Airfix Westland Sea King HU5

[Ex-FAAWAFU]

That HF aerial alone is worth the admission money, especially in 1/72.  And the exhaust staining looks excellent - if anything a little underdone, but even 771 washed their cabs sometimes!

[Massimo]

It's difficult to find the right words...

I think "SUPERCALIFRAGILISTIGESPIRALIDOSO" could do!!!

 

[Dads203]

Cheers chaps, its now up in RFI 

 

 

 

 

 

[Hamden]

18 hours ago, Richard E said:

Dan

 

I don't think there are any superlatives left to describe this build.

 

Totally agree Nothing else to say!

Will it be at Telford?

 

   Roger

 

[Dads203]

14 minutes ago, Hamden said:

 

Totally agree Nothing else to say!

Will it be at Telford?

 

   Roger

 

 

Cheers Roger, not sure about Telford, but as they say never say never 

 

Regards

 

Dan 

[Terry1954]

Hi Dan,

My first look at this thread, not sure how I missed it. It feels like a masterclass in building a perfect HU5 in (lets be honest) the perfect scale!

I'm most impressed with the work you are putting in and the results. The Sea King is high on my must do list (several actually) and this is very inspirational.

I'll stay tuned....

Cheers

Terry

[Stalker6Recon]

Hey Dan, I finally found the build you have referenced via your current build log, which I have been wanting to check out. Unfortunately for you, I started checking your posts, and going thru 200 plus pages, was daunting. I then looked for quicker ways to find this build, and sure enough, I found a better way, now I am here.

 

Anyway, you are a master builder with green stuff, the waterproofing, liferaft and canvas covers are incredible scratch building, as is the extra fillers on the side of the fuselage, that is perfect!

 

So I need to get my hands on that green stuff and the other puddy you seem to use, magic puddy?

 

Anyway, I am only on page two of this 20 WIP, so expect to get hit with some replies a s fresh questions regarding your technique, as well as a good amount of praise as my jaw continues to drop, over and over again. I have to remind myself that this is 72nd scale, scary for even the simplest build, much less a rotor raft like this!

 

Cheers,

 

Anthony

[Stalker6Recon]

On 7/21/2017 at 8:38 PM, moaning dolphin said:

Hope this helps

Bob

  

Wow, looking at this picture, I can't help but notice how the exhaust passes right over the winch/rescue door, I guess the rescue swimmers get a little kerosene high before hitting the water! I would have thought that the temperature would also be a factor, but obviously it's not high enough to cause burns, or they would not have the door in that location, the rotorwash must remove both the exhaust heat and dangerous gasses.

 

This build reminds me of another truth that I figured out not so long ago. When I was young, I always thought that helicopters flew based on the downward thrust created by the rotors. It was later on in life, while watching one fly, that I realized it was much simpler. The blades create life like a typical wing, and the lift is strong enough to carry the load of the helicopter body below it. Pretty simple, but if you don't know the physics of helo flight, then you would have to guess at how they work. That is my guess, I just hope my analytical brain is right.

 

If wrong, please correct me.

 

Thanks in advance,

 

Anthony

[Aeronut]

1 hour ago, Stalker6Recon said:

Wow, looking at this picture, I can't help but notice how the exhaust passes right over the winch/rescue door, I guess the rescue swimmers get a little kerosene high before hitting the water! I would have thought that the temperature would also be a factor, but obviously it's not high enough to cause burns, or they would not have the door in that location, the rotorwash must remove both the exhaust heat and dangerous gasses.

 

This build reminds me of another truth that I figured out not so long ago. When I was young, I always thought that helicopters flew based on the downward thrust created by the rotors. It was later on in life, while watching one fly, that I realized it was much simpler. The blades create life like a typical wing, and the lift is strong enough to carry the load of the helicopter body below it. Pretty simple, but if you don't know the physics of helo flight, then you would have to guess at how they work. That is my guess, I just hope my analytical brain is right.

 

If wrong, please correct me.

 

Thanks in advance,

 

Anthony

Going back 30+ years to when I carried out trials of stores dropping from the Seaking Mk 3 I remember the exhaust gases being warm but not hot and distinctly parrafinny in odour. I also remember the effect the gases had on me, I would get home, make a pot of tea and sit down to watch the news on the TV - and then wake up five hours later in time to drink some cold tea before going to bed an effect I put down to inhaling the exhaust gases.  I did at the time (and still do) wonder how the winch operator / rear crew coped on a daily basis breathing that stuff.

 

BTW if helicopter physics are complicated try autogyros, where the rotor is turned by the airflow flowing UPWARDS through the rotor!

[Stalker6Recon]

7 minutes ago, Aeronut said:

where the rotor is turned by the airflow flowing UPWARDS through the rotor! 

I have seen that technique used to land a helicopter without power. The pucker factor must be strong enough to carry a Humvee😂, from what little I know, you have one shot at using the auto rotation (is that the correct phrase?), so you need to pick a spot and hope your aim is true. Plus, my understanding is that one of the biggest dangers for pilots, is wires, which are hard to see. In the USA, most wires have big balls attached at intervals, specifically for helicopter crews to be able to see the lines.

 

It's funny you mention the tea. For the last decade, I have suffered from terrible insomnia, mostly because of the pain I am in, waking me often. My wife and I have been looking at tea for a while, but based on our small budget and the very expensive price of tea, we did not buy any for a very long time. Recently though, I finally broke down and bought some English tea called Twinings. Anyway, the first night I had a cup before bed time, I was on BM reading posts. I woke up near sunrise, sitting upright with my phone in hand and my head hanging at a terrible angle, drool pooled on my abdomen!

 

I have never slept faster and better than I do now. Each night before bed, I have my tea and then hurry to the bed before I am knocked out cold. I have still woken in the same upright position by trying to wait until the last second, but I am much more careful these days, it is absolutely brilliant tea!

 

Anthony

[Stalker6Recon]

On 8/4/2017 at 1:07 AM, Dads203 said:

More photos tomorrow, cheers for all the comments and likes people, all appreciated.

  

I am still trying to wrap my head around the fact that these crew members are in 72nd scale, as well as the IP. Absolutely stunning level of detail my friend, truly inspiring for a returning modeler like myself. With my shake hands and sausage fingers, I won't even try this scale. 48 scares me! I think I am gravitating towards 35 for the crossover with armor, and even 32nd if I have the money (which I don't ☹️)

 

In awe my friend,

 

Anthony

[xffw45343tg]

4 hours ago, Stalker6Recon said:

In the USA, most wires have big balls attached at intervals, specifically for helicopter crews to be able to see the lines.

 

I think in the UK with its variable weather, they're just attached directly to the crew.

[Ex-FAAWAFU]

9 hours ago, Stalker6Recon said:

When I was young, I always thought that helicopters flew based on the downward thrust created by the rotors. It was later on in life, while watching one fly, that I realized it was much simpler. The blades create life like a typical wing, and the lift is strong enough to carry the load of the helicopter body below it. Pretty simple, but if you don't know the physics of helo flight, then you would have to guess at how they work. That is my guess, I just hope my analytical brain is right.

The clue is in the title: rotary wing.  You’re right; helicopter blades are just wings - they generate lift in the same way, the only difference being that the relative airflow (which is what provides lift, along with angle of attack) is generated by whirling them around very fast over your head, rather than running along very fast in a straight line.

 

Rotary wing aerodynamics are complicated in places, certainly - but the fundamentals are exactly the same as any kind of flying.  

 

P.S. In my [paused] 1/48 Seaking build I did quite a lot of explaining how helicopters work, if you want to learn more:

 

Edited June 5, 2019 by Ex-FAAWAFU

[Stalker6Recon]

2 hours ago, Kirk said:

attached directly to the crew.

Now that is funny! Yeah, the guys that fly the lines have a pair that even modern have helicopters struggle to get off the ground, those are some big balls!

 

1 hour ago, Ex-FAAWAFU said:

Rotary wing aerodynamics

The first time I started to figure it out, I must have been in my early teens. I watched a movie about Vietnam (as all movies were about the war, or about white guys doing karate, yes, the 80's sucked!). There was a guy standing on the skid of a huey as it took off. My child brain could not understand how he wasn't blown away. There was no internet, DVD's or even decent TV's back then, but I wondered what was going on, so I did what every kid in the 80's did for information, no, I didn't got to the library and open a book, I watched MORE MOVIES!

 

Anyway, the first time it hit me, was during the take off of another Huey

This time, the camera was at the perfect angle to show the blade flexing upwards before they dragged the fuselage into the air with them, and I got it! Well, at least most of it.

 

When I was older, I spoke to one of our pilots from the Police Air Unit, and he told me a joke about helicopters, not really funny though. He said that they don't fly, they just "beat the air into submission". That forever stuck in my head, and while not accurate, it is elegant in a brutal sort of way.

 

Cheers!

 

Anthony