Philip Barrett 2 Posted January 17, 2020 Share Posted January 17, 2020 I thought I would share my experience in building the Hawker Hunter by Tony Nijhuis. I have just completed it, having got off to an early start before Christmas by ordering the plan, CNC wood pack and canopy from Tony before the publication date in RCM&E. I would really recommend the wood pack. Some of the fuselage formers, particularly the one securing the tail pipe, are both complex and delicate and would not be easy to cut from 3mm liteply. I have finished it in the same yellow scheme Tony used, hoping to get the same benefit in terms of visibility in flight. The only change I made from the plan was to fit a battery hatch on the underneath to facilitate access for the battery. Using an Overlander 3S 2200 pack it slides happily under the wing, allowing it to be located to give the correct balance point without the need for any ballast. I made a floor to the battery compartment from hard 3mm balsa, gluing it at the junction of the vertical fuselage sides and the sloping sides. The battery is secured with Velcro, and is restrained from moving forward by a balsa wedge from triangular stock. I was very impressed with Tony`s design. It is easy to build and gives a very representative finished shape. My version has come out at 21 ounces with battery, which is a testament to both the design and the wood selection in the pack. If our patch ever dries out I will let you know how it flies! T Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philip Barrett 2 Posted January 17, 2020 Author Share Posted January 17, 2020 I should have mentioned that the covering material is light yellow Solarfilm sourced from the website where the old stock is still being sold. The cockpit canopy is trimmed with Solartrim, an exact match to the Solarfilm. This removed the risk of melting the canopy as no heat iron was needed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brokenenglish Posted January 17, 2020 Share Posted January 17, 2020 Very nice! Looking forward to a flight report. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin McIntosh Posted January 20, 2020 Share Posted January 20, 2020 I see that you have not added the piece facing inwards towards the fan for want of a better description which is shown on the build photos (same on his Concorde) but not on the plan. Not fitted to my 133% version (TN Hunter Plus) yet because I have not got to that stage. I cannot see what this is supposed to do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Chatterton Posted January 23, 2020 Share Posted January 23, 2020 Philip could you let me know what web site you went on to get your solarfilm, cheers. regards Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Gorham_ Posted January 23, 2020 Share Posted January 23, 2020 I think it's very likely to have been this website: www.solarfilm.co.uk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philip Barrett 2 Posted January 23, 2020 Author Share Posted January 23, 2020 Yes that is the correct site. Given how long the business has ceased manufacture I was surprised how much Solarfilm was available in terms of colours. Unfortunately this is not true of Solartex, my favourite for scale models. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philip Barrett 2 Posted January 23, 2020 Author Share Posted January 23, 2020 I have checked the build photos posted by Tony and can’t see anything near the fan I haven’t built into the model . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin McIntosh Posted January 23, 2020 Share Posted January 23, 2020 Its the flap directing air to the fan via the cheat hole. Quite clear on the build photos. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philip Barrett 2 Posted January 23, 2020 Author Share Posted January 23, 2020 I think the pictures show the hatch generated by cutting the cheat hole before it is extracted and discarded. As you say nothing on the plan, and as shown would obstruct the cheat hole. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin McIntosh Posted January 23, 2020 Share Posted January 23, 2020 Having examined and seen Tony`s Concorde fly, those pieces were fitted. Cannot speak for the other mini jets since I did not look that closely. A thrust test with and without the flap should prove the point when I get that far. How did you get on with the cg position? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philip Barrett 2 Posted January 23, 2020 Author Share Posted January 23, 2020 I have built the Jet Provost and the flap does not feature on that design. I was able to locate the battery partly under the wing so achieved the specified balance point without the need for any ballast. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philip Barrett 2 Posted January 24, 2020 Author Share Posted January 24, 2020 Just thinking again about Martin’s comment about the feature on Tony’s Concorde in front of the fan unit, the original Concorde had an elaborate system of movable intake ramps in front of the Olympus engines to slow the incoming air to subsonic speed so the engines could handle the air flow. I suspect Tony was partly replicating this for scale effect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin McIntosh Posted January 24, 2020 Share Posted January 24, 2020 It must be on his own models for a reason which may be to improve the sound. Full size Hunters are certainly not supersonic. A clubmate had a HK Vampire and needed to change the thrust angle so incorporated a Coke can. This had the side effect of making it sound like a turbine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin McIntosh Posted January 24, 2020 Share Posted January 24, 2020 Just mailed TN to see if he can shed any wisdom on this debate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin McIntosh Posted January 25, 2020 Share Posted January 25, 2020 Got a reply from TN who says the flap is there so that there is no visual hole. You can fit it or not so I probably won`t. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Capt Kremen Posted January 25, 2020 Share Posted January 25, 2020 Martin unless my experience in the Royal Air Force was an illusion, Hunters fairly regularly went supersonic, at least the ones stationed at RAF Brawdy did circa 1974. True they had to climb then go into a fairly steep dive to achieve it. Perhaps any former 'Hunter' jockeys amongst us will comment and confirm(?) Post Script: Online descriptions detail that the Rolls Royce Sapphire with afterburner enabled the Hunter to achieve Mach 1.67 in level flight. Edited By Capt Kremen on 25/01/2020 14:45:35 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Chatterton Posted January 26, 2020 Share Posted January 26, 2020 Alan thanks for the info regarding the supply of solarfilm Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Jones 2 Posted February 4, 2020 Share Posted February 4, 2020 My offering guys Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Jones 2 Posted February 4, 2020 Share Posted February 4, 2020 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Jones 2 Posted February 4, 2020 Share Posted February 4, 2020 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martin collins 1 Posted February 4, 2020 Share Posted February 4, 2020 Nice pair! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Jones 2 Posted February 8, 2020 Share Posted February 8, 2020 All done Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Jones 2 Posted February 8, 2020 Share Posted February 8, 2020 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin McIntosh Posted February 8, 2020 Share Posted February 8, 2020 You may already have seen my pics of the finished 133% Hunter, but here they are again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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