SWIFT PANEL LINES

[jaw]

With all the furore recently about the panel lines on the yet to be released Airfix Swift in the UK, I though that it would be useful if I had a close look at the Swift FR5 WK281 at the Tangmere Military Aviation Museum, and report back to interested BMers. Essentially the Swift is a very clean aircraft and the panel lines are tight - ie are not highly visible. However, the panel lines on the top of the fuselage above where the engine sits are quite noticeable. Even more visible is the nosecone panel and the triangular panels close to the leading edge ofthe wings and adjacent to the fuselage. Hope this helps the discussion!

If you are interested why not come along to the Museum and see the Swift close up as well as all the other treasures there

John

[ChrisL]

I went there last summer and really enjoyed my visit. My friends and I got to have a good look around their exhibits before receiving a very entertaining tour along with several other visitors from a retired 1 Squadron ground crewman.

It's quite a crowded museum so I didn't get many decent photos of the Swift, but looking at them one panel line that stands out is a horizontal one running along the fuselage about halfway between the top of the wing and the top of the fuselage. In most of my shots of the Swift the rivets are probably actually a little more visible than the panel lines. Overall it's certainly "cleaner" than their 1 Squadron Hunter, which has a similar high gloss camo paint job.

One additional thing that I really quite liked about the museum is that its car park is right next to those aircraft it has on outdoor display. Normally we see planes in their own context, it was quite interesting to realise that compared to cars even jets that'd usually be considered pretty small (Meteors, Harriers) are really rather large indeed!

Edited February 10, 2015 by ChrisL