Gannet AEW3 XL500: PICTURE HEAVY!

[Vulcanicity]

1. General front view:

2.-4 Starboard inner wingfold, looking inboard. Colour is probably Sky: the yellow “splatter” looks to me to be a preservative applied by the museum (as in the Scimitar wingfolds)

5. Looking down the intake for the turboprop (port side)

6. Access panels and footholds on the port side of the nose. Note the plush toy Gannet on one of the footholds: part of a “treasure hunt” trail for the kids!

7. As much as I could see of the outer wingfold join (the Gannet is very tall!): here looking over the spine from the port side at the Starboard wingfold.

8. Access panels, air scoop and other details of the port rear fuselage.

9. Port main wheel bay, looking inboard, up and aft. Colour appears to be Light Aircraft Grey or similar. Note that there are no inner doors covering the wheel when it retracted into this section: for one thing, they’d clash with the radome when open.

10. Port main wheel bay, looking up and aft

11. Port main wheel bay, looking inboard, up and forward

12. Port main wheel bay, looking up and forward

13. Port main wheel bay, looking up and outboard towards the outer section and undercarriage leg

14. Port main wheel bay, looking up, outboard, and slightly aft

15. Port main gear, looking outboard and slightly aft

16. Port main gear, looking forward

[Vulcanicity]

The remainder:

17. Arrestor hook, showing mounting

18. Underneath the fuselage looking forward to the undercarriage bays and radome, note intakes on the flaps.

19. Looking forwards along the starboard side of the radome at the exhausts

20. Access panels etc on the starboard nose.

21. Nosewheel bay, looking forward and up. Note this is Aluminium unlike the mainwheel bays.

22. Nosewheel bay, looking aft and up. The large object at top is part of a plastic barrel placed there to catch the oil drips: presumably not a service modification!

23. Nosewheel bay, looking starboard and up.

24. Nosewheel bay, looking port and up.

25. Nose gear looking to port, showing the inside of the small forward door.

26. Nosewheels looking to port.

27. Nose gear looking aft and slightly to starboard.

[Vlamgat9]

Nice! All we need now is someone to do a 1/48 injection kit...

What are the funny doors on the bottom of the fuselage behind the radome for??

[Vulcanicity]

I found myself wondering this earlier. I'm afraid I have no idea!

[CobolMan]

Nice pics, my late dad flew XL500 many times between 1966 and 1968 (Hermes 849 B flight) and I can't wait to see her in the air again.

I'm round at my mum's on Sunday so will see if she's still got dad's old notes on the Gannet - that may answer your questions re the doors.

[alex]

Any chance to re-link the images, or at least provide a link to the gallery where they are stored? A reference thread without pictures is not really useful...

Alex