Pellsons Perceivings

[NARSES2]

If the mojo calls you would be foolish to resist.

Indeed, before it goes off and sulks 

[Pellson]

Saturday morning. The weather is best described as "Mancunian grey" and yesterday's springlike temperatures are lost in a faint memory. But I'm home, and yesterday's long trip to and fro the hospital for post-treatment checkups was transformed into a rather nice road trip as my eldest, the soon-to-been nineteen-year-old, decided to skip Friday's two lessons and tag along, basically driving both the car and the entertainment system throughout the day. And she's an amazing young lady, that one, so having more or less a full day of undisturbed slow discussion about the world and the future was a magnificent treat indeed. As far as generation upgrades goes, she's an uncontested success, so far. A bit like the RAF's best ATC officer, I believe. Right, @PR19_Kit ?

Speaking about being ridiculously pleased, I'm so far quite happy indeed with my interceptor Lansen. The idea as such has lived in my head for quite a few years, ans I have made several attempts, just to fail miserably on engine intakes, wing shape, fuselage/wing adaptation, fuselage length, engine/afterburner and  cockpit interior. If I recall them all. But this time, I THINK I'm getting it right! My main concern right now is around the drop tanks. Considering the IRL experience, that oh so characteristic preggo belly tank was  present  on many of the J32B fighter missions, but it wasn't as almost compulsory as on the A32A/S32C low altitude operations. So there may very well be a discussion around how much endurance you actually would need in the Swedish context.
On the other hand, the well documented and unequivocal praise among Swedish fighter pilots for the increased endurance when transferring from the Draken system to the JA37 Viggen is a strong argument in itself. And even if the Viggen carried internal fuel for more endurance than the Draken did even with two drop tanks, you NEVER saw a Viggen fighter without its almost 1500 litres drop tank on the centreline.  So, accordingly, drop tanks probably will make sense on the Lansen, even if they may spoil the model's surprisingly sleek lines.
Also, the mission I'm thinking about, using the Lansen and its superior radar system to facilitate some airborne fighter control for the electronically less capable Draken fighters, especially over the vast reaches of Northern Scandinavia where ground based radar coverage was somewhat limited would suggest increased endurance as a good thing.

Well, this monologue in itself is actually not bad as a decision assisting procedure. Is shall read this a few times and mull a bit more on things. And probably try to dry fit the tanks, one way or another. 

And while thinking on the Lansen, it dawns on me that it's actually going to come out rather like a Swedish version of the F-101B or Yak-28P. Reasonably similar performance and equipment. But in a single-engine format, much like the relationship between the Draken and the British E. E. Lightning.

[Charlie_c67]

Doesn't the Yak have both engines in the wing though? How would you go about changing that to a single?

Re: Hospital parking, in the UK a big part of the problem is that a lot of hospitals were built in a time when car ownership wasn't as high as it is now, public transport was better and they were sometimes built on the outskirts. This obviously has changed with a lot of them being surrounded by dense housing and having ever more departments squashed onto the site. Of course, it doesn't help when they do things like combine three hospitals onto one out of town site and only provide a third of the necessary parking. CoughBristolCough.

[Pellson]

Doesn't the Yak have both engines in the wing though? How would you go about changing that to a single?

I was referring to performance/functionality rather than engine layout. The Voodoo and the Firebar were both two-seat allweather interceptors with a top speed around Mach 1.7, which is very much what I'm aiming for with my Lansen.

Re hospital parkings: this hospital seems not to have adapted whereas others have. It's annoying, but I can't see the situation change very much in the foreseeable future, so I'll just have to adapt on my own instead.

[Charlie_c67]

Ah I see. I had visions of you doing a single engined F-101 powered by something like a de Haviland Gyron or the like 

[Rheged]

There are several good things to say about Pellson's latest musings. 

 Firstly, I have used the phrase "Mancunian grey" on the  Royal  Meteorological  Society's  fellows chat forum, and it has already been gratefully  accepted as a useful addition to meteorological jargon.  I am asked by fellow Fellows (can I say that?) to thank you for introducing the term.

 As to your road trip yesterday, it can only be described as a multiple win situation. You were chauffeur driven, she got a chance to drive a family car :  you both had considerable quantities of quality time with each other, another each way winner; even better, you got on well together : Miss Pellson has decided that dad is worth skipping lessons for, and you can bask in a warm glow of triumph that you and your good lady have achieved a considerable success--------------that's a bucketful of win-win situations.

I find reading  fellow whiffers  deliberations adds to my appreciation of a finished model.  I'll admit to setting out my thoughts on paper and then reviewing them as a useful tool for decision making.  Following your train of thought, I can see a quality backstory emerging to match the Lansen model.

As to Charlie's comments on hospital parking,  that's a fair summary of the situation......even Bristol South Meads isn't immune (as I discovered some years ago)

[Charlie_c67]

South Meads is that special 3-in-1 place I mentioned. A former colleague came from there and told us of the carnage.

[PR19_Kit]

As far as generation upgrades goes, she's an uncontested success, so far. A bit like the RAF's best ATC officer, I believe. Right, @PR19_Kit ?

Absolutely, there's nothing quite that warm glow of satisfaction when one of your progeny does something rather outstanding. Seeing Anita  have her Royal Warrant awarded was the most wonderful experience. 

Your drive y'day sounds a similar occasion, and long may they continue.

On the hospitals front, in the Forest of Dean (where I used to live.... ) there were two very good hospitals, one of which was only 400 yards up the hill from my house. The local NHS Trust decided that they weren't good enough and wanted to build an all new hospital and put the idea out for 'public consultation'. The citizens of the FoD decided by a large majority that we'd rather continue with the two existing hospitals, so the NHS Trust went ahead and built the new one anyway!   

Of course it's MILES away from my old house, and from the other hospital too, and it has about 30% of the ward capacity of the two old ones added together, plus the car parking there is miniscule, so who gains from this? It's certainly not the patients!

[NARSES2]

Re: Hospital parking, in the UK a big part of the problem is that a lot of hospitals were built in a time when car ownership wasn't as high as it is now, public transport was better

And housing estates. The one I grew up on, and still live on, was built in 1956 and there were only 2 cars on the entire estate, it's not large, and us kids used to get the right hump if we were disturbed when using one of the flat bits of road as a wicket or hand tennis court    Nowadays it seems to be a legal requirement every household has a minimum of 2 vehicles even if some of them never move 

Rant over. Glad you had you had an excellent bonding day with the daughter Mr P 

[Pellson]

Firstly, I have used the phrase "Mancunian grey" on the  Royal  Meteorological  Society's  fellows chat forum, and it has already been gratefully  accepted as a useful addition to meteorological jargon.  I am asked by fellow Fellows (can I say that?) to thank you for introducing the term.

I shall see this as a major honour. Please do return my gratitude

I can see a quality backstory emerging to match the Lansen model.

There might be outlines in draft form.

[Pellson]

And while thinking on the Lansen, it dawns on me that it's actually going to come out rather like a Swedish version of the F-101B or Yak-28P. Reasonably similar performance and equipment. But in a single-engine format, much like the relationship between the Draken and the British E. E. Lightning.

Couldn't help myself, so I had to dig out a Firebar project and my Norwegian Voodoo just to actually compare.

You cannot view this attachment.

Interesting. Both the contenders are significantly bigger, but I still think the Lansen would work. In particular if you were allowed to haggle a tad on endurance.

Also, while the dart-like Yak looks a lot faster, the wing sweep of the Lansen and the F-101 is virtually the same.

[Rick Lowe]

As to your road trip yesterday, it can only be described as a multiple win situation. You were chauffeur driven, she got a chance to drive a family car :  you both had considerable quantities of quality time with each other, another each way winner; even better, you got on well together : Miss Pellson has decided that dad is worth skipping lessons for, and you can bask in a warm glow of triumph that you and your good lady have achieved a considerable success--------------that's a bucketful of win-win situations.

I find reading  fellow whiffers  deliberations adds to my appreciation of a finished model.  I'll admit to setting out my thoughts on paper and then reviewing them as a useful tool for decision making.  Following your train of thought, I can see a quality backstory emerging to match the Lansen model.

Agree completely that the Day Out With Daughter was a Win! and long may it continue. 

And I also find writing something down and coming back to it helps the process along and gels what you want to do.
Even talking it over with yourself can help... 

[Pellson]

Even talking it over with yourself can help... 

People are looking strangely at me...

[kitbasher]

'Mancunian Grey', Mr P?

How very dare you!

[frank2056]

Beautiful job on that A-Model Firebar!

I've never seen the sky in Manchester, but "Mancunian grey" is about as evocative as William Gibson's  "The sky above the port was the color of television, tuned to a dead channel. "

Although now it would probably be solid blue or black.