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Harrier Mate

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  1. Harrier Mate
    Thanks Ernie for the response about Arizona web site.... Great detail on the machine guns as you say. Helped me sort a couple of questions regarding construction of the Williams Bros plastic ones. Built one. One to do. Very fiddly but looks good when finished. Will attempt to paint and weather mine in the way in which others have achieved on the various Fokker blogs... Not sure I can achieve their standard but will practise first.
  2. Harrier Mate
    Jeff, Looking at your aileron leading edge photo again.... did you only cap the upper side??? It looks from the photo as though you have angled the aileron leading edge strip as if it were going to be a top surface hinged piece.
  3. Harrier Mate
    Managed to get some 0.8mm (1/32) ply sheet from local model shop. Hadn't realised just how expensive the thin stuff is!!! Best I don't make a hash of doing the upper decking on the forward fuselage!!! I managed to build an entire new rear fuselage for the price of the 0.8 ply!! Still its very clever that modern technology can produce ply down to 1/64" thickness. Will allow me to attach the mainplane trailing edge/aileron leading edge this evening. Note to self: Must stop visiting model shops because I always want to leave with more than I went in for!!! Very tempted to build a scale vintage glider as next project..... only because Gliders Distribution have 1/4 scale Bergfalke in store. 3.5m wingspan. All ply and balsa construction. Self centring jig construction...... Stop it. You have a Fokker to finish...and fly!!! Aaaargh. It was gorgeous though.
  4. Harrier Mate
    Oops..I need to read posts more carefully or not attempt to cook breakfast whilst browsing the site!
  5. Harrier Mate
    Thanks guys. I did look ages ago at Arizona Models and agree that it is very expensive. I also understand the someone from another thread was not impressed with the standard of printing. Possibly a 'one off ' problem which I'm sure they sorted out but I would prefer not to have the hassle. If there's no UK distributor of the stuff, I guess its the old fashioned painting way.... which others have made such a great job of.
  6. Harrier Mate
    Mark, As others have said, the zig zag pattern on the canopy is an explosive cord. It is fired to destroy the canopy in a predetermined fracture pattern. It also runs round the rim of the canopy too. The Tornado and several other aircraft rely on the canopy being jettisoned completely prior to the ejection seat firing (as in the ejection sequence in movie Top Gun), whilst in others the entire cockpit area with canopy intact ejects (F111 as an example). They tend to have very thick plexiglass structures which couldn't be guaranteed to explode in the pattern required... especially when the cord is so close to the aircrew's face.. therefore limited power. In the Hawk (and Harrier) the Miniature Detonation Cord (MDC) is fired by an explosive cartridge, either as the ejection seat handle is pulled or by a manual handle on the right hand side of the canopy frame. The latter is used for example after a forced landing if the canopy were to be distorted rather than risking an ejection. On some seats, there are strengthened 'hard points' to ensure that even if the MDC fails, the seat can smash the canopy itself. Early seats (e.g. Jet Provost and F4 Phantom) had 2 handles. A seat pan handle as in modern seats and a handle above the pilots head (with protective face blind). The upper handle was system was replaced by seat handle only for several reasons, the effectiveness of MDC, the difficulty reaching the top handle if ejection was initiated under high g and posture/protection of arms during high speed ejection. Employing the MDC system, means that the the seat can begin its travel 0.5secs after pulling the seat pan handle. Pilot can be on a fully deployed chute 1.9 secs after initiation. Long answer to short question!!!!
  7. Harrier Mate
    Peter, I agree with you that the hunter is a most beautiful design and especially the sound of its blue note in a high speed pass. And the Hawk is considerably more fuel efficient than its predecessor (we can actually get 4 miles per gallon at 35000ft!!!). However, it not quite as fuel efficient as you might think. We regularly used to stage (and still do occasionally) through Nice on route to overseas destinations (usually AWTI Decimomannu when it was open and I did Solenzara in Corsica a few months ago via Orange 30mins nw of Nice). On a full tank of fuel we could make Nice. Unfortunately, we would never be able to make it as a diversion at the end of a sortie. There are many times I wish we could!!! We, however, are also restricted to diversions as far a field as Cardiff and Brizenorton (350kg from Valley, 250kg from Brawdy) or when the weather is really bad, Lossiemouth is achievable but at the expense of our sortie duration.
  8. Harrier Mate
    Great vid. Since invention of Go Pro cameras, its amazing what gets on the net!!!!
  9. Harrier Mate
    Mark, There are several more photos of the 229 OCU formation on the net too if you want to view.
  10. Harrier Mate
    The 229 OCU mass formation is made up of the hunters of 22OCU. Single seaters and the T7 trainers. They did numerous air displays as massed formation in the years before disbandment. I spent the summer of 1980 at Brawdy when it had mixed force of Hunters (63 Sqn) (about to disband) and Hawks (79 and 234 Sqn). I was a student at Chivenor a few years after the Hawk replaced the Hunter (1983), served as an instructor on the Hawk at Brawdy (88 - 91)...... and 25 years later Im doing exactly the same on 208 Sqn at RAF Valley!!!
  11. Harrier Mate
    Very true Jeff!!. You may have told me previously.... where did you get your lozenge fabric from. I know others have done a great job masking and hand painting the lozenges. Is there still ready printed tex available is your also hand crafted?
  12. Harrier Mate
    The 2 red jet are indeed Fouga Magisters. I think they were Belgian Air Force with Belgian tricola on the fin... just a the French Air Force did with Patrouille de France for many years. A single Fouga (privately owned in same Belgian colour scheme) toured the international display circuit for several years more recently. The high wing prop ac is the Army Air Corps de Havilland Beaver and the mass formation is from 229 OCU (rather than 229 Sqn) which after demise of Hunter and formation of No1 and No2 Tac Wpns Units at Chiv and Brawdy with Hawk TMk1a disbanded at Brawdy prior to later becoming the Tornado F2/F3 OCU at Coningsby.
  13. Harrier Mate
    And saw tooth leading edges..... I promise Im not copying!!!!
  14. Harrier Mate
    Hi Jeff. Perfect!!!! Did you shield yours with ply or balsa.... if you can remember? Also answers my thought... should I use 2 hinges or three.... Three it is!
  15. Harrier Mate
  16. Harrier Mate
    I decided to cut the ribs for the ailerons first in order to build them separately. I intend to shield the hinge line with thin strip of ply (0.4mm or 0.8mm depending on what I can lay my hands on this weekend). I will use half round aileron leading edge with recessed robart hinge points. Other advantage of cutting aileron ribs cleanly first is that the trailing edge of the wing doesnt need scarf jointing at all. The supplied strip is long enough to do entire centre section as in photo below.
  17. Harrier Mate

    Harrier Mate posted a gallery image in Member Albums

  18. Harrier Mate

    Harrier Mate posted a gallery image in Member Albums

  19. Harrier Mate
    Hmmm! i dont see the advantage of building the wing as one piece then chopping out the aileron afterwards. Surely i can make a much neater job of cutting the trailing edge of the ribs vertical for the aileron post placement by cutting them BEFORE gluing down. Maybe i'm missing something but i don't see the advantage.
  20. Harrier Mate
    As always... didn't get quite as much done this evening as hoped. I did manage to clear the building board of accumulated debris and cut out the scale leading edge sheeting for upper mainplane. Pin it all down and start on the ribs and wing spar tomorrow.
  21. Harrier Mate
    Scale leading edge sheeting
  22. Harrier Mate
    New scale leading edge sheeting
  23. Harrier Mate
    This week's intent is to clear the building board of the detritus that has built up over the last few months and get started on the upper wing. Still undecided as to whether i should use the simple interplane strut joining method shown on the plan or a more scale (-ish) design. Guess the inspiration will come to me as the wing nears completion! Does anyone know if 2.4GHz kit is susceptible to metal against metal rubbing interference. (Thinking of the interplane attachments again!). Always seemed to be a major fear in days gone by but I have little experience of the 2.4GHz equipment.
  24. Harrier Mate
    Hi Bob, Not getting much free time to concentrate on the Fokker at the moment so little bits... but now ready to start on upper wing. That should come together more quickly than lower, as I now know what i'm doing!
  25. Harrier Mate
    Width of leading edge box is snug fit between lower fuselage formers.
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