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Airfix Westland Sea King HU5


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Thank you all for the likes and comments chaps,

 

Today I'm working on the underside details, Sonar bouy plinths are down and the small blade antenna 

added. I've started to position the pilots so they look like they are hands on the controls but I'll come back to them later.

 

P1040710_zpsigqfh1ub.jpg

 

P1040709_zpshhivojlo.jpg

 

More later 

 

Dan 

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Cheers Ivan, :yes:

 

A bit of work on the undercart thingies, I'm using some of the PE for the Fujimi kit as the Airfix parts are really basic. Gear will be up on my version 

so I don't need to cut and extend the legs as most of the bits will be inside the sponson.

 

Modified and kit part, still more detail to add yet plus some nice resin wheels.

P1040718_zpst4dfttgo.jpg

 

P1040717_zps4fg8h3jv.jpg

 

In the sponsons, scissor links to be added from the HC4 PE set.

 

 P1040720_zpsudp8tsrd.jpg

 

P1040719_zps0ommjcua.jpg

 

P1040722_zps4e996uxv.jpg

 

P1040721_zpsdv1d8yw6.jpg

 

Cheers for looking 

 

Dan 

 

 

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Yes, those resin wheels look very good; better detail of the brakes than on my 1/48 version.  

 

They may well not be finished yet, but at present your UHF homing aerials (the 2 poles under the aircraft's chin) look rather long to the naked eye.   That part of the Sea King belly is surprisingly close to the ground with oelos compressed.

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Still on the subject of the aerials, I wonder whether there is a bit of confusion?

 

The HAS5 (plus the HAS6 and the HU5 that you are modelling) had two pairs of aerials under the nose, as in this pic of the FAA Museum's HAS5 (XZ 574).

36158461605_0a6ca0d5b2_b.jpg

 

The relatively short, thin, white ones are VHF homing aerials, and were fitted to ASW Sea Kings from the HAS1 onwards - they were used for last ditch homing to a ship, or even to an airfield (I don't think I ever saw them used for real, though we used to exercise it all the time).  Pretty much all RN aircraft (both fixed- & rotary-wing) since the 60s have had a similar set-up - it used to be known as "Violet Picture homing", though that name gradually passed out of use in the 90s.

 

The thicker, longer, yellow aerials are for homing to sonobuoys, so they only came in with aircraft equipped for passive ASW (so later HAS2s and then all HAS5 & HAS6) - it was known as "Jezebel homing" ("Jez homing" for short - sonobuoy systems have been called "Jezebel" ever since the war).  If you are tracking a submarine passively, you need to know exactly where the aircraft is relative to the buoys - especially if you want to finish up by dropping a weapon.  The standard procedure was to sow the buoys and then to use this homing system to fly over the top of them once they were in the water; that way you would be certain that every buoy in your barrier was transmitting and the Observer could fix them accurately in the nav system.  Because it could be also used to home to other UHF sources (and because it is very accurate) the "Jez homer" system was retained in SAR aircraft, even though almost all other ASW equipment was ripped out -  such as the large plate aerials under the tail, which were for receiving sonobuoy information (rather than just a directional signal).  We (819 SAR) used to use the Jez homer to find RNLI vessels in poor visibility, for instance; it was also quite common on a big maritime rescue for the first aircraft on the scene to put a sonobuoy in the water so that other aircraft (including Nimrods) could easily find you.

 

The white aerials point vertically downwards from the aircraft.  The yellow aerials, which are actually attached to the door of the nose electronics bay, are angled forwards, as you can see in this shot.

 

If I have interpreted the photo of your model correctly, it looks as though you have angled forward, long, "Jez"-type UHF aerials fitted to the baseplate of the vertical, short, "Violet Picture" VHF aerials (the baseplate is immediately in front of the anti-collision light fairing, visible as the tear-drop shaped hole in your belly part).  

 

Sorry; long-winded explanation, but I hope this is helpful.  Should be really easy to fix, especially this early in the build!

 

 

Edited by Ex-FAAWAFU
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19 minutes ago, Ex-FAAWAFU said:

The relatively short, thin, white ones are VHF homing aerials, and were fitted to ASW Sea Kings from the HAS1 onwards - they were used for last ditch homing to a ship, or even to an airfield (I don't think I ever saw them used for real, though we used to exercise it all the time).  Pretty much all RN aircraft (both fixed- & rotary-wing) since the 60s have had a similar set-up - it used to be known as "Violet Picture homing", though that name gradually passed out of use in the 90s.

 

We used to trial something like this with the Wessex 5, at Culdrose in 1970.  A morse signal would be received in the cockpit; either Uniform (dot dot dash) or a Delta (dash dot dot) one being go left the other meaning go right.  Very basic but the trials were quite successful, would this be the same?

 

Mike

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That sounds similar but not quite the same (though I am disturbing brain cells that have slept soundly for about 30 years here...).  I can remember the Jez homer very well (not least because I used it a zillion times); you selected it using a rotary switch next to the Attitude Indicator (helicopter speak for 'artificial horizon'), and 2 rods (called "bugs") dropped into view, one giving you fore & aft and the other left & right.  You turned until you were flying directly at the buoy, and as you got close to the on-top the fore-and-aft bug would start to twitch violently; as you passed over the top it swung from full ahead to full behind, and with pa little practice you could be very accurate indeed about the position of the buoy.  I cannot remember how you selected the frequency of the buoy to home on - that must have been done in the back, I think.

 

Violet Picture also gave a left right indication using a bug, but no fore-and-aft, and it was far less sensitive than the Jez homing system.  Your Wx V trial might have been trying to improve VPH, or maybe something equivalent for Junglies to home on sticks of Bootnecks in the snow, or whatever.  Violet Picture was definitely in service pre-1970.  Since I wrote my earlier post I have Googled it, and found a reference to Whirlwinds being modified to link their ARC52 UHF radio to VPH in the early 60s, so that they could home onto SARBE signals from downed aircrew etc (I was wrong about it being VHF).  I also found a photo of two aerials under the nose of a Buccaneer which were claimed to be VPH (not the same thing as the "wideband homer", before anyone says anything; that was a primitive ESM to detect radars, not radios). 

 

Anyway - I don't want to hijack Dan's thread any more, so I will shut up now!

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Cheers chaps, thanks for the tips and the dits they do make a build all the more interesting so please keep it up. 

 

As for the antennas, I've used Carbon rod these are not yet glued into position and will get cut down to length, I'll need to modify the base though :) 

 

More on the build later folks 

 

Dan

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So a little update, just working on the UC and getting the little details just right.

 

I think the small part I've added is the tie down point on the main leg, very small but its better than the plastic lump 

that Airfix moulded onto the leg, the scissor link is next.

 

P1040724_zps8jylg0rt.jpg

 

P1040723_zpssoftdsfa.jpg

 

P1040725_zpskmkhm4z7.jpg

 

Corrected antenna base and more details added to the belly, the plugs will get knocked back a bit as to make them not so proud.

 

P1040728_zps1wdm1zog.jpg

 

P1040726_zpspzxhv4vh.jpg

 

P1040727_zpsbrlp232q.jpg

 

 

Cheers 

 

Dan 

 

 

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Cheers Roger :) 

 

So I've just almost finished one wheel station, tyres are just tack glued on and will be removed for painting, so excuse any wonky wheels its just to see if they fit into the sponsons.

Next up to detail the wheel well, only basic stuff though.

 

P1040732_zpshd9nmjzb.jpg

 

P1040731_zps2shafeoj.jpg

 

P1040730_zpscq7myi21.jpg

 

P1040729_zpsmruva6gu.jpg

 

Just got to do that all over again :-) 

The resin wheels are really nice and I know they do them for 48th scale, I have to add the tyre inflation valves yet to each wheel.

 

 

Regards

 

Dan 

 

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2 hours ago, andyf117 said:

...I believe when hovering/winching on SAR ops, it was SOP to be wheels down.....

 

Not true, no - at least, not in my era.  I doubt that would be true in any era over the sea, because to have the wheels down provides no aerodynamic or performance advantage - so why would it become SOP?  It could even be said to have a potential disadvantage - albeit something of a niche case; it would make a single engine water take off (SEWTO) impossible if you ditched.  Over land it might make more sense, I guess - but Dan's cab is definitely wet winching!

 

Of course, it is also true to say that having the wheels down provides no aerodynamic or performance DIS-advantage, either (if you're prepared ignore the SEWTO thing, which most people would).  It was by no means unheard of for an aircraft with persistent undercarriage and/or Utility Hydraulics problems to have the u/c wire locked down - indeed, as it happens the cab I ditched (see my Sea King build for details!) was in that configuration.  The HAS 6 (CR) aircraft also had their wheels locked down and the undercarriage lever disconnected - but that was just because Junglies don't have the mental capacity to cope with aren't used to raising / lowering the gear.

 

You could therefore make a plausible case for showing it wheels up or down - but the "norm" is definitely wheels up.

 

 

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1 hour ago, Ex-FAAWAFU said:

.....but that was just because Junglies don't have the mental capacity to cope with aren't used to raising / lowering the gear.

 

They also had a tendency set my Land Rover down on a different hill to the one I had been dropped at!!  :S

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Phew, for a minute I thought that I might have to rework the landing gear to show them in the lowered position, didn't relish the thought of removing all the pe parts and extending the oleos to show them unloaded :) 

 

I'll not hear a bad word against the junglies, they saved my bacon back in 1996 on op resolute, I was attached to 299 Sqn RNLAF down in Gornji Vakuf for my Second tour of Bosnia providing SCRAT Ptarmigan for the Dutch Helidet, 2 weeks before my end of tour I was moved back to Banja Luka to rejoin my Regt so we could prepare for the move back to Germany and hand over to the new Sig Regt. 

2 days before my flight back my crewman and my self were invited to the Dutch leaving party back down in Gornji Vakuf, I flew down in a HC4 with the understanding that I would get a Chinook back up the next day before lunch time so we could start the drive down to Split with our vehicles to load them up at the port.

 

The Dutch helifest party was amazing, all NATO helicopter crews were invited from all over theatre, we had AH-64s , CH-53s , Blackhawks, Hips, OH-58s, plus the usual AAC cabs that were based in GV from 3 Regt AAC, it was a real who's who in military rotary wing flying.

 

The two can rule was followed to the letter, allbeit 2 jerry cans and I can say I was a little confused at around 23:30 hours that night. I can't say for certain what time I finally hit the gonk bag but I set my alarm for 06:00 as not to miss the chinook flight back to the Ar5e ( as we called Banja Luka). I woke up on time , kicked my crewman to get his gear sorted out and packed up and set on my way to meet the RAF Chinook crew to tell them that their 2 Pax were 1. Still alive and 2. Very eager to get back to the Ar5e so that we could finally go home after 7 months of being in this amazing country. 

Shock horror when I walked outside to find 2 metres of snow had fallen overnight.

i walked over to the corrimech which the RAF crew were sleeping in only to be told to get lost and they were not flying that day due to the cab being snowed in. It would be the next day if the weather cleared before they thought about flying.

 

My heart sank just a little to say the least, the flight time from GV to the Ar5e was about 35 mins 

but to drive it on clear roads was 5 hours plus. I wasn't going anywhere :( 

 I asked 3 Regt AAC and to be fair you couldn't even see the gazelles out on the pads, they were just little snow humps and the lynxes were not that much better.

The US Army said that they were staying as the weather was too bad and more was forecasted that afternoon. 

 

i finally found the Navy HC4 crew and told them my little issue, they were very sympathetic and tried as much as possible not to laugh too much at me, finally the AC commander who was a Booty exchange officer said that If I cleared the snow off the cab he would try and take me .. yipeee.

I gathered up the Dutch ground crew that I worked with during my tour and under the guidance of the loadie we cleared the snow from the cab and climbed aboard.

  There was some doubt if the mighty Sea King would unstick from the snow blown in underneath but eventually we got airborne. I was late back to Banja Luka but I made it out of the country on time, so I have a soft spot for the junglies and crew.

 

I have a kit of the Airfix HC4 that I'll build in homage to the cab and crew that got me out of country in time for my end of tour. 

 

Next time i'll tell you all how the RAF Chinooks force almost blew up the town of Gornji Vakuf with flares and chaff whilst flying in 7 RHA to our location, that was really funny after the fact. The RAF didn't like it that the Army changed the callsigns of the Chinooks  from Skyhook to Guy Faulks :) after that day . Let's just say for now they managed to knock several gun bunnies on their ar5es with flares and two landed on the BFI installation, BFI is short for "bulk fuel installation " I think we had several hundred thousand litres of Avgas in big rubber pillow tanks next to the heavy lift pads. It would of made a rather big bang if they had burned up and made the two TSW guys very irate :) 

 

 

 

Dan 

 

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33 minutes ago, Dads203 said:

Phew, for a minute I thought that I might have to rework the landing gear to show them in the lowered position, didn't relish the thought of removing all the pe parts and extendinding the oleos to show them unloaded :) 

 

I'll not hear a bad word against the junglies, they saved my bacon back in 1996 on op resolute, I was attached to 299 Sqn RNLAF down in Gornji Vakuf for my Second tour of Bosnia providing SCRAT Ptarmigan for the Dutch Helidet, 2 weeks before my end of tour I was moved back to Banja Luka to rejoin my Regt so we could prepare for the move back to Germany and hand over to the new Sig Regt. 

2 days before my flight back my crewman and my self were invited to the Dutch leaving party back down in Gornji Vakuf, I flew down in a HC4 with the understanding that I would get a Chinook back up the next day before lunch time so we could start the drive down to Split with our vehicles to load them up at the port.

 

The Dutch helifest party was amazing, all NATO helicopter crews were invited from all over theatre, we had AH-64s , CH-53s , Blackhawks, Hips, OH-58s, plus the usual AAC cabs that were based in GV from 3 Regt AAC, it was a real who's who in military rotary wing flying.

 

The two can rule was followed to the letter, allbeit 2 jerry cans and I can say I was a little confused at around 23:30 hours that night. I can't say for certain what time I finally hit the gonk bag but I set my alarm for 06:00 as not to miss the chinook flight back to the Ar5e ( as we called Banja Luka). I woke up on time , kicked my crewman to get his gear sorted out and packed up and set on my way to meet the RAF Chinook crew to tell them that their 2 Pax were 1. Still alive and 2. Very eager to get back to the Ar5e so that we could finally go home after 7 months of being in this amazing country. 

Shock horror when I walked outside to find 2 metres of snow had fallen overnight.

i walked over to the corrimech which the RAF crew were sleeping in only to be told to get lost and they were not flying that day due to the cab being snowed in. It would be the next day if the weather cleared before they thought about flying.

 

My heart sank just a little to say the least, the flight time from GV to the Ar5e was about 35 mins 

but to drive it on clear roads was 5 hours plus. I wasn't going anywhere :( 

 I asked 3 Regt AAC and to be fair you couldn't even see the gazelles out on the pads, they were just little snow humps and the lynxes were not that much better.

The US Army said that they were staying as the weather was too bad and more was forecasted that afternoon. 

 

i finally found the Navy HC4 crew and told them my little issue, they were very sympathetic and tried as much as possible not to laugh too much at me, finally the AC commander who was a Booty exchange officer said that If I cleared the snow off the cab he would try and take me .. yipeee.

I gathered up the Dutch ground crew that I worked with during my tour and under the guidance of the loadie we cleared the snow from the cab and climbed aboard.

  There was some doubt if the mighty Sea King would unstick from the snow blown in underneath but eventually we got airborne. I was late back to Banja Luka but I made it out of the country on time, so I have a soft spot for the junglies and crew.

 

I have a kit of the Airfix HC4 that I'll build in homage to the cab and crew that got me out of country in time for my end of tour. 

 

Dan 

 

That'll be all the training we did in Norway, Clockwork was/is a great playground and I'll swear it was the reason the Junglies thrived down south.

 

Loving the build, keep up the great work.

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I have to say it, the Royal Navy crews were the best in theatre, and I'd say the best in the world. They would fly when others didn't dare, that's coming from an ex pongo who had been flown around by many a countries aviation assets.

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As most of you can tell, my build speed is very slow so again another really small update.

I've been working on the particle filters above the cockpit, here just test fitted and its a shame Airfix 

didn't do more detail wise for this area, it could do with it. I used the HC 4 Eduard PE set again for this.

 

P1040736_zpsaukhqwdy.jpg

 

P1040735_zpsikytejky.jpg

 

P1040734_zpstbkp2kf9.jpg

 

P1040733_zpssecqcdjd.jpg

 

Enjoy 

 

Dan 

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