I finished this exactly one year ago, before i started my house search and acquisition mission. That took up a lot of my thoughts and time for the following 6 months but, as you know, it doesn't end when you sign the papers. As i was so busy at the time, i didn't even write a proper backstory for this but i've had it in my mind since i saw the proposal that the PoAF sent to the U.S. in 1974.
Anyway, i had a lot of fun with my first chopper. IMHO, quite a nice little kit, despite it's issues and age.
"After the end of the Colonial wars in Africa, the Portuguese air force needed to renew it's fleet of combat aircraft. Still under sanctions imposed by NATO, the PoAF urgently needed to replace their obsolete F-86F Sabre fighters tasked with the defense of the Portuguese air space.
Due to the lack of sufficient funds to purchase the desired number and types of American aircraft, in June 1974, the PoAF began talks with French government and air force officials, as they had done before the end of the wars in Africa, when they tried to purchase Mirage IIIE fighters.
(https://i.imgur.com/Y43LSF6.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/VSlCngP.jpg)
Besides fighter jets, the PoAF also wanted to buy attack helicopters to support ground troop operations, like the Alouette III had done in Africa. The request for 50 Aérospatiale SA 342 Gazelle to the French government was accepted in March 1979 and in November 1980, the first SA 342P was flying in Portuguese colors. The Gazelle SA 342P was a variant based on the SA 342L, which was the export version offered by Aérospatiale.
(https://i.imgur.com/EusQGhM.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/p8qjU5a.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/OAs4FMV.jpg)
Initially armed with two 7.62mm machine guns fixed on either side of the fuselage, it could carry Matra or Brandt rocket pods on the main pylons. In 1985, the Ferranti AF532 observation sight is adopted and 50 kits are bought for assembly at the OGMA, (in English: aeronautical maintenance workshops) in Alverca. During the years, there would be a few upgrades done on the Gazelles, mainly on the avionics and engine, but in 2016, 20 of the 50 units bought were modified to carry two M134 machine guns along with a pair of HOT anti-tank missiles to increase offensive capability.
(https://i.imgur.com/yN7FHga.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/xrRxt6h.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/4pEwlM7.jpg)
These armed Gazelle choppers, although they were in service along side the Alouette III, took over the nickname "Lobos maus" (Bad Wolves) of the 20mm cannon armed Alouette III that supported the ground troops in the 3 African theaters of operation in Guinea-Bissau, Angola and Mozambique. Being used in several NATO peace keeping operations throughout the world, the PoAF Gazelles were loved by their pilots and ground crews for it's reliability and ease of maintenance on the field.
Flown by the oldest active helicopter squadron, the 552nd squadron "Zangões" or "Hornets", the SA 342P is still in active service with the PoAF and will be so until it's replacement, which should happen sometime around 2030.
Up to 2019, a total of 3 aircraft of the original 50 were lost due to crashes, causing the death of 1 pilot."
And there it is, the history of the PoAF Gazelles, one year after the model's completion... :rolleyes: As for the kit, it's the Airfix 1/72, 1973 molds in a newer box. The armament was scratched from different parts found in the spares box and the decals are a mix of the kit's sheet and a sheet of PoAF markings and serials by Santa cruz decals
(https://i.imgur.com/RXQR8CS.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/LXU88l0.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/hdWuvnc.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/ifXbENw.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/RBjqbWX.jpg)
I like this chopper a lot so i had to buy a bigger and better model, the 1/48 Fujimi kit is in the stash waiting for it's turn to become a whiff... :wacko:
Hope you like the little bugger, guys. Thanks for looking!
:cheers:
That looks VERY good, and having built that kit myself I know it's not exactly simple. :thumbsup:
How did you keep the nose heavy enough, there's almost NOwhere to put any noseweight in it?
Nice little build ! It's funny, one of those birds I've never really liked. But always liked. Seems so dainty. But so powerful.....oh well, looks great in this guise !
Cheers !
Quote from: PR19_Kit on November 21, 2019, 03:25:15 PM
That looks VERY good, and having built that kit myself I know it's not exactly simple. :thumbsup:
How did you keep the nose heavy enough, there's almost NOwhere to put any noseweight in it?
Glad you like it, Kit! Thank you! :thumbsup:
When i began construction, i did a dry fit test of the parts with tape holding them together and noticed right away that it would need nose weight so, i started looking around for stuff i could use that would fit underneath the cockpit floor and the best solution i found was to use a blob of patafix(uhu's blu-tac) pressed and molded into the space left when the cockpit was in place, tested it a few time before i could get the space filled properly without affecting the fit of the fuselage halves. That wasn't enough so i added some more patafix on the back of the cockpit's rear wall, but it also wasn't enough so a pair of used wristwatch batteries were pressed into that section, keeping everything in front of the rear skid legs and that solved the problem.
The pilot figures and the front clear parts also added some weight in front of the CoG so, after i got it firmly on it's legs without those bits, i knew i was safe. You can just see the batteries semi-covered with patafix in pic #1 and 2 of the build.
My Matchbox Saab J-29 Tunnan is a tailsitter because i forgot to check that earlier in the build and when i remembered, it was too late so, that taught me to always check for the need of nose weight on everything i build.
Quote from: Captain Canada on November 21, 2019, 05:45:17 PM
Nice little build ! It's funny, one of those birds I've never really liked. But always liked. Seems so dainty. But so powerful.....oh well, looks great in this guise !
Cheers !
Thank you, Captain!! :thumbsup:
I know what you mean, it does look very fragile but i love the look of it with the fenestron tail rotor. And i even like it more in the Blue Thunder version, what a beautiful ugly beast!! ;D ;D :wub:
:cheers:
Wonderful! Dainty and detailed :thumbsup:
Pleasant model! :thumbsup:
Ingenious use of watch batteries there, a great idea. :thumbsup:
I recall having to resort to some devious means to get my Gazelle to sit properly, but it was so long ago that I can't remember what I did. ;D
Good job DFZ.
Quote from: PR19_Kit on November 22, 2019, 01:15:05 AM
Ingenious use of watch batteries there, a great idea. :thumbsup:
http://www.whatifmodellers.com/Smileys/default/grin.gif
I recall having to resort to some devious means to get my Gazelle to sit properly, but it was so long ago that I can't remember what I did. ;D
Thanks, Kit! :thumbsup: They were the heaviest, smallest thing i could find at home. I've been wanting to buy some fishing weights for this type of use for years now but i keep forgetting about it and then when i need them... :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: ;D ;D
Quote from: zenrat on November 22, 2019, 02:29:17 AM
Good job DFZ.
Thanks, brotha! Glad you like it! :thumbsup:
:cheers:
Very nice :thumbsup:
Chris
Quote from: chrisonord on November 22, 2019, 02:50:29 AM
Very nice :thumbsup:
Chris
Thank you! Glad you the little bugger! :thumbsup:
That has come out very well :thumbsup:
Quote from: NARSES2 on November 22, 2019, 06:20:12 AM
That has come out very well :thumbsup:
Glad you like it, Chris! Thanks! :cheers:
Beauty job, eh?! [/Canadian]
I have a fond memory of the first time I saw a Gazelle 'in the flesh'. I was working as a ramp rat at Buttonville Airport, north of Toronto, and one day I was fuelling up a Hughes 269* at the helicopter landing pad. A Gazelle had landed there previously, and the pilot wandered over and asked if i could fuel him up once I was finished. I said "Sorry, but we don't carry jet fuel yet." He said "No problem, just top it off with 80 octane." Me went "?!" Yeah, I didn't know that, but you learn something new every day. Jet engines can run fine on low octane avgas!
*Flown by a local traffic reporter, who was an ultra-babe. But you didn't hear that from me. Oh no. :rolleyes:
Thanks, mate! :thumbsup:
Funny that a lower grade fuel makes it work fine, i believed jet engines could only run on the specific type of fuel that it was built to run on but, that's no surprise as i don't have any significant knowledge on that type of subject. Makes me wonder what you could resort to as aviation fuel in a global crisis scenario.
Thanks for sharing that bit. :thumbsup:
Very nice. Had a few trips in Gazelles in the past, once with a stonking hangover, another poling it around the Salisbury Plain danger areas. Probably the prettiest helicopter ever.
As for fuel, IIRC the Vipers fitted to Shackleton MR3 Phase 3s were configured to run on Avgas not Avtur.
Quote from: DogfighterZen on November 23, 2019, 04:08:33 AM
Thanks, mate! :thumbsup:
Funny that a lower grade fuel makes it work fine, i believed jet engines could only run on the specific type of fuel that it was built to run on but, that's no surprise as i don't have any significant knowledge on that type of subject. Makes me wonder what you could resort to as aviation fuel in a global crisis scenario.
Thanks for sharing that bit. :thumbsup:
As I understand it, pretty much any liquid fuel. Does anyone know specifics?
Turbines are remarkably flexible in their appetite for fuel. The Leyland turbines we used on the APT-E could run on normal railway engine diesel fuel, low octane aviation fuel (AVTAG I think) or even petrol. Mostly we used the railway diesel as it was always handy, but when we had to we tried all the others too.
The book I have on early British and German turbojets, says at the end of the war the Germans wanted their turbojets to run on straight crude. They were planning on powering their tanks with the engines.
Quote from: kitbasher on November 23, 2019, 04:33:45 AM
Very nice. Had a few trips in Gazelles in the past, once with a stonking hangover, another poling it around the Salisbury Plain danger areas. Probably the prettiest helicopter ever.
As for fuel, IIRC the Vipers fitted to Shackleton MR3 Phase 3s were configured to run on Avgas not Avtur.
Glad you like it, mate! :thumbsup: It is indeed a pretty bugger. The other chopper that i really like is the AH-1 Cobra. The latest AH-1Z variant is gorgeous and i want to buy the Kittyhawk 1/48 model of it, besides a couple of 1/72 kits for whif builds.
Quote from: Scotaidh on November 23, 2019, 09:14:44 AM
As I understand it, pretty much any liquid fuel. Does anyone know specifics?
Quote from: PR19_Kit on November 23, 2019, 09:34:42 AM
Turbines are remarkably flexible in their appetite for fuel. The Leyland turbines we used on the APT-E could run on normal railway engine diesel fuel, low octane aviation fuel (AVTAG I think) or even petrol. Mostly we used the railway diesel as it was always handy, but when we had to we tried all the others too.
Quote from: kitnut617 on November 23, 2019, 10:50:59 AM
The book I have on early British and German turbojets, says at the end of the war the Germans wanted their turbojets to run on straight crude. They were planning on powering their tanks with the engines.
:o wow... i've always thought that pure crude would be too thick to be used in jet engines... that just comes to show how much i know about this type of thing. Then i guess that it wouldn't be too hard to keep jets flying if a global crisis affected refined fuel production and availability became an issue.
Quote from: DogfighterZen on November 23, 2019, 04:07:36 PM
The other chopper that i really like is the AH-1 Cobra. The latest AH-1Z variant is gorgeous and i want to buy the Kittyhawk 1/48 model of it,
Just to make you jealous, I have the 1/35 version in the stash - looks good in the box, just hope it goes together better than the Cougar.
Quote from: DogfighterZen on November 23, 2019, 04:07:36 PM
Quote from: kitnut617 on November 23, 2019, 10:50:59 AM
The book I have on early British and German turbojets, says at the end of the war the Germans wanted their turbojets to run on straight crude. They were planning on powering their tanks with the engines.
:o wow... i've always thought that pure crude would be too thick to be used in jet engines... that just comes to show how much i know about this type of thing. Then i guess that it wouldn't be too hard to keep jets flying if a global crisis affected refined fuel production and availability became an issue.
IF (very big
if) I remember correctly, the Germans were going to pre-heat the crude, initially a starter tank kept warm electrically, then once it was running , with exhaust gasses.
They were also considering using coal dust as an additive to improve the burn for the amount of difficult-to-get liquid fuel.
The M1 Abrams tanks' turbines run on automotive diesel - reduces the logistics train, as the Americans (& most of their allies) already use diesel for most of their vehicles.
Quote from: Old Wombat on November 24, 2019, 01:58:15 AM
Quote from: DogfighterZen on November 23, 2019, 04:07:36 PM
The other chopper that i really like is the AH-1 Cobra. The latest AH-1Z variant is gorgeous and i want to buy the Kittyhawk 1/48 model of it,
Just to make you jealous, I have the 1/35 version in the stash - looks good in the box, just hope it goes together better than the Cougar.
You're mean, sir... ;D ;D :thumbsup:
I've seen the Academy kit's review and indeed, it looks great. I only want to have the AH-1 in 1/48 because of the rest of the kits i have.
Chopper wise, i have 3 1/32 kits, the Revell Bell jet ranger, the Monogram Blue Thunder and the Hobbycraft oh-6 Cayuse, which will be converted into the MD-500/AH-6 that's featured in the Blue Thunder movie and these are all for that purpose, the Blue Thunder choppers. There is an Eurocopter as350 of the news crew that shows up in a scene or two but, i haven't found a 1/32 kit of that one and it really doesn't matter much cause it's not a very important role so i'm happy with the main 3.
In 1/48 i have the Fujimi Gazelle and Kiowa, 2 Academy MD-500, and an Italeri OH-58D Kiowa warrior so, i'm missing a UH-1, AH-1 and an Apache to complete my 1/48 chopper stash and then there are the 1/72 Alouette III, Comanche, Cobra, Huey and Apache... :rolleyes:
Quote from: Old Wombat on November 24, 2019, 01:58:15 AM
IF (very big if) I remember correctly, the Germans were going to pre-heat the crude, initially a starter tank kept warm electrically, then once it was running , with exhaust gasses.
They were also considering using coal dust as an additive to improve the burn for the amount of difficult-to-get liquid fuel.
The M1 Abrams tanks' turbines run on automotive diesel - reduces the logistics train, as the Americans (& most of their allies) already use diesel for most of their vehicles.
Heating the crude would certainly make it a bit thinner but i imagine the clouds of thick black smoke coming from those exhausts... it would probably be similar to a burning oil extraction well... :o ;D
Quote from: DogfighterZen on November 23, 2019, 04:07:36 PM
:o wow... i've always thought that pure crude would be too thick to be used in jet engines... that just comes to show how much i know about this type of thing. Then i guess that it wouldn't be too hard to keep jets flying if a global crisis affected refined fuel production and availability became an issue.
In the 50s & 60s the Union Pacific Railroad in the USA had some BIG gas turbine powered locos, and they ran on 'Bunker C' fuel, which was the crudest fraction available and was almost solid at room temperature. They used steam heating coils in the fuel tenders to get it liquid enough to pump and burn, and they certainly DID smoke like crazy when they started up! The exhaust pipe on the largest versions of those locos was about 8-9 FEET in diameter, so you can imagine the size of the smoke cloud.
https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=up+big+blow+startup&&view=detail&mid=F72D15149ACC92AAA023F72D15149ACC92AAA023&&FORM=VRDGAR (https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=up+big+blow+startup&&view=detail&mid=F72D15149ACC92AAA023F72D15149ACC92AAA023&&FORM=VRDGAR)
Go to 1:30 secs to see what I mean, and it's ALREADY started and running. :o
Re the use of crude as a fuel, would it depend on the type of crude ? After all there are many different types straight out of the well head and some of the lighter ones are very "light" indeed.
Coal dust as a fuel or powdered coal ? Again dependent on the type of coal, powdered coal could work. It was gradually being used as a cheaper alternative to fuel oil in blast furnace injectors by the 80's. If memory serves then it would need to be the high end, hard coal not the "brown" soft Lignite end of the spectrum.
Quote from: PR19_Kit on November 24, 2019, 06:22:10 AM
In the 50s & 60s the Union Pacific Railroad in the USA had some BIG gas turbine powered locos, and they ran on 'Bunker C' fuel, which was the crudest fraction available and was almost solid at room temperature. They used steam heating coils in the fuel tenders to get it liquid enough to pump and burn, and they certainly DID smoke like crazy when they started up! The exhaust pipe on the largest versions of those locos was about 8-9 FEET in diameter, so you can imagine the size of the smoke cloud.
https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=up+big+blow+startup&&view=detail&mid=F72D15149ACC92AAA023F72D15149ACC92AAA023&&FORM=VRDGAR (https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=up+big+blow+startup&&view=detail&mid=F72D15149ACC92AAA023F72D15149ACC92AAA023&&FORM=VRDGAR)
Go to 1:30 secs to see what I mean, and it's ALREADY started and running. :o
What a smoker... ;D :thumbsup: that's pretty much like i imagined, a big and dark smoke cloud left behind... but i imagine that these locomotives would be pulling rather big compositions, right?
Quote from: NARSES2 on November 24, 2019, 06:46:41 AM
Re the use of crude as a fuel, would it depend on the type of crude ? After all there are many different types straight out of the well head and some of the lighter ones are very "light" indeed.
Coal dust as a fuel or powdered coal ? Again dependent on the type of coal, powdered coal could work. It was gradually being used as a cheaper alternative to fuel oil in blast furnace injectors by the 80's. If memory serves then it would need to be the high end, hard coal not the "brown" soft Lignite end of the spectrum.
Guess it's new one for me, i thought there was only one type of crude... :rolleyes: :thumbsup:
Quote from: DogfighterZen on November 24, 2019, 03:31:06 PM
What a smoker... ;D :thumbsup: that's pretty much like i imagined, a big and dark smoke cloud left behind... but i imagine that these locomotives would be pulling rather big compositions, right?
Yes, the Big Blows had 8000 hp on a good day and were scheduled for the very heavy freights over the Warsatch Mountains.
Quote from: DogfighterZen on November 24, 2019, 03:31:06 PM
Guess it's new one for me, i thought there was only one type of crude... :rolleyes: :thumbsup:
Believe me so did I. That was until at the back end of my career I got heavily involved with both U.K. and E.U. climate change monitoring data requirements. And before anyone says it the U.K. Government's were by far the most onerous and detailed :rolleyes:
Quote from: NARSES2 on November 25, 2019, 12:07:57 AM
Quote from: DogfighterZen on November 24, 2019, 03:31:06 PM
Guess it's new one for me, i thought there was only one type of crude... :rolleyes: :thumbsup:
Believe me so did I. That was until at the back end of my career I got heavily involved with both U.K. and E.U. climate change monitoring data requirements. And before anyone says it the U.K. Government's were by far the most onerous and detailed :rolleyes:
This is just one of the reasons why this forum is my modelling home and you guys are my modelling family, besides the what-if side of things, the info just keeps flowing, everyone is always sharing useful knowledge and helping out in any way possible. I learn something almost everyday i come here and i'm very thankful for that! :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
:cheers: