Pellsons Perceivings

[Pellson]

Just popping by quickly on this the last evening of my Christmas holidays. It's been ok despite Mrs P having had to work a lot more than anticipated. Actually, there was someone calling every single day! Also, a wheelbearing went today in the Discovery, but luckily, my house mechanic is able to deal with it already this Friday! Not bad at all!

As Mr Rheged has noticed, weather has been a bit up and down, dropping a foot plus of snow on us the other day, and today freezing our unmentionables off with -12C this morning. And they say there's even more snow incoming. But I'll be working from home tomorrow, so I'll be fine.

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And as the blizzard peaked last weekend, we took the opportunity to enjoy such weather in the best way possible - from an outside bathtub. It is indeed a special feeling soaking in 42C while your face is blastered with snow.

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 I've also managed to get a little time at the desk, renovating a couple of Viggens while simultaneously preparing four new Viggen kits for assembly. And the Drakens has gotten a little paint here and there, bringing them slowly closer to completion.
The desk is a mess, but it works. And it suits my mojo to keep several projects running simultaneously.

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[kerick]

I could use those wind turbines for helicopter rotors!
Looks like you're making the best of a chilly situation.

[Rick Lowe]

Nice to see things are going well for you all.

Yeah, a tidy workbench is an anathema and contrary to the Laws of Modelling... 

Love the Christmas card... 

[NARSES2]

Great photograph of the hot tub       

[zenrat]

Great photograph of the hot tub       

It is indeed.  Which one is you?

 

[Old Wombat]

Love the Christmas card... 

Are you talking (writing?) about the one with the Land Rover below the writing? 

I thought that looked more like a Fathers' Day card - & expresses the sentiment I often cop from my elder daughter (in the decades since she discovered what the German for "father" was).   

[Rick Lowe]

Love the Christmas card... 

Are you talking (writing?) about the one with the Land Rover below the writing? 

I thought that looked more like a Fathers' Day card - & expresses the sentiment I often cop from my elder daughter (in the decades since she discovered what the German for "father" was).   

I sit corrected...
In my defense, I was a bit tired and rushed...

[perttime]

...
And as the blizzard peaked last weekend, we took the opportunity to enjoy such weather in the best way possible - from an outside bathtub. It is indeed a special feeling soaking in 42C while your face is blastered with snow.

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...

Never been in one of those but...
I remember going to a spa where you could walk or swim through a curtain to get into an outdoor pool: warm water and the air at something like -15 C.

[zenrat]

...I remember going to a spa where you could walk or swim through a curtain to get into an outdoor pool: warm water and the air at something like -15 C.

Given my hair line i'd need to be swimming in a hat.

[Captain Canada]

The Swedish flighline on the desk looks great ! Is the tub in your backyard ? We have one as well, always nice to have a soak on a cold day !

[Pellson]

Another week, and a few days closer to summer. I can't wait!

Having (as usual) been a bit too engaged in duties, I have nevertheless been able to do some touching up on the five Drakens, and also added a Johnson coat, effectively making them ready for decalling. Now, that's all well and good, but it also somewhat emphasises my inability to finally decide on scheme. Whereas the more "modern" Drakens, the Mod 4 JA35M and its trainer sister, will be JAS39 Gripen all grey with low-vis emblems I am contemplating to let the older airframes come closer to the scheme used by the late J35J's, and partly by the JA37 Viggens.

But there are still a few considerations. The Viggens were first with air superiority grey schemes, something developed at the F13 wing at Norrköping/Bråvalla. During war, they would likely have kept their hi-vis roundels, but stuck to black numbers.  That was however deemed too difficult to spot during peacetime exercises (duh!) so tac no's on the fin were repainted in day-glo red, often together with a red triangle and large no's on the topside of the wings. However, when the only remaining Draken wing, the F10 at Ängelholm/Barkåkra went for greys,  they initially kept wing no's yellow, and some sources say that early on, ad that's very early on, the fin tac no's also were yellow, before first the fin no and later the wing no on the nose went day-glo.
Variants are as per below:

Standard peacetime JA37. Note hi-vis roundels and "Danger" triangles at the inlet dayglo on fin but low-vis wing no on nose.

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Wartime JA37. Only difference - all low-vis no's

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Later warpainted recce SF37 (part of the PFP SWAFRAP) recce unit. Now, everything is low-vis, as per the JAS39 Gripens

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All yellow-numbered Draken

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Yellow moon nose, day-glo on tail.

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All day-glo scheme.

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Not being overly keen on day-glo as I like to build my models as if in conflict scenarios, I'm hesitating between the mixed, wartime fighter Viggen scheme and the early yellow-yellow Draken scheme just because I can.  But I find it annoyingly hard to put down my foot. 

Ah, well. In the meantime, I'll continue producing the extra actuators I need for my Viggen kits. The Heller kit is based on the early AJ/SH/SF variants with three actuators for the elevons.  However, these aircraft were plagued by torque limited leflection of the elevons at higher speed, sometimes mitigated on the later JA37 variant by adding a fourth actuator to each wing. And as that seems reasonably cheap, why not do that when you SLEP your strike and recce Viggens as well?

[PR19_Kit]

Ah, well. In the meantime, I'll continue producing the extra actuators I need for my Viggen kits. The Heller kit is based on the early AJ/SH/SF variants with three actuators for the elevons.  However, these aircraft were plagued by torque limited leflection of the elevons at higher speed, sometimes mitigated on the later JA37 variant by adding a fourth actuator to each wing. And as that seems reasonably cheap, why not do that when you SLEP your strike and recce Viggens as well?

Ooooh small world! 

I can remember having to add an extra actuator to the Viggen fatigue rig sometime in '79 or '80, and having to update the software for it too. I wonder if that was for the extra elevon actuator?

I do recall amazing lunches at the factory though, I was always stuffed afterwards. 

[Pellson]

Ooooh small world! 

I can remember having to add an extra actuator to the Viggen fatigue rig sometime in '79 or '80, and having to update the software for it too. I wonder if that was for the extra elevon actuator?

Not unlikely. The JA37 flew as a prototype in that timeframe.

The difference can be seen here. AJ37 first

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JA37 here

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I do recall amazing lunches at the factory though, I was always stuffed afterwards. 

You need to eat properly in this climate, you know.. 

[PR19_Kit]

Somewhere I still have a HUGE file of my Service Reports of that period. I'll have to look it up and see if it will enliven my memory any more.

As for eating in Sweden, I don't think I EVER had a bad meal there, the most memorable ones being in the Master Johan Hotel in Malmo! I think they thought I needed building up! 

[PR19_Kit]

Ah yes, I see where they added one extra actuator inboard of the combined missile pylon. Superb pics btw. thanks.