi). While not in the same league as the later escort fighters, this was at the time a superb range and might have offset the need for the Bf 110 to some degree.
The He 100 only filled a niche role, though, and the Bf 109 and Fw 190 became the backbone of the Jagdwaffe (Fighter Force). The He 100 did not prove flexible enough to be used in different roles, as its external ordnance load was very limited. In spite of its successes in the interceptor role and the fact that it was well liked by its pilots, the He 100 never was able to rival both Bf 109 and also the later Fw 190. Production numbers remained low, only a total of about 300 aircraft were built (50 G-1 and 250 G-2, 150 of them powered by the DB 601E) until early 1945, when production ceased and was switched to other types, including jet and rocket fighters.
General characteristics:
Crew: One (pilot)
Length: 8.2 m (26 ft 11 in)
Wingspan: 9.4 m (30 ft 10 in)
Height: 3.6 m (11 ft 10 in)
Wing area: 14.6 m2 (157 sq ft)
Empty weight: 1,810 kg (3,990 lb)
Max takeoff weight: 2,500 kg (5,512 lb)
Powerplant:
1× Daimler-Benz DB 601E supercharged V12 piston engine, rated at up to 1,350 PS (993 kW) at sea-level with 2,700 RPM and up to 1,450 PS (1,066 kW) at 2.1 km altitude with 2,700 rpm
Performance:
Maximum speed: 685km/h (425 mph; 378 kn)
Cruising speed: 552 km/h (343 mph; 298 kn)
Range: 1,010 km (628 mi; 545 nmi)
Service ceiling: 11,000 m (36,089 ft)
Time to altitude: 2.2 minutes to 2,000 meters (6,600 ft), 7.9 minutes to 6,000 meters (20,000 ft)
Armament:
1x 30mm MK 108 cannon, firing through the propeller hub
2x 13mm MG 131 machine guns or 20mm MG 151/20 machine cannons in the wing roots
2x hardpoints under the wings, each able to carry up to 250kg (550lb), including bombs, drop tanks or unguided missiles; optional placement of additional guns (e .g. 2x MG 131 or 2x MG 151/20) in this position instead of external stores
The kit and its assembly:
This one is a kind of tribute work, dedicated to fellow user Franclab at flickr.com from Canada who came up with a profile of/for this model as a reaction to my He 100 Reno Racer conversion (The orange "Jägermeister"):
[http://www.flickr.com/photos/franclab/9485705184/]
It's a fantasy aircraft, as the He 100 did not enter service and production was stopped after about 20 aircraft. But I liked Franclab's realistic and colorful profile, and only at second glance it reveals a twist: a sliding canopy from a Fw 190 instead of the Bf 109-like original. A nice challenge for a whif kit conversion!
Said and done, I tried to create a 1:72 scale model from/for that profile. The basic kit is the Special Hobby He 100, mostly built OOB. It is a very good model, with fine recessed panel lines and some PE parts, and the recent re-issue with Russian and Japanese markings let the prices drop.
What outwardly looks simple - the implantation of a Fw 190 canopy - became more tricky than expected. The He 100 is small! It’s much smaller and slender than the Fw 190, which itself is not a big bird. I had a complete spare glazing sprue from an Italeri Fw 190 D-9 in store which I tried to install, and after some trials the front window ended up steeper than on a Fw 190.
The sliding canopy is actually shorter and higher than on Franclab's sketch (doing mash-ups in Photoshop is probably much easier than in real life!), so I had to improvise and re-sculpt the rear fuselage step by step. As a consequence, the new glazing looks rather "bubbletop"-like and tall, reminiscent of a P-51D? It took some serious surgery (including some implanted styrene wedges under clear parts) and putty work to integrate the Fw 190 parts. While I was successfully able to blend these into the He 100 fuselage, the result still looks a bit odd?
Other, less obvious kit mods are a metal axis for the propeller and an added pair of guns in the outer wings, taking up Franclab's idea of heavier armament (which the original He 100 did not feature). The cannon nozzles are hollow steel needles of different diameter, those in the wing root even run through the landing gear wells. A pilot figure was added, too (from a HUMA kit).
Painting and markings:
Well, the profile was the benchmark, and I tried to stay true to it. It looks like a typical Fw 190 paint scheme from 1943 on. The grey/green upper color would be RLM 75/83, coupled with RLM65 on the lower side. The latter is a bit unlikely, as RLM 76 became the standard at that time. Still, it looks good, esp. with the rather light upper tones, so that's what I went for.
I used Model Master Authentic tones for the RLM 75/83/65 combo, and later some lighter Humbrol shades for a subtle counter-shading of panels and upper surfaces (e. g. with 140, 120 and 65). The yellow ID markings (typical for the Eastern Front) were painted with Revell 310, Lufthansa Gelb. It’s a RAL tone (RAL 1028), but matches RLM 04 very well.
The cockpit interior was painted in Schwarzgrau (RLM 66) and dry-brushed with lighter shades, the landing gear wells are in RLM 02 – everything very conventional, Fw 190s from late 1944 were the benchmark.
The black-white-black stripe on the real fuselage was created with decal strips, instead of trying to paint this delicate detail by hand. In contrast to that, the propeller spinner with the B/W spiral was done with a brush and “free hand”. The same goes for the unique mottling on the flanks and fin – this was also done with a brush, and partly with thinned paint in order to create a “washed” effect and blurred contours. The result looks O.K..
A dubious element in the profile is the "ace of spades" emblem under the canopy. The tactical stripe codes on the rear fuselage were introduced in 1943, and the BWB-marking correctly belongs to JG 4, which was preliminarily formed as I./JG 4 on August 7, 1942 in Mizil, Romania, from the Ölschutzstaffel/JG 77. It became a full home defense Geschwader much later, on June 15, 1944 in Ansbach - but the spade symbol actually belongs to JG 53. There have been cases that pilots decorated their aircraft with symbols from former units, though, so this small detail is not impossible – but unlikely and a bit controversial. In order to fit into the time frame, this He 100 would be one of the final I./JG 4 aircraft used to defend the Romanian refineries and oil fields - a suitable task for the aircraft.
Additionally, the red number and the absence of any other code symbol identifies the machine as part of the 2nd Gruppe of I./JG 4, everything is very plausible! Anyway, in September 1944 the Jagdgeschwader 4 was finally commanded back to German home territory, after heavy losses against B-24 interceptions, and re-grouped in the Reichsverteidigung.
In order to avoid logical conflicts I decided to replace the squadron emblem with a more generic “Ace of Spades” game card icon. I found it on a Fantasy Forge decal sheet for 28mm miniatures in the scrap box.
AFAIK, some JG 4 aircraft displayed the Geschwaderzeichen on the engine cowling, a blue escutcheon with a grey or silver knight’s helmet with a red (red-white) plume. This insignia was first used by II. Gruppe, but later also appeared on other JG 4 Gruppen aircraft.
National markings and the red "10" come from TL Modellbau sheets - a lucky and handy purchase, as I had these in store for the recent Wellesley conversion: I wanted to use the red letters for the tactical code, but had to drop this idea because the German letters have a black rim. Now they come in just with perfect timing, and the letters/digits are even in the right typo for Franclab's profile!
The warning stencils were taken from the original Special Hobby sheet.
After that, I did some additional detail painting with thinned Humbrol 224 (Dark Slate Gray) and light exhaust and soot stains were added with dry-brushed black. Finally, the kit received a thin coat with Revells’ Acrylic Matt Varnish.
All in all, a nice and quick project, even though I invested more work (and putty!) than expected or what is finally visible. It’s (relatively) colorful, and the light livery beyond the typical RLM 70/71/65 paint scheme of the early He 100 Ds suits the elegant aircraft very well. The Heinkel He 100 has some serious whif potential!
Merci bien à Franclab pour l’inspiration!
AB GYMNIC replaces monotonous sit ups and exercise. Only 10 minutes you can exercise your abdominal muscles approximately 600 times can you imagine how many sit ups you would have to do to achieve the same results?
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+++ 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 Focke-Wulf Fw 190 Würger (English: Shrike) was a German single-seat, single-engine fighter aircraft designed by Kurt Tank in the late 1930s and widely used during World War II. The 190 was used by the Luftwaffe in a wide variety of roles, including day fighter, fighter-bomber, ground-attack aircraft and, to a lesser degree, even night fighter.
The Fw 190 became the backbone of the Jagdwaffe (Fighter Force), along with the Bf 109 which it never entirely replaced. On the Eastern Front, the Fw 190 was versatile enough to use in Schlachtgeschwader (Battle Wings or Strike Wings), specialized ground attack units which achieved much success against Soviet ground forces. As an interceptor, the Fw 190 underwent improvements to make it effective at high altitude, enabling it to maintain relative parity with its Allied opponents. The Fw 190A series' performance decreased at high altitudes (usually 6,000 m (20,000 ft) and above), which reduced its effectiveness as a high-altitude interceptor, but this problem was mostly rectified in later models, particularly in the Junkers Jumo 213 inline-engine Focke-Wulf Fw 190D series (nicknamed the Dora; or Long-Nose Dora, "Langnasen-Dora"), which was introduced in September 1944.
The Fw 190 D was intended to improve on the high-altitude performance of the A-series enough to make it useful against the American heavy bombers of the era. In the event, the D series was rarely used against the heavy-bomber raids, as the circumstances of the war in late 1944 meant that fighter-versus-fighter combat and ground attack missions took priority.
To make matters worse, the D was only seen as an interim solution, as Kurt Tank made it very clear that he intended the D-9 to be a stopgap until the Ta 152 arrived. These negative opinions existed for some time until positive pilot feedback began arriving at Focke-Wulf and the Luftwaffe command structure. Sporting good handling and performance characteristics, the D-9 made an effective medium altitude, high speed interceptor, although its performance still fell away at altitudes above about 20,000 ft (6,100 m). When flown by capable pilots, the Fw 190D proved the equal of Allied types.
With the ever increasing threat of Allied bomber raids and the advent of the formidable Ta 152 fighter, several designs were tried in order to create a long range interceptor from the D-9. From the start it was clear that the increment in range would call for added fuel, which in turn would limit payload and performance to a level that rendered the idea pointless. Anyway, Georg Hager, a young engineer proposed a radical new idea, which was similar to the Twin Mustangs' idea which was under development at the same time in the USA for the Pacific theater: mating two Dora fuselages into a two-engined aircraft, which would meet the Luftwaffe's requirements and could mostly be built with the help of existing tools and jigs, getting it into service with almost no delay.
The result was the Fw 190 Z (for 'Zwilling' = Twin). The airframe was based on the single-engined D-13 fighter, only one cockpit was installed into the left fuselage, the respective space in the right fuselage was faired over and used for an internal tank.
The outer wings were directly taken from the Fw 190 D, even though the landing gear was totally redesigned: it retracted backwards into the lower fuselage and was fitted with twin wheels.
Both fuselages were connected by a new wing center section and a new tailplane, both of constant chord and simple construction. As Aluminum became scarce in the late years of WWII, some constructional changes had to be made, e. g. a rigid central wing spar made from steel. In other places, wood elements replaced Aluminum parts on the wings.
Two prototypes of the Z-16, how the type was officially called, were built in late 1944 and tested until March 1945. As the type proved to offer sufficient performance and no major handling problem was found, it was immediately put into production and service.
The Z-16 was fitted with all-weather flying equipment including the PKS12 and K-23 systems for steering and autopilot. The FuG 125 radio system, known as “Hermine”, was fitted to the aircraft, as well as a heated windscreen. The aircraft also featured a hydraulic boost system for the ailerons, which had been developed for the Ta 152. Armament consisted of six machine cannons, and this heavy armament allowed the Z-16 to deal quickly with enemy aircraft. Each fuselage carried three weapons: one 30 mm (1.18 in) MK 108 Motorkanone cannon centered within the propeller hub and two synchronized 20 mm MG 151/20 cannons located in the wing roots. Under the center wing, bombs of up to 1.000 kg caliber (2.202 lb) or drop tanks could be carried. Under the outer wings, wooden racks with 2× 12 unguided 'R4M' 55 mm (2.2 in) air-to-air rockets could be carried, too. One or two of these rockets could down even the famously rugged B-17 Flying Fortress.
With its two Jumo 213E engines the Z-16 was capable of speeds up to 755 km/h (472 mph) at 13,500 m (41,000 ft, using the GM-1 nitrous oxide boost) and 560 km/h (350 mph) at sea level (using the MW 50 methanol-water boost). To help it attain this speed, it used the MW 50 system mainly for lower altitudes (up to about 10,000 m/32,800 ft) and the GM-1 system for higher altitudes, although both systems could be engaged at the same time.
A further step in order to increase performance was the experimental installation of a jet booster: a single Junkers Jumo 004 B-1 turbojet, rated at 8.8 kN (1,980 lbf) was installed under the central wing section, with wet hardpoints for two 250 l (55 imp gal; 66 US gal) drop tanks on each side.
The results were so promising (top speed climbed to 805 km/h/500mph while range was not reduced) that this Rüstsatz measure, originally designed only as an optional feature for a Z-16/R-1, was fully integrated into the production type, which became the Fw 190 Z-17. This type was immediately ordered into series production in September 1945 and was to fully replace the Z-16, which had just been started to be delivered to the Luftwaffe.
Anyway, as the Jumo 004 was mostly reserved for the Me 262 'Schwalbe' jet fighter and the simpler Ta 152 still had development priority, only about 50 Z-17 and a further 40 Z-16 without the jet booster were delivered until the hostilities ended. They were exclusively used in the Zerstörer (Bomber destroyers) role. From the pilots the Fw 190 Z earned the nickname “Gurkenhobel” (Cucumber slicer), due to its unique shape, but it was nevertheless well-liked and its firepower made it an effective weapon against Allied bomber formations.
Plans had been made to develop the Fw 190 Z into a two-seated night fighter (with the second cockpit in the right fuselage re-installed), but this was not carried out. A high altitude version, with the long outer wings from the Ta 152 H, also remained on the drawing board, and at least one Z-16 had been tested with a 55 mm MK214 autocannon, carried in a streamlined pod under the central wing where the Z-17’s jet booster was originally installed.
General Focke Wulf Fw 190 Z-17 characteristics:
Crew: 1
Length: 10.20 m (33 ft 5½ in)
Wingspan: 14.580 m (47 ft 9 in)
Height: 3.35 m (11 ft 0 in)
Empty weight: 15,997 lb (7,271 kg)
Loaded weight: 4,270 kg (9,413 lb)
Max. takeoff weight: 11,632 kg (25,591 lb)
Powerplant:
2× Junkers Jumo 213E liquid-cooled inverted V-12, 1,287 kW (1,750 PS; 2,050 PS with MW-50 boost)
1× Junkers Jumo 004 B-1 turbojet, rated at 8.8 kN (1,980 lbf)
Performance:
Maximum speed: 805 km/h (500 mph) at 6,600 m (21,655 ft), 740 km/h (460 mph) at 37,000 ft (11,000 m)
Range: 1.800 mi (1.563 nmi, 2.900 km)
Service ceiling: 12,000 m (39,370 ft)
Rate of climb: 17 m/s (3,300 ft/min)
Armament:
2× 30 mm (1.18 in) MK 108 machine cannon with 110 RPG, firing through the propeller hubs
4× 20 mm MG 151 cannons with 250 rpg in the wing roots
Up to 1.000 kg (2.202 lb) of external ordnance at two hardpoints under the central wing, including bombs, drop tanks; under the outer wings additional hardpoints for four 50 kg (110lb) bombs, two racks with 12 unguided 'R4M' 55 mm (2.2 in) each, two pods with 2× 20mm MG 151/20 machine guns each or up to four WGr21 launch tubes.
The kit and its assembly:
This whif was inspired by the P-82 “Twin Mustang”, and the result is a rather bizarre creation which would nevertheless appear plausible for Germany during the late stages of WWII. Actually, Arado’s real paper project E.530 looked very similar to this creation, but it was a bigger aircraft and intended as a fast bomber.
Other Zwilling designs even entered the hardware stage or were very concrete: the He 111 Z bomber was built and used mainly as a glider tug, the Bf 109 Z and Me 609 were derivatives of their respective normal ancestors, there was even a Do 335 with two fuselages as a long range reconnaissance aircraft on the drawing board! With this real world background, the Fw 190, as a starting point for a Zwilling fighter, appears rather harmless...
Anyway, the resulting model is also not the first attempt into this direction, though, just a personal interpretation of the basic idea. The kitbashing is based on two Fw 190 D-9 kits from Italeri. While the kit is some decades old it is IMHO still a good choice (despite its fine, raised panel lines), because you get it easily and with a relatively small price tag.
Building the fuselages was straightforward, mostly OOB. The right cockpit was faired over with putty, and the fuselage machine guns disappeared (Fw 190 D-13 style) in front of both cockpit openings.
Biggest challenge were the central wing section that connects the fuselages. Just cutting the original wings and glueing them together was no option, since the leading and training edges would not be straight, and the wings have a slight anhedral. Additionally, I had to put the landing gear somewhere, and modify it, as the original Fw 190 landing gear is rather wide and it would make IMHO no sense under a twin fuselage aircraft, I have big stability doubts.
I finally settled on a scratched solution for both problems. For the landing gear, I took a look at the P-82 solution (new, single wheels which retract inwards, under the fuselages), and derived a totally new landing gear installation. It now features twin wheels (from the Fw 190 kits) in order to distribute the aircraft’s weight on soft ground, mounted on new struts, taken from a Me 262. This new construction became so “thick”, though, that it had to be retracted into the fuselage – the area under the cockpit was the only place to put it, but this is IMHO plausible since there is no radiator or other installment under the Fw 190’s belly. There's no place for ventral hardpoints now, but that's a small price to pay for a pure fighter.
With that solution found, the original landing gear wells in the wings were filled, the "inner" wings were cut away at the wing roots and a new central wing section added. This consists of a an enlarged horizontal stabilizer from a 1:100 A-10 SnapFit kit - it was perfect in span, had both straight leading and training edges, and the central fuselage part was creatively integrated into an additional idea (see below). The wing was deepened by 14mm wide with styrene strips (several layers, 2.5mm thick), and some putty was needed to blend everything together.
The final span between the fuselages was dictated by the new horizontal stabilizer. This comes from an Airfix Fw 189, the tail wheel well was filled. The outer attachment points on the fuselages' outer sides for the original stabilizers were simply faired over and sanded even.
But back to the new central wing section: the additional jet booster was a spontaneous idea. Even though the Zwilling layout is odd enough, adding a podded jet would make it SO weird that it would look even more like a serious, futuristic German design! And the idea is not far-fetched: Luftwaffe's RLM actually worked on such podded jet booster designs, e. g. for the Me 410, Ar 240 or He 219 as well as for some paper projects with mixed propulsion.
The pod’s place under the central wing section was just perfect, as the hot exhaust gasses would pass between the fuselages and under the stabilizer (without burning away the tail wheel, as on some early pod-and-boom jet fighter designs like the Yak-15). The nacelle itself comes from a leftover Hobby Boss He 162 fighter. It was taken OOB and just integrated into the lower wing. It looks so strange, but gives the aircraft a relatively compact look, too.
The drop tanks and their respective hardpoints come from the two Italeri kits. I had orginally intended to add air-to-air ordnance under the outer wings (two pairs of WGr21 launch tubes), but when everything came together I rather settled for the drop tanks.
Painting and markings:
The paint scheme is fictional, but inspired by a museum aircraft's livery: the sole surviving Fw 190 D-13, now on display in the USA. The museum aircraft's scheme looks a bit too shaggy, IMHO, but it's an interesting interpretation and uses authentic colors.
Basic colors for my version are RLM 82 and 83 on the upper surfaces, and RLM 76 below, with RLM 81 spots, streaks and blotches on the flanks. To make the thing look a bit more interesting I also added some “snaky” streaks with thinned RLM 76 on some upper surface areas, too. All basic tones were taken from the Modelmaster Authentic enamel line.
Typical for late Fw 190s, parts of the lower wings were left bare metal (painted with Revell Acrylic Aluminum), a typical result of material shortage in the late WWII stages. The leading edges were painted RLM 75 while the ailerons are RLM 76.
Taking this idea further, “my" Z-17 would not carry anymore a colored Reichsverteidigung fuselage band, indicating its Geschwader. From 1945 on, yellow ID markings (RLM 04) were carried: a band around the engine, sometimes with an added yellow field under the engine, and the rudder was frequently painted yellow, too. National markings were more and more simplified, and only a color-coded number and sometimes a symbol indicated the fighter’s group.
I used very simplified national markings on the flanks and below the wings, seen on real life Fw 190s: just black crosses without any outline. The rest of the markings were puzzled together from the scrap box, again using late war Fw 190s and Bf 109s as benchmarks.
I decided to put my aircraft into a Stab (Wing Commander's Chief-of-staff) squadron, so the markings differ from normal fighters. This one carries the horizontal bar for the 2. Gruppe among the Geschwader, in this case Jagdgeschwader 53, the “Pik As” [Ace of Spades] Squadron which dealt with interception tasks until the end of WWII in the southern regions of Germany
.
The chevron denotes an officer's aircraft; the “1” could denote the 1st aircraft of the Stab Gruppe in numerical order, but it's also possible that it is a personal symbol, as officers' aircraft would carry symbols instead of simple numbers, sometimes personal, non-standard icons or letters.
As the number is black I added dark green spinners, the typical ID color of the Stab flight among II. Group. A geek detail, and and I do not claim this to be correct – but German WWII aircraft would tend to be marked rather erratically, anyway, and I tried to do justice to historical benchmarks. Hey, it's a whif, after all!
In the end, a bizarre aircraft, but it is not as far-fetched as one might think. In this case, several single German ideas and developments were just incorporated into one model. What amazes me most is that the whole thing was assembled and painted in just three days – excluding the kit purchase and the work on the final beauty pics. Sometimes I get scared by myself...
2× Fore-mounted twin-gunned turret with 4.5 inch (114 mm) guns Mark N6 (Batch 2's turret "B" was later replaced by 4× MM38 Exocet missile launchers).
2 x mountings for Oerlikon 20 mm cannon.
1 x Aft-mounted Seaslug GWS.1 or GWS.2 SAM (24 missiles).
2 x GWS20 Sea Cat anti aircraft missiles
County Class Destroyer
Replacing an earlier scanned photo with a (slightly) better version 17-Aug-16
Taken with my old 200mm lens and a bit too far away to enlarge properly!
A well travelled ATR.42, first flown with the ATR test registration F-WWEF, the aircraft was delivered to Air Queensland (Australia) as VH-AQD in May-86. It was returned to ATR a year later in May-87 and leased to JAT Jugoslovenski Aerotransport as YU-ALK in Jul-87. In Nov-90 it was returned to the lessor and immediately leased to Cimber Air, Denmark as OY-CIG. It was wet-leased to Lufthansa CityLine in Mar-92 for 2 years, returning to Cimber Air in Mar-94. In Oct-94 it was wet-leased to Holmstroem Air (Sweden), returning to Cimber Air in Jun-95. The aircraft was sold back to ATR in Jun-08 as F-WKVB and stored at Toulouse. In Dec-08 it was sold to a lessor and leased to Atlantique Air Assistance as F-HAAV. It was returned to the lessor in Feb-13 and was immediately sold to Blue Islands Air as G-ISLG. After 30 years in service it was retired at Kemble UK in Jul-16 and will be broken up for spares. The registration was cancelled on 03-Aug-16.
Local forces to be replaced by foreign management and androids for precision and effectiveness of work and time... Allah el Musta3an!
This is my everyday bike, and highlighted in red are the parts consumed in the past 5 years...
Broken: Saddle
Recalled: Fork
Stolen: rear wheel, chainguard, bell, kickstand
Upgraded: Bell (Dutch), Saddle (Brooks), Kickstand (Double), HubGear (Roller Bearings), Light (LED), Pedals (clips), chainguard (enclosed), QR (bolt-on)
(N090301_1723_331cr)
Jerry has been house bound these last eleven weeks or it might be more correct to say bound by houses. We ran around like chickens with their heads cut off, except we bled money instead of blood as we did the final negotiating in the sale of my mother's house. As soon as that house was finished we took off to Huntington, WV to help by son ready his house for sale. Jerry helped by replacing a 100-year-old door frame, taking out the plaster walls in a closet replacing them with drywall and finally excavating a small hill to build a set of steps....Yippee jobs completed in one week's time but wait there is more. We came home and Jerry worked on the rental house putting in a dish washer, disposal, new copper water pipes, moved the oven, rebuilt cabinets and put in a new kitchen floor. They say things happen in threes and I must say we three is quite enough.
Bedfordshires 2nd Bronto F34 RLX (flt14) KS12LVR stationed at barkers lane Bedford. This is a sister machine to Lutons (KM11XLP) and will replace (flt 14) L514FTM
Made a new light baffle for the rewinder shaft. Then I soldered the PC socket wire back to the top cover.
Review LG LED IPS Monitor 23MP65HQ (LG 23EA63V replaced) An Phat PC by dtien87 ductien daoductien - www.anphatpc.com.vn
Folsom Prison inmates working under the California Prison Industry Authority place new grave markers at Mormon Island Relocation Cemetery in El Dorado Hills, Calif., Oct. 19, 2011, replacing original markers that contained an offensive racial epithet. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Sacramento District moved the 36 graves from the original Negro Hill Cemetery to the relocation cemetery during the construction of Folsom Dam in 1954, and created the offensive markers. El Dorado County, which manages the cemetery, and the California Prison Industry Authority collaborated on the project to replace the markers. (U.S. Army Photo/Chris Gray-Garcia)
We pleased to say this isn't one of ours! Another example of how choosing the wrong air conditioning contractor can lead to a mess! This is an R22 Mitsubishi Electric Air Conditioning unit from 1994 which is being replaced by an R410A system. Still on the positive side it does prove how long air conditioning systems can last, even when badly installed. Still, if this was your business or home it certainly doesn't portray a very good image.
If you have an R22 Air Conditioning systems that's either faulty or simply requires replacing for an new R410A energy efficient system please email us at sales@nottinghamairconditioning.co.uk, call us on 0800 849 9490 or visit our website www.nottinghamairconditioning.co.uk
Review LG LED IPS Monitor 23MP65HQ (LG 23EA63V replaced) An Phat PC by dtien87 ductien daoductien - www.anphatpc.com.vn
You always need a voltmeter when messing with an electric bike, don't trust anything and check twice!
Review LG LED IPS Monitor 23MP65HQ (LG 23EA63V replaced) An Phat PC by dtien87 ductien daoductien - www.anphatpc.com.vn
I had more or less decided that I was switching from expensive DSLRs to using the Sony NEX-7 [and whatever replaced it] as the camera that I would use for street photography. I was hoping to upgrade from the NEX-7 to the A7R but while I might be able to afford the body this side of Christmas there is no way that I could afford a set of suitable lenses within a reasonable time period.
At the end of May I got the opportunity to purchase a Sigma DP3 Merrill at €399.00 including delivery to Dublin so based on a number of reviews I decided to take a gamble and purchase one. I had to wait almost two months and I was about to cancel the order but it arrived a few days ago and I got a chance to test it today.
There is no doubting the fact that the DP3 Merrill is very different to anything that I have used to date [including the original DP1 or DP2] and while I am glad that I got it there are many issues. The main problem is battery life, there is no way that 45 photographs per charge is acceptable. The second problem is that Adobe Lightroom does not recognise the output from the DP3 Merrill [I only shoot in RAW] so one must use the software that is supplied by Sigma. Sigma Photo Pro is not as bad as some may have you believe but in my case I am not at all keen to add another stage to the process.
The third problem is that I am really limited to shooting at ISO100 so it is a waste of time shooting in poor light and there is plenty of that here in Dublin.
The Sigma DP3 uses an excellent 50mm f/2.8 prime lens which is the equivalent of a 75mm optic on a 35mm camera. The lens design features ten elements in eight groups, and there's a seven-bladed aperture diaphragm. Focusing is possible to as close as 8.9 inches (22.6cm), and maximum magnification is 1:3 (0.33x). There's no image stabilisation which may make the camera less suitable for street photography.
The remaining flywheel boss means I have to remove the spacing washers and turn the pinion round to get the flywheel far enough on to the shaft. The intermediate gear wobble could almost unmesh the gears.
Used here:
offonatangent.blogspot.com/2009/02/obama-replaces-putin.html
Original Putin courtesy Mail Online:
www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-464921/Putins-Arctic-inv...
Original Obama:
www.flickr.com/photos/stevegarfield/3197571945/
Official portrait of President-elect Barack Obama on Jan. 13, 2009.
(Photo by Pete Souza)
+++ DISCLAIMER +++
Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based historical facts. BEWARE!
In July 1967, the first Swedish Air Force student pilots started training on the Saab 105, a Swedish high-wing, twin-engine trainer aircraft developed in the early sixties as a private venture by Saab AB. The Swedish Air Force procured the type for various roles and issued the aircraft with the designation SK 60.
In the late Eighties, Saab suggested to replace the Saab 105’s Turbomeca Aubisque engines with newly-built Williams International FJ44 engines, which were lighter and less costly to operate, but this was only regarded as a stop-gap solution. In parallel, Saab also started work for a dedicated new jet trainer that would prepare pilots for the Saab 39 Gripen – also on the drawing boards at the time – and as a less sophisticated alternative to the promising but stillborn Saab 38. This project (also known as B3LA or A 38/SK 38) was a single-engine jet trainer and attack aircraft planned by Saab during the 1970s and actually a collaboration between Saab and the Italian aircraft manufacturer Aermacchi (the aircraft resembled the AMX a lot. However, the aircraft never got past the drawing board and was canceled in 1979 in favor of the more advanced Saab JAS 39 Gripen multi-role fighter. Anyway, this decision left Sweden without a replacement for the SK 60 as transitional trainer and as a light attack and reconnaissance aircraft.
To fill this gap Saab presented in 1991 another new trainer design, internally called "FSK900", to the Swedish Air Force. The aircraft was a conservative design, with such a configurational resemblance to the Dassault-Dornier Alpha Jet that it is hard to believe Saab engineers didn't see the Alpha Jet as a model for what they wanted to do. However, even if that was the case, the FSK900 was by no means a copy of the Alpha Jet, and the two machines can easily be told apart. FSK900 had a muscular, rather massive appearance, while the Alpha Jet was more wasp-like and very sleek. The FSK900 was also bigger in length and span and had an empty weight about 10% greater.
The FSK900 was mostly made of aircraft aluminum alloys, with some control surfaces made of carbon-fiber / epoxy composite, plus very selective use of titanium. It had high-mounted swept wings, with a supercritical airfoil section and a leading-edge dogtooth; a conventional swept tail assembly; tricycle landing gear; twin engines, one mounted in a pod along each side of the fuselage; and a tandem-seat cockpit with dual controls. The wings had a sweep of 27.5°, an anhedral droop of 7°, and featured ailerons for roll control as well as double slotted flaps. The tailplanes were all-moving and featured an anhedral of 7°, too. An airbrake was mounted on each side of the rear fuselage. Flight controls were hydraulic, and hydraulic systems were dual redundant.
Instructor and cadet sat in tandem, both on zero-zero ejection seats, with the instructor's seat in the rear raised 27 centimeters (10.6 inches) to give a good forward view. The cockpit was pressurized and featured a one-piece canopy, hinged open to the right, that provided excellent visibility. The landing gear assemblies all featured single wheels, with the nose gear retracting forward and the main gear retracting forward and into the fuselage, featuring an antiSKid braking system. The twin engines were two Williams International FJ44-4M turbofans without reheat, each rated at 16.89 kN (3,790 lbst). These were the same engines that Saab had already proposed for the SK 60 modernization program, even though in an unrestricted variant for the bigger/heavier new aircraft.
The FSK900 could be outfitted with two pylons under each wing and under the fuselage centerline, for a total of five hardpoints. The inner wing pylons were wet and could be used to carry 450 liter (119 US gallon) external tanks, a total external payload of 2,500 kg (5,500 lb) could be carried.
The Swedish Air Force accepted the Saab design, leading to a contract for two nonflying static-test airframes and four flying prototypes. Detail design was complete by the end of 1993 and prototype construction began in the spring of 1994, leading to first flight of the initial prototype on 29 July 1994. The first production "SK 90 A", how the basic trainer type was officially dubbed, was delivered to the Swedish Air Force in 1996.
The SK 90 was regarded as strong, agile, and pleasant to fly, while being cheap to operate. SK 90 As flying in the training role were in the beginning typically painted in the unique “Fields & Meadows” splinter camouflage, although decorative paint jobs showed up on occasion and many aircraft received additional dayglow markings. Some of the few aircraft given to operational squadrons, which used them for keeping up flight hours and as hacks, were mostly painted in all-grey camouflage to match the combat aircraft they shared the flight line with.
With the SK 90 S a second variant was soon introduced, replacing the SK 60 C, two-seat ground attack/reconnaissance version for the Swedish Air Force, basically a standard SK 60 A with an extended camera nose that featured a similar camera arrangement with a panoramic camera, plus an avionics pallet in the baggage compartment for a modular DICAST (Digital Camera And Sensor Tray) pod under the fuselage. Unlike the SK 60 C, which was converted from existing SK 60 A trainers, the SK 90 S was an original design. 20 were delivered until 1997, together with the standard trainers, which were kept on the production lines at slow pace until 1999.
A total of 108 production SK 90 trainers were built, and modest foreign sales could be secured: Austria procured 36 SK 90 Ö in 2002 (basically comparable with the updated SK 90 B with a weather radar, see below), replacing its Saab 105 fleet and keeping up its close connection with Saab since the Seventies. Malaysia showed interest, too, as well as Singapore, Myanmar Finland, Poland and Hungary. Eventually only a leasing and later purchase deal for seven refurbished SK 90 As with Hungary was closed, and the young Republic of Scotland leased in 2017 another dozen SK 90 As from Sweden, too.
The majority of Swedish aircraft underwent an MLU program after 2000 that included a modern "glass cockpit" to provide advanced training for the Saab Gripen (which had entered service in June 1992), and a full authority digital engine control (FADEC) for the FJ44-4M turbofans. Integration of the Rb.75 (the AGM-65A/B Maverick in Swedish service) together with a pod-mounted FLIR camera system was also suggested, improving the SK 90’s attack capability dramatically. The modified aircraft received the designation SK 90 B and SK 90 SB, respectively, and until 2006 the whole fleet was modernized.
However, the FSK900 design bore even more development potential than just the basis for a highly efficient jet trainer. When the aircraft was conceived the Swedish Air Force started to retire/modernize its Saab 37 Viggen fleet, with the plan to replace the type with the new and lighter Saab 39 Gripen.
However, budget restraints and production capacity limits did not allow an increased output of the Gripen, which was rather regarded as a replacement for the JA 37 interceptors than for the AJ, SF and SH attack and reconnaissance versions, which underwent a modernization program to extend their life beyond the millennium. But the foreseeable the lack of JAS 39 reinforcements would have left the country with a significant defense gap after 2004, esp. against ground and naval targets. As a stopgap solution, a less complex and costly aircraft, again comparable with the cancelled Saab 38 project was envisioned, and so Saab proposed a new aircraft, but this time based on the existing and proven SK 90, which could be quickly developed and use avionics and ordnance from the JAS 39 Gripen to save costs. This became the ASH 90 (Attack/Spaning Havsövervakning (or just Häv for short) for attack and secondary maritime reconnaissance capability)
The ASH 90 shared the basic airframe with the SK 90 trainer, with only minimal structural modifications to save costs and development time. The most obvious change was the reduction of the crew to a single pilot, while the rear cockpit was used to house additional avionics for advanced weapons and an Ericsson/GEC-Marconi PS-05/A pulse-doppler-radar radar – the same that was installed in the initial JAS 39 A/B Gripen, too, but with less range (only 50 instead of 120 km due to a smaller radome) and optimized for ground surveillance and attack missions. Its antenna was housed under a pointed nose which significantly changed the aircraft’s profile. The rear cockpit was partially faired over, with only two small side windows left to give the pilot a sufficient field of view to the rear because – again to save costs – no new bubble canopy was developed.
The armament was considerably improved: another visible change was a pair of missile launch rails on the wing tips, for Rb.74 (AIM-9 L Sidewinder) AAMs, so that the ASH 90 now had a total of seven external hardpoints, and all underwing as well as the centerline station were now plumbed to extend ferry range and have more flexibility. The central weapon the ASH 90 was supposed to deploy in its strike roll was the indigenous jet-powered RBS-15 Mk. III anti-ship missile. This weapon’s development began in the mid-1990s, and it was produced by Saab in co-operation with Diehl Defence of Germany. Emphasis of this advanced version was put on increased range (due to a larger fuel capacity and a new fuel type the range was ~200 km), improved accuracy (integrated GPS) and selectable priority targeting, including land-based targets. Two of these weapons, each weighing 650kg, 250 kg of that a SAPHE warhead, could be carried on new reinforced inner wing pylons. Tests to carry earlier versions of this weapon had already been executed with the radar-less SK 90 trainer, using a datalink with a nearby Gripen for target illumination and guidance, but these trials had not proven to be effective. However, with its own avionics and as an independent system, the ASH 90 became a much more effective platform.
Further air-to-ground ordnance included the Rb.75 (AGM-65A/B Maverick), pods with unguided 135 mm rockets and iron bombs. Several sensor pods could be carried, too, including photo cameras as well as a FLIR video camera system that could transmit recordings in real time, so that the aircraft could beyond strike mission also take over many of the outdated SF and SH 37s’ reconnaissance missions.
The ASH 90 still did not carry an internal gun, but a conformal ventral pod with a 27mm Mauser BK revolver cannon with 120 rounds, originally developed for the SK 90 trainer and carrying the same weapon as the JAS 39 Gripen, was frequently carried to engage both air and ground targets.
For better performance and to compensate for a raised all-up weight the ASH 90 was powered by uprated engines, a pair of Williams International FJ44-5M turbofans. These were still without reheat, again to save time and money, but thanks to a higher air flow and higher combustion temperatures the output of each engine was raised by almost 20% to 20 kN (4,490 lbst), providing the aircraft with almost supersonic performance (easily possible in a dive, though) and a much better rate of climb and acceleration.
Thanks to the use of many existing components the ASH 90’s development was quick and went smoothly. The first prototype already made its maiden flight in early 2000, and the first service aircraft – an order for 40 single-seaters for two squadrons (replacing not modernized AJ and SH 37s within Flygflottilj F7 and F17) – joined the active units in 2002.
The ASH 90 confirmed its ancestor’s robust nature and good service record. Until 2004 all 40 machines had been delivered. In 2008 an upgrade program was initiated, to improve the ASH 90’s combat efficiency, and the modernized machines received a “B” suffix, while the original version became re-designated “A”. The upgrade included avionics to deploy the Rb.99 (AIM-120 AMRAAM) missile and a more powerful datalink, so that the ASH 90 Bs could engage BVR targets on their own or act as multiplier platforms for the more capable JAS 39 Gripen, allowing these to attack with a high number of missiles at once so that ECM defense could be oversaturated and hit probability increased. Outwardly, the “B” variant’s only difference was a new IRST sensor in front of the cockpit, which allowed the pilot to detect and track heat signatures of both air and ground targets without engaging the radar and giving away the aircraft’s presence through respective emissions. Another novelty was the option to attach a retractable IFR-probe above the left air intake – in-flight refueling had only been introduced to Swedish aircraft with the JAS 39, but international cooperations and relocations required this addition which also greatly expanded the ASH 90 B’s capabilities and tactical value.
The updates were carried out during regular overhauls, and by 2010 the whole ASH 90 fleet was upgraded to “B” standard, including four new aircraft that were built to replace losses during the type’s initial years of operation.
In the following years the ASH 90s frequently took part in several national and international exercises, for instance a NATO training in Swedish Lapland. In late 2010 a number of US military aircrafts landed in Luleå, Swedish Lapland, where they took part in joint exercises with the Swedish Air Force. Also, the British aircraft carrier “HMS Illustrious” was part of the training.
The following joint exercises, which included both US. bombing of a local shooting field and joint air maneuvers with Swedish aircrafts, were a continuation of the 2009 Loyal Arrow training. Then, 50 airplanes and 2000 persons, aircraft carrier personnel included, from ten countries took part in what was the biggest air force drill ever in the Finnish-Swedish Bothnia Bay. For this occasion, F17’s SHA 90Bs deployed far to the north, occupying the temporary Kalixfors airfield near Kiruna, carried out regular training attacks but also acted as aggressors and simulated low-flying cruise missiles to test aerial defenses. For this occasion, the dozen machines that were sent up north received individual and experimental camouflage, including various splinter paint scheme reminiscent of the famous “Fields & Meadows” scheme, just with tones more suitable for winter operations.
General characteristics:
Crew: two pilots in tandem
Length incl. pitot: 13.0 m (42 ft 8 in) for the A trainer, 13.68 m (44 ft 10 in) for the S variant
Wingspan: 9.94 m (32 ft 7 in)
Height: 4.6 m (15 ft 1 in)
Empty weight: 3,790 kg (8,360 lb)
Max. takeoff weight: 7,500 kg (16,530 lb)
Powerplant:
2× Williams International FJ44-5M turbofans without reheat, rated at 20 kN (4,490 lbst) each
Performance:
Maximum speed: 1,150 km/h (714 mph)
Range: 1,670 km (900 nm)
Armament:
No internal gun; seven hardpoints for 2,500 kg (5,500 lb) of payload and a variety of ordnance
The kit and its assembly:
I have already converted several Hasegawa 1:72 Kawasaki T-4 into “my” fictional Saab SK 90 trainer, with little modifications. Originally, I wondered what an overdue Saab 105 replacement could or would look like? The interesting Saab 38 never saw the light, as mentioned above, there was also an A-10-style light attack aircraft, and I assume that neutral Sweden would rather develop its own aircraft than procure a foreign product.
I recently converted another T-4 into a JASDF attack single-seater with a totally new nose section (from a Eurocopter Tiger), and while I was thinking about the project I also considered a less ambitious “variant” with a faired-over rear cockpit – inspired by the Mitsubishi F-1 derived from the T-2 trainer. And since I was in the right mood and had another T-4 kit in The Stash™ I used the flowing mojo to tackle another SK 90 build – the Swedish ASH 90 attack derivative.
Using the F-1/T-2 benchmark I wanted to keep things simple, though, so the T-4 kit was mostly taken OOB – there are actually two different Hasegawa kits/molds out there, and this is the earlier one. It’s a pleasant building experience; the kit is relatively simple, and fit is very good, with only minimal PSR necessary.
The changes I made for the attack variant were additional hardpoints under the wings and on the wingtips, a pointed radome (from an F-16), a ventral gun pod (from a Heller Alpha Jet), and the canopy was cut into two pieces so that the rear section could be blended into the hull, leaving small side windows free. This and the radome radically change the stubby aircraft’s look, making it look fast than it might be in real life and surprisingly purposeful! The IFR probe came from an Italeri Tornado kit, the IRST was scratched from a piece of clear sprue (and painted with Tamiya “Smoke” for good effect).
The ordnance was taken wholesale from an Italeri Saab Gripen kit, including the odd EAJP ECM pod which rather looks like a Soviet/Russian than a Swedish product. Just the camera pod on the outer portside underwing pylon was scratched from a Heller Alpha Jet drop tank and putty, simulating the slender SKA 24 long-range camera pod the SH 37 frequently carried.
Furthermore, some blade antennae were added and the ejection seat was pimped with handles made from brass wire.
Painting and markings:
This was a bigger challenge than the building phase, because I wanted something …different. I had already built an SK 90 in Fields & Meadows (the first one) as well as in a Gripen-style all-grey livery (a Scottish aircraft), so what could be a new yet “realistic” alternative? Inspiration eventually struck when I came across pics of a JAS 39E, carrying a symmetrical three-tone splinter camouflage on the upper surfaces. Apparently, there was more than one aircraft decorated in this fashion, but I assume that these were demonstrators and the paint scheme not an official camouflage?
Adapting the scheme from the canard-winged Gripen for the conventional T-4/SK 90 was not easy, though, and to make it less decorative I moved away from the symmetric pattern, at least on the upper surfaces (even though the flanks were not mirrored, just quite similar). Since I could not find a reliable color reference I guesstimated the tones and ended up with RLM 63 (ModelMaster #2077) underneath, because I used that tone before for Gripen-style liveries, and for the splinter scheme I went for Humbrol 67 (RAL 7021, a VERY dark grey), 106 (RAF Ocean Grey, even though a rather brownish interpretation of that tone) and 64 (Royal Navy Light Grey).
The cockpit was painted in neutral grey, while the landing gear and the air intakes became white – very conservative. The Sidewinders and the pods were painted in a different medium grey (RAL 7000), and the massive RBS 15 missiles became Field Grey with dark olive drab tips and red exhaust covers.
The markings were kept simple, puzzled together from various sources. Tactical codes, some major stencils and roundels came from an Italeri Saab 39 Gripen sheet – with the benefit (and tactically prepared through paint and scheme choices…) that the grey low-viz markings’ brightness falls nicely between Humbrol 67 and 106, for a very consistent look. Many smaller things came from the T-4’s OOB sheet and from a Hasegawa Saab 35 Draken sheet. The silver trim at the fin rudder was made with generic 0.5mm decal stripes in silver. Similar but wider strips in black were used to create the de-icers on the wings' leading edges.
Finally, the kit was sealed with matt acrylic varnish (Italeri).
A pretty result, if not elegant – in total contrast to the brutish A-2 build with its edgy helicopter cockpit nose and the resulting hunchback. I’s amazing how much the pointed nose changes the aircraft’s profile and impression, and the wing tip launch rails also add visual length and “speed”. The paint scheme also turned out nicely, and with the low-viz markings the overall grey scheme looks interesting and quite plausible, too – and well-suited for a winter exercise up north in Lapland.
Two WashTec SoftCare² Pros in grey "Classic Design" with grey stripped SofTecs brushes installed in 2019, replacing two WashTec SoftCare Pros
Video - youtu.be/9cbMH_o3ZEI
• Operator •
Wharncliffe Garage
• Supplier •
WashTec UK
• Address •
Gulf Petrol Station
Summer Lane
Barnsley
S70 6BN
England
Both Car Washes replaced in 2025 with brand new WashTec SmartCares - flic.kr/p/2rroYnP
This photo was taken to accompany the t-shirt alteration instructions at www.evilmadscientist.com/article.php/tshirtmod.
Replacing the very old Shekou ferry terminal the Shekou Cruise Center in Shenzhen is the first Cruise ship terminal in China. Also functions as a ferry terminal for boats to Hong kong, Zhuhai and Macau.
Replacing the robust, but dated, Star Interceptor, the Mark-II brings both cost-reduction and modernization to the Imperial fleet. Following a mandate to increase production of starfighters for the Magikstrate, Imperial engineers took the frame of the Star Interceptor and applied the latest in fighter technology to design a craft that was easy to produce but capable of keeping up in dogfights with other modern starfighters. It is exceedingly fast and nimble with its massive engines, and well-armed with ship-to-ship missiles and twin Cuprite-10 Shattercannons.
This build was a collaboration between myself and Red Rover. The original Star Interceptor was his design, and it was a fitting inspiration for a smaller companion to my Jaculus fighter. When I started working on it, Red was inspired to make a new pass at the ship himself. I rather liked his version, so this is now my take on his take on my take on his original MOC. Someday, we'll get to put our versions side-by-side, I hope!