Okay, just a taster before the lost weekend: my entry will be an Airfix Shorts Skyvan converted into a helicopter using two UH-1 rotor blades in a Kaman "eggbeater" layout and pen-top engines.
One exceedingly rough mockup:
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi35.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fd165%2Fhws5mp%2FThe%2520Whiffery%2FHelivan%2FMockup.jpg&hash=54896b296eee317f543a0c0e5b57cfe57e22e80a)
Notes:
1. The engine pods will be shortened to about half that length.
2. The rotor system may look tall but it has the advantage of clearing a man on the ground to either side, something eggbeaters are notoriously dangerous for.
3. The advantage of splitting the rotor shafts like that is that it reduces the angle they have to be canted outboard at in order for the blades to miss the hubs. That has a knock-on effect on minimum blade-to-ground clearance (see point 2).
4. It MAY be possible to fit the tails in the original position rather than inverting them, due to the height and diameter of the rotors.
5. The Skyvan kit is warped in all kinds of ways: one example where I actually APPROVE of the later, bigger boxing.
6. Yes I WILL remember to invert one ofthe blades so they're going in opposite directions.... ;D
I was once told by a pilot of many years experience that a Skyvan wasn't actually an aircraft, it was the box that the Jetstream came in. However, I seem to remember reading about Nepal using a Skyvan for their Royal Flight.Can anyone confirm this?
Let's see what Google turns up.
http://www.nepalitimes.com.np/issue/2005/05/27/FromtheNepaliPress/351 (http://www.nepalitimes.com.np/issue/2005/05/27/FromtheNepaliPress/351)
it says that the Royal Nepal Airlines corp. has two Boeing 757s which are used to transport the Royal Family among their other duties.
There's also a Royal Flight which has a Skyvan, a HS.748 (in 1986 at least) and some helicopters.
http://aircraft-production-lists.weebly.com/uploads/4/0/6/4/4064724/shorts_050111.csv (http://aircraft-production-lists.weebly.com/uploads/4/0/6/4/4064724/shorts_050111.csv)
I suppose I should have a separate thread for the jokes, huh? ;D
Off at a tangent, I really think I should do my other Skyvan as a tour plane (yes, tour bus might be more appropriate... :rolleyes:) for this lot:
http://www.budgie.uk.com/index.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Budgie_(band)
There is/was even a spin-off group (don't quite understand what went on) called "6-Ton Budgie", which was one of the band's original names before they shortened it.
Given the band's origin, their limited success, their quirky humour and the Skyvan's short range and small size, "WORLD TOUR OF WALES" might be an appropriate slogan.... ;D
Looks promising!
Regards,
Greg
Quote from: Weaver on May 05, 2011, 08:33:18 PM
3. The advantage of splitting the rotor shafts like that is that it reduces the angle they have to be canted outboard at in order for the blades to miss the hubs. That has a knock-on effect on minimum blade-to-ground clearance (see point 3).
That is point 3 !
:thumbsup:
Very cool idea
Harold, are you going to put fairings over the rotor masts ala the H-43 or struts like the HTK-1?
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.aerofiles.com%2Fkaman-htk1.jpg&hash=561ef61acb2dacb05d8c96b163e854995933672b)
The H-43 based K1125 was almost a Heli-van. ;)
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.aerofiles.com%2Fkaman-k1125.jpg&hash=3662a1d481cad1065c7c67abea855f223497ce7f)
Quote from: Captain Canada on May 06, 2011, 02:23:33 PM
Quote from: Weaver on May 05, 2011, 08:33:18 PM
3. The advantage of splitting the rotor shafts like that is that it reduces the angle they have to be canted outboard at in order for the blades to miss the hubs. That has a knock-on effect on minimum blade-to-ground clearance (see point 3).
That is point 3 !
:thumbsup:
Very cool idea
Whoops, good spot! Should have been point 2 of course... :banghead:
(very tired when I typed that!)
Quote from: joncarrfarrelly on May 06, 2011, 03:22:45 PM
Harold, are you going to put fairings over the rotor masts ala the H-43 or struts like the HTK-1?
That's the leading question. The default is to put slim fairings over them using brass "streamline" tube which has a thick aerofoil section. It's only just bigger than the shafts though, so I'm going to either find something to butcher or have a go at making more substantial ones from scratch.
Creative :thumbsup:
Good news and bad news:
Good news is I've got a new job, Bad news is I'm going to be WAY busy for an indeterminate time. Might have to give the GB a miss, or might have to go with something less ambitious - we shall see.
Congratulations on the job Harold :thumbsup:
Quote from: NARSES2 on May 10, 2011, 12:52:05 AM
Congratulations on the job Harold :thumbsup:
Ditto!
FINALLY managed to make a start on this! :rolleyes:
No work on rotors or engines yet: need a solid structure to build them onto first. I've put a sheet of thin plastic diamond-tread pattern over the cargo-bay floor to cover the airliner seat holes opened up by the previous owner, and I've given it a proper tail ramp. Although the Skyvan looks like it should have a ramp, in fact most of that panel opens upwards and inwards, with just a small "fishtail" piece at the bottom. I've swapped that round and made new pivot points at the bottom so it can act as a proper ramp. However, the panel is curved, so I've had to build up the inside face of it and add another piece of diamond plate.
I'm also working on a payload for it. It'll take a Landrover, but that's too recognisable (this is Patchwork World, remember), but looking at my collection of landy bits, I had a brainwave. I'm now sticking two of the GS trailers together to make a Mule-like light vehicle. One of them is pretty much standard with a covered cargo bay but the other is the one that I nicked the tarp and body off to make a roof-rack for my Trackrover, so that will be getting an engine box and a very exposed seat.
Looks like a love child of a Kaman Husky and a Kamov Helix.
Very interesting.... :thumbsup:
Okay, nothing worth photographing on the Helivan yet - just loads of interior painting.
However, here's some progress on the Crossley Cricket light airborne prime-mover:
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi35.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fd165%2Fhws5mp%2FThe%2520Whiffery%2FHelivan%2FIMG_5933.jpg&hash=62766e17bc842e0b8da1460238b7c7b1a4918a92)
The big bits are stuck together with blu-tack still.... The engine bay was built up on the trailer base-plate using loads of different kinds of Evergreen, and a big-scale Lambourghini Countach vent for a radiator grill.. ;D The latter was a bit too wide but too nice not to use, so the engine bay bulges outboard on the right a bit, and the driver's platform mirrors it on the left. the backstory is that the original version was under-powered, so this one has an enlarged engine and rad to enable it to tow a significant weight as well as carry it.
Don't let the size of the seat fool you: this thing is really small.
Heh, you worked out what to do with the GS trailer left over from your Trackrover! :thumbsup:
A Skyvan-based helo is bound to be a favorite of mine when it's done. I'm looking forward to more of this!! :thumbsup:
Well wonder of wonders, I managed to do some modelling on a week night last night!
The roof and one side of the fuselage are on, but I then had to stop for an "idiot break" when I realised I hadn't put the pilots in and they wern't fully painted yet. I also realised that although I'd carefully painted the separate internal ceiling, I hadn't painted the inside face of the roof behind it, which will, of course, show through the reversed ramp/door.... :banghead: I'm skimping on the interior in the name of making some progress, so the cockpit isn't getting proper helo controls and the interior is pretty plain (the ice-cube-like window glazings spoil it anyway).
The Crossley Cricket now has prop shafts and a transfer box. Nothing very clever or realistic: it just didn't look busy enough from the side.
I may even take some photos soon!
Now rotaries are the Devil's Aircraft and the Skyvan is pug ugly, but this is inspired - especially like the Kaman rotor configuration.
In the past I've created an attack autogyro based on a Spitfire, but never returned a rotary to the 'natural' winged state. Thought a long time about a 'retro Sea King', i.e. a WW2 fixed-wing Sea King (twin-engined monoplane, but essentially a hi-tech Walrus), but never got round to it. The thing the the voices keep suggesting is a fixed-wing Rotodyne - no rotor but greater wing span. Twin Pioneer replacement in the RAF that may yet happen!
Mmmm.....de-rotored rotaries - possible GB theme?
;D ;D
Quote from: kitbasher on July 07, 2011, 12:39:38 PM
Now rotaries are the Devil's Aircraft and the Skyvan is pug ugly, but this is inspired - especially like the Kaman rotor configuration.
In the past I've created an attack autogyro based on a Spitfire, but never returned a rotary to the 'natural' winged state. Thought a long time about a 'retro Sea King', i.e. a WW2 fixed-wing Sea King (twin-engined monoplane, but essentially a hi-tech Walrus), but never got round to it. The thing the the voices keep suggesting is a fixed-wing Rotodyne - no rotor but greater wing span. Twin Pioneer replacement in the RAF that may yet happen!
Mmmm.....de-rotored rotaries - possible GB theme?
;D ;D
Funnily enough, I've been considering just such a project: a 1/72nd Gazelle cockpit bubble with a single pusher prop, mated to the wings, booms and tailplane of a 1/170th Noratlas to make a British FAC aircraft for Vietnam.
Quote from: Weaver on July 07, 2011, 02:37:43 PM
Funnily enough, I've been considering just such a project: a 1/72nd Gazelle cockpit bubble with a single pusher prop, mated to the wings, booms and tailplane of a 1/170th Noratlas to make a British FAC aircraft for Vietnam.
I't almost been done in real life - the Edgley Optica (http://www.aviastar.org/air/england/edgley_optica.php).
;D ;D
Yeah that's the idea: a kind of early non-ducted-fan Optica; in fact I was considering ways of writing John Edgley (or a John Edgley) into the back story. It would essentially be a replacment for slow, worn out, Austers, in the same way that the Cessna O-2 was a replacement for the Bird Dogs.
Photos!
The interminable interior painting is nearly at an end...
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi35.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fd165%2Fhws5mp%2FThe%2520Whiffery%2FHelivan%2Finterior.jpg&hash=a844cdddc17511fbe62ddc6007ac20f75d77d1c4)
Quite pleased with the pilots though:
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi35.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fd165%2Fhws5mp%2FThe%2520Whiffery%2FHelivan%2Fpilots.jpg&hash=0869ae6307d999952baf0efe6875932c1d76b742)
Waiting for endless coats of light green to dry has meant more progress with the Cricket:
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi35.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fd165%2Fhws5mp%2FThe%2520Whiffery%2FHelivan%2FCricket2.jpg&hash=559dcb25f72c63f7f8851c18a9cf573e4a104faf)
It now has a new seat (from the civvie Skyvan option) a steering wheel from a White half-track (and yes, it IS at the right height), a headlight, a gearstick, some pedals and some jerry cans:
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi35.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fd165%2Fhws5mp%2FThe%2520Whiffery%2FHelivan%2FCricketfrontend1.jpg&hash=c9748900dca964409ec2455965ae8e2176571333)
It also has an exhaust system and a storage bag on the engine deck:
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi35.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fd165%2Fhws5mp%2FThe%2520Whiffery%2FHelivan%2FCricketfrontend2.jpg&hash=db7a839a481c4c62e5f3c829c4f8a018c52c1366)
And here's the chassis, looking suitably busy now:
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi35.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fd165%2Fhws5mp%2FThe%2520Whiffery%2FHelivan%2FCricketchassis.jpg&hash=63c4ab476b44e70591108761610a2a12e44bf7e3)
Good Idea! The skyvan seems like a copter! :)
Now this I like ! Awesome stuff.....
:cheers:
Other side of the fuselage is on (yes I did remember to fill the space under the cockpit floor with blu-tack). Dunno if mine was particularly warped or something but it did NOT go smoothly and needed a lot of scraping and filing to get four rounded corners on a squareish fuselage.
Engine pods cut down to size. Established that I've got every size of plastic or metal tube to hand EXCEPT the ideal one for the jetpipes.... :rolleyes:
Rotor pylons roughly made. Gave up on finding something in the stash to do the job: they have to be relatively thick yet very tapered "stub wings" and that isn't common (couple of 1/700th submarine sails would have been about right). I ended up scatchbuilding them out of tube and card, which is geometrically interesting. Even more geometrically interesting is going to be cutting the base of them so that they a) lean outwards at the same angle, b) lean outwards at the right angle, c) fit the fuselage.
Unfortunately, all the personal and work cr4p that has slowed work on this to a crawl has now bitten back again, so no idea when the next "progress" report will be..... :banghead:
Now with pictures!
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi35.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fd165%2Fhws5mp%2FThe%2520Whiffery%2FHelivan%2FIMG_5949.jpg&hash=8750f5ca3cf2382471bda94da4eb4e680539e31d)
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi35.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fd165%2Fhws5mp%2FThe%2520Whiffery%2FHelivan%2Fpylons.jpg&hash=7cd8b78cca96553d76387a12595d884ef864f59d)
Unfortunately, I had to clamp the pylons together so hard that they've set squished at the top, but it's nothing that a little filler can't cure. The bottom edges are rough because I deliberately made them over-long to allow for trimming to fit.
Not exactly a thing of beauty, the Skyvan, is it? :lol:
But I'm sure the finished article will be just wonderful. :thumbsup:
Quote from: PR19_Kit on August 10, 2011, 12:33:32 AM
Not exactly a thing of beauty, the Skyvan, is it? :lol:
But I'm sure the finished article will be just wonderful. :thumbsup:
As I have quoted elsewhere " The Skyvan is the box that the Jetstream came in" according to a Jetstream pilot of my acquaintance.......but I'm impressed with the quality of workmanship.
Quote from: PR19_Kit on August 10, 2011, 12:33:32 AM
Not exactly a thing of beauty, the Skyvan, is it? :lol:
Well exactly - I'm just letting out the inner helicopter that was always there..... ;D
Quote from: Weaver on August 10, 2011, 10:34:22 AM
Quote from: PR19_Kit on August 10, 2011, 12:33:32 AM
Not exactly a thing of beauty, the Skyvan, is it? :lol:
Well exactly - I'm just letting out the inner helicopter that was always there..... ;D
Yes indeed, without the wings you can see it would make a pretty good helicopter. With your additions it should look magnificent, I can hardly wait. ;D
We have a rotor system:
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi35.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fd165%2Fhws5mp%2FThe%2520Whiffery%2FHelivan%2FIMG_5957.jpg&hash=10398cbb4d9d1ed4ab3441319954b6e7334b2cf3)
Do you think it's a bit p****d off with me? :o
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi35.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fd165%2Fhws5mp%2FThe%2520Whiffery%2FHelivan%2FIMG_5958.jpg&hash=0fb2a45debf43e98b36abb73ee6f0a49751f0c9d)
Charles Kaman! Get out of this helicopter body N-O-W!!! ;D
Looks a bit like an original Cylon.....
Great looking rotor system Weaver! :thumbsup: Does look rather angry doesn't it?
Paul Harrison
Now that's REALLY looking the business now! Cracking idea. :thumbsup:
Well, in between stuff I forgot I had to do this weekend and the fit problems I've been having with the nose and cockpit area of this thing, there is no NO chance of it being finished for the deadline. I'm not asking for an extension either, because given how poor my performance in actually getting modelling done this year has been, I have no confidence that I'll finish it for any revised deadline either... :banghead:
I WILL finish it though.....
Progress has occurred, but due to a power failure tonight, there are no photos yet.
Engines: pods cut, insides painted, mounting holes drilled, brass spacer rings fitted, brass exhaust tubes made and fitted. Wing slots modified to take engine mounting rods.
Tail surfaces made and fitted, with much cursing due to weak joints (due to novelty moving elevator) and poor alignment. Had to pin tailplanes and strap right angle pieces to fins.
Addition of tail surfaces made it a tail-sitter. Nose bulkhead pulled back off and blu-tack under cockpit floor replaced with lead. More lead inside nose cone (which can't be completely filled due to nose gear ) still didn't fix it, so it now has lead behind the instrument panel and in the intake cones of the engines. I think the lack of the original wings & engines and the more rearward position of the helo engines made this worse. I could have moved the main gear back, but I'd already stuck the fairings on by the time I realised.... :banghead:
Started painting the cockpit window frames - what a pain! The cockpit glazing only vagues fits so I'm doing it contrasty black as if the discontinuity is due to paint rather than fit.
Cricket vehicle has been cut in half and adjusted to fix a bent chassis. Painting has started.
I STILL don't know what colour to paint it. I want it civvie but easily re-painted to military (it belongs to a Cheshire "private company" which is actually owned by the ruling family. This allows it to do cross-border civvie work without ruffling feathers, but it can be impressed into military service at the drop of a hat with no questions asked). Current best idea is grey top half (easily cammo-ed with green blobs) over a sky blue bottom half with a red stripe through the windows.
And I was doing so well.....
Got the engine pods on, made little transmission tubes between the intake centrebodies and the fuselage, finally got the ramp to fit in the closed position (the fuselage is distorted, but it doesn't show unless you go looking for it) masked all the windows, did some more painting, took the model down the cellar for it's first coat of undercoat, stuck it on a plinth with Blu-tack so I could do top and bottom in one hit (painting/drying cycles are getting short now), just finished and.....
Dropped it.
:banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead:
Physical damage is limited to one snapped rudder pin, but there are several big scrapes and fingerprints in the undercoat now, and recovering them isn't going to be easy given the rivet-festooned surface of the fuselage: can't just sand 'em out. Can't do anything until it dries now....
"I believe the phrase you're looking for rhymes with 'clucking bell'....." - Blackadder... :rolleyes:
Had a better look this morning, and one of the main gear fairings has snapped too. All fixable, but when you add glue-drying time to paint and dry cycles, there's no way I can finishit for the deadline now (it was very tight anyway). I'm not prepared to simplify the paint job to a ridiculous extent just sneak in at the finish, so that's me out, I'm afraid. :angry:
Could be a blessing in disguise for the model though: there's so much weight in the nose that I was seriously concerned about the undercarriage anyway: the main gear fairings just plug into the sides on very shallow pegs. Now I've got time, I might take them both off and drill them for a couple of brass rod spars, and replace the axles with metal ones too. Don't know what I can do about the nose gear though: it's all moulded in one piece.... :unsure:
:thumbsup:very interesting proyect, Goats have face, I like the short Skyvan and now like it as your Helivan. Congratulations.
Moderators: can someone move this thread to Current and Finished Projects: Aircraft please?
EDIT: Thank you kindly good Sirs. :thumbsup: