AC-10D Jetstorm

[MerlinJones]

I used to have an Airfix AC-47 "Spooky". Loved it to bits...especially the crewman raining firy doom of the baddies below. I also liked the camo job, and neat black undersides. Looked well cool. Happy days.

I've recently acquired some Airfix Jetstreams and, as the C-10 version modelled never went as far as being accepted into service, these are essentially What If?'s before I do anything to them...one of them even appeared in the UFO pilot episode as Strakers transport.

Meld Paragraph 1 with Paragraph 2 and you can see where I'm going with this...

...A Jetstream, equipped with AC-47 Miniguns, painted in USAF SE Asian camo. Obviously, the cargo door will be gone and it'll have to sprout some antennae.
I'm looking into exhaust protection and chaff dispensers, for anti-SAM measures and there'll have to be some sort of camera-cum-IR detector. I know they weren't as advanced back then and it'd be wildly inaccurate to stick gadgets and gizmos currently seen on the AC-130, but this is What-If?

Given the size and apparent manouvreability of the Jetstream, I might go completely silly and equip it with underwing hard points...extra fuel at least might come in handy.

[Scooterman]

GO FOR IT!!!!

[AeroplaneDriver]

I used to have an Airfix AC-47 "Spooky". Loved it to bits...especially the crewman raining firy doom of the baddies below. I also liked the camo job, and neat black undersides. Looked well cool. Happy days.

I've recently acquired some Airfix Jetstreams and, as the C-10 version modelled never went as far as being accepted into service, these are essentially What If?'s before I do anything to them...one of them even appeared in the UFO pilot episode as Strakers transport.

Meld Paragraph 1 with Paragraph 2 and you can see where I'm going with this...

...A Jetstream, equipped with AC-47 Miniguns, painted in USAF SE Asian camo. Obviously, the cargo door will be gone and it'll have to sprout some antennae.
I'm looking into exhaust protection and chaff dispensers, for anti-SAM measures and there'll have to be some sort of camera-cum-IR detector. I know they weren't as advanced back then and it'd be wildly inaccurate to stick gadgets and gizmos currently seen on the AC-130, but this is What-If?

Given the size and apparent manouvreability of the Jetstream, I might go completely silly and equip it with underwing hard points...extra fuel at least might come in handy.

Not that much room for hardpoint mounting under the wings, but replacing the J31/32s belly cargo pod with a conformal fuel tank might work.

Unless the Airfix model has changed it's not a C-10.  The C-10 was to have had Garrett TPE331 engines instead of the Astazous on the early Jetstream 200s (T.1s).  The engineering work done for the C-10 TPE331 installation was resurrected in the late 70s to become the J31.

The Jetstream is a fun airplane to fly, and I guess you could say it's maneuverable for its size.  I have about 3,000 hours in J31s and 32s, and lucky me just got my boss to buy one for me to fly!

I'd love to have one of those Airfix jobbies if you have a spare for sale.  I think I can scratchbuild a halfway decent pair of TPE331 nacelles.

My new toy:

[The Rat]

She's a beauty alright, some serious whiffing potential there. I mentioned in another post a few days ago that it looks ripe for a fuselage extension, it always seemed too short to me.

Bloody noisy bastards too.    

[K5054NZ]

Do it Mart! You must!! Sounds like a dream!

[MerlinJones]

I'd love to have one of those Airfix jobbies if you have a spare for sale.  I think I can scratchbuild a halfway decent pair of TPE331 nacelles.

For one 'orrible moment, I thought I'd wandered onto Hyperscale!

When you say "scratch" a pair of nacelles, would that be one pair for your own use. If you're talking casting your own resin, I'll buy two off you. If you're talking individually crafted from the bits box and other sources, how about a pair for me and you'll get the kit gratis?
Otherwise, make me an offer;

[email protected]

They're currently available to Club Members only, at airfix.com/cs , for £6.99

[AeroplaneDriver]

I'd love to have one of those Airfix jobbies if you have a spare for sale.  I think I can scratchbuild a halfway decent pair of TPE331 nacelles.

For one 'orrible moment, I thought I'd wandered onto Hyperscale!

When you say "scratch" a pair of nacelles, would that be one pair for your own use. If you're talking casting your own resin, I'll buy two off you. If you're talking individually crafted from the bits box and other sources, how about a pair for me and you'll get the kit gratis?
Otherwise, make me an offer;

[email protected]

They're currently available to Club Members only, at airfix.com/cs , for £6.99

If it was Hyperscale I would have said "a completely accurate set of TPE331-10-UGR nacelles with Dowty props set at hte proper 3 degree shutdown angle and with the oil cooler doors open.  

I'm not normally such a stickler for accuracy (obviously or I wojldnt be here), but I picked up as set of USAir Express J31 decals not long ago and I'd love to make a model of an airplane I'd actually flown.

I was thinking I would just try to fashion nacelles in balsa, but I have been itching to try my hand at resin casting.  

can you post a pic of the kit breakdown around the wing/nacelle area?

[nev]

Nick, thats a cool ride, you got there, but you might wanna try and persuade your boss to give her a new lick of paint

[elmayerle]

I'd love to have one of those Airfix jobbies if you have a spare for sale.  I think I can scratchbuild a halfway decent pair of TPE331 nacelles.

For one 'orrible moment, I thought I'd wandered onto Hyperscale!

When you say "scratch" a pair of nacelles, would that be one pair for your own use. If you're talking casting your own resin, I'll buy two off you. If you're talking individually crafted from the bits box and other sources, how about a pair for me and you'll get the kit gratis?
Otherwise, make me an offer;

[email protected]

They're currently available to Club Members only, at airfix.com/cs , for £6.99

If it was Hyperscale I would have said "a completely accurate set of TPE331-10-UGR nacelles with Dowty props set at hte proper 3 degree shutdown angle and with the oil cooler doors open.  

I'm not normally such a stickler for accuracy (obviously or I wojldnt be here), but I picked up as set of USAir Express J31 decals not long ago and I'd love to make a model of an airplane I'd actually flown.

I was thinking I would just try to fashion nacelles in balsa, but I have been itching to try my hand at resin casting.  

can you post a pic of the kit breakdown around the wing/nacelle area?

Consider the nacelles from a MU-2 or the engine cowlings from an OV-10 as a starting place since the Marquis and Solitare versions of the MU-2 used the TPE331-10 without a major change in nacelle lines (oil cooler scoops grew, but not enough to show in 1/72) and much the same occured with the military version of the TPE331-10, the T76-G-401, installed in the OV-10D.  I suspect the nacelles from a Merling III or IV or Metroliner would be better yet, save for the long exhaust stacks, but I don't know of any 1/72 kits of those.

[AeroplaneDriver]

I'd love to have one of those Airfix jobbies if you have a spare for sale.  I think I can scratchbuild a halfway decent pair of TPE331 nacelles.

For one 'orrible moment, I thought I'd wandered onto Hyperscale!

When you say "scratch" a pair of nacelles, would that be one pair for your own use. If you're talking casting your own resin, I'll buy two off you. If you're talking individually crafted from the bits box and other sources, how about a pair for me and you'll get the kit gratis?
Otherwise, make me an offer;

[email protected]

They're currently available to Club Members only, at airfix.com/cs , for £6.99

If it was Hyperscale I would have said "a completely accurate set of TPE331-10-UGR nacelles with Dowty props set at hte proper 3 degree shutdown angle and with the oil cooler doors open.  

I'm not normally such a stickler for accuracy (obviously or I wojldnt be here), but I picked up as set of USAir Express J31 decals not long ago and I'd love to make a model of an airplane I'd actually flown.

I was thinking I would just try to fashion nacelles in balsa, but I have been itching to try my hand at resin casting.  

can you post a pic of the kit breakdown around the wing/nacelle area?

Consider the nacelles from a MU-2 or the engine cowlings from an OV-10 as a starting place since the Marquis and Solitare versions of the MU-2 used the TPE331-10 without a major change in nacelle lines (oil cooler scoops grew, but not enough to show in 1/72) and much the same occured with the military version of the TPE331-10, the T76-G-401, installed in the OV-10D.  I suspect the nacelles from a Merling III or IV or Metroliner would be better yet, save for the long exhaust stacks, but I don't know of any 1/72 kits of those.

The Merlin/Metro nacelles would be fairly easy, but the MU2 would be tougher since the engines are inverted on the MU2 (or technically they're inverted on the J31), with the intake on the bottom.

[elmayerle]

However, given the way the MU-2 nacelles are on the Hase kits, inverting them for a J31 wouldn't be that big a deal.  I believe the OV-10 cowlings have the "proper" orientation, too.

[AeroplaneDriver]

However, given the way the MU-2 nacelles are on the Hase kits, inverting them for a J31 wouldn't be that big a deal.  I believe the OV-10 cowlings have the "proper" orientation, too.

You may be right, but the MU2 and J31 nacelles are pretty different, even when oriented the same way.  The MU2 is a much deeper nacelle, and shorter too.

I'll probably end up trying to carve/sand/butcher them out of balsa since I have a pretty handy reference available.

MerlinJones, I'll just go ahead and try to make 4 nacelles in 1/72 and we'll swap if they turn out OK?

[elmayerle]

Granted, you'd need to build on to either the inverted MU-2 or the engine sections from the OV-10 booms.  BTW, when you get those nacelles completed, I'd like to acquire a set for my AT-28F effort (T-28 re-engined with two TPE331s).

[K5054NZ]

And the build is starting when?

[SebastianP]

For a moment I though you were going to do a gunship version of the *KC-10* - which would have been cool, if a little silly... I have got to get me a Spectre kit, just for fun. But first I need some shelves...

SP