Whirlybirds, Dynes, V/STOL or STOL builds

[McColm]

I'm including any Helicopters, Heliplanes,V/STOL or STOL builds that I haven't mentioned or covered yet.
A few have appeared on GB sites but it would be great to see them again all together in one place.
To be continued..

[McColm]

 Although Lockheed had successfully landed and taken off from the USS Forestal using a
 C-130F during 1963, they were looking for something with  shorter wings but could carry the same payload.
SJMcColm Engineering Limited had merged the C-130K fuselage with the twin-booms twin-fins with the wings from the Fairchild C-119C , changing the radial pistons engines to a pair of turbofans of their own design.
Trials continued with USS Forestal throughout 1965, returning back to England for evaluation by the RAF. Who were impressed by the STOL capabilities and cargo weights that it could carry.
A worthy rival to the Amstrong Whitworth Argosy which sold well in the commercial markets with 150 examples and double the amount for military use. SJMcColm Engineering Limited called it the Harlequin, Lockheed the C-19A Harlequin after negotiating a deal with Fairchild and SJMc for the production.

The build isn't finished yet as I'm still deciding if this should be a commercial freighter or something military. The kits are in 1/72 scale.

[McColm]

The US Navy

had put out tenders for the replacement aircraft for the Grumman C-2A Greyhound.
SJMcColm Engineering Limited had put forward the SJMc Ravenclaw. One had a fixed wing with twin turbofanned engines and the other tilt-turbofans with an improved wing. They both had a rear loading ramp, wrap-around external fuel tanks that embraced the main landing gear, in-flight refueling probe and twin tail fins.
The turbofans selected were the TF34-GE-100 as fitted to the Fairchild Republic A-10A Thunderbolt II. They also supplied parts and were the sponsors for the project. Talks had already taken place for the production rights and marketing.
The footprint was the same as the Boeing V-22 Osprey which uncannily looked very similar when it was built many years later.
However the US Navy opted for the STOL variant to replace the Lockheed S-3B Viking whereas the British Royal Navy ordered the V/STOL.
Engineers from SJMc had to add filters to the turbofanned engines to prevent the exhaust from burning the tarmac on the flight deck during landing or taking off vertically. The Admiralty set up trails for an AEW version EV.1which went without any issues in the performance of the aircraft or radar.
Sweden was the second launch customer for the Fairchild Republic Ravenclaw C-4A.

I used two different 1/72 Boeing V-22 Osprey kits from different manufacturers. The engines came from various A-10A kits along with the wings. The deflated radome is from the Freighdog range.
These two builds were made before I purchased the book American Secret Projects US Airlifters Since 1962 .
Grumman proposed Model 698 in the 698-400 design series with tilted turbofanned engines which is similar to the Ravenclaw V/STOL.

[McColm]

The rise of the Dynes based on either the Airfix 1/72 Fairey Rotodyne or the smaller Revell model kit.
I think that I entered the 1/72 Westland Cargodyne into a GB build but my memory is a bit patchy.
The Westland Cargodyne was a roll-on-roll-off design based around the Fairey Rotodyne, having the cockpit relocated to the roof and a contra-rotating rotor blades set up for heavy lifting.
Due to the noise the Cargodyne was used in the oil and gas industry away from cities or large towns although a special version with soundproofing was built for the Car-Air-Ferry businesses. Allowing four Ford Anglia cars to be carried end-to-end or eight Jeeps on a specially designed platform.
Thirty Westland Cargodynes were built with only five still flying in a modified version without the jet pod rotor tips.

The Helidyne proved to be a much better option with the removal of the turboprop engines and jet pods using a conventional layout although the engines could be specified by the customer.
Red One is the current flying prototype, it has the rear landing gear housed in a pair of sponsors and a large external long-range fuel tank fitted to the side of the fuselage.and the same engines as the Sikorsky CH-53 Sea Stallion with a carbon fiber three -bladed rotor plus  twin tail fins.

An unlikely version was the Westland Skua, this kept the twin tail fins but had a new wing which allowed the tilt-rotors to rotate from the vertical position to the horizontal with an unusual tandem seater cockpit. This design won a competition for a SAR helicopter/Heliplane operated by the US Coast Guard and the RNLI. Five hundred examples have been built since the launch in 2005.

The Westland Commander has been the most popular choice for the Helidyne. Sticking with the triple tail fins and three engine layout with the three bladed main rotor.

[McColm]

The Westland Sea Lion is the largest helicopter in operational service with the Royal Air Force although used by the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm, Royal Marines and the Army Air Corps. To the untrained eye it looks like a No Tail Rotor Sikorsky Sea Dragon only with a three bladed rotor and the inflatable radome fixed to the roof of the fuselage at the rear end. Drop fuel tanks are fitted and a bolt on in-flight refueling probe can be attached if required.
The Sea Lion can be used in the ASW, AEW, troop transportation,CSAR and extraction role with the ability to alight on water if the conditions are favorable.
Three are kept for QRA on standby whilst the other six are used by the armed forces.

It's an ongoing build using the 1/72 Sikorsky Sea Dragon kit, I managed to snap one of the main rotor blades and the tail rotor got damaged beyond repair.

[McColm]

The 1/72 Westland Kestrel AEW was built before the EH 101 Merlin Crowsnest entered service with the Fleet Air Arm to replace the Sea King ASaC.7.

This was one of my builds whilst recovering from five weeks in hospital back in May -June 2021 at StayCity Deptford Bridge.

[McColm]

In the 1960s the Admiralty had to decide on which helicopter would replace the Westland Wessex, instead of one helicopter they decided that two different types would be adequate built under license along with the American engines.
The Sikorsky S-61R (the Sea King with the rear loading ramp) and the Boeing-Vertol V.107M Sea Knight.
The S-61R was named the Westland Puffin and the CH-46A retained the Sea Knight. Both used for ASW, AEW, SAR and troop transportation with in-flight refueling probes fitted and the ability for use as ground support/attack. Both would see action during Desert Storm 1990-1991 before being retired shortly afterwards.

The Royal Navy Operated the Mil-24 Hind A helicopter mainly for evaluation purposes but it was flown on a regular basis for the Special Forces.

[McColm]

One of the oldest flying aircraft is the An-2 Colt. There has been several floatplane versions and turboprop conversions. I haven't seen one with a Rolls-Royce Griffon engine with a six -bladed propeller.
I dearsay that it has been evaluated by the MODUK but didn't enter service, probably used by the Special Forces.


So what do you do with all those spare parts, kitbash perhaps ending up with something like this.
Well if you can believe it the donor kit is the Airfix 1/72 BAC TSR-2 bought secondhand with a few missing parts. So I opted for the side-by-side seats in the cockpit (F-111). Vertical tail fins are from the Airfix Lockheed F-22 with the rear end from the Airfix F-35B which also supplied the lifting engine. There's parts from a Harrier plus others.
This could have been an experimental V/STOL testing new materials and technology. The decals are from the Heller Boeing E-3A/C kit 50 years of NATO.


The Lockheed C-130 Hercules has had many different engines fitted to it during experimental trials so two engine pods from the Boeing B-52 wouldn't look too out of place for the alternative to the YC-14 and YC-15 program which resulted in the C-17.
The model was part of a batch of 1/144 Spares or Repairs in 1/144 scale. I have added the engines from a 1/200 scale B-52.

[McColm]

The US Navy got the Prowler and Growler whilst the British had the Jowler.
The build is based on a 1/72 two seater Jaguar model with lots of spare parts to make it look like a SEAD platform , the 'Wild Jag '. Built for a GB.