F-16XL

[gingerbob]

I've certainly "thought of it" since I would want to do the Ferris scheme that (I think) only the two-seater was put in. But it isn't something I'm actively pursuing.

bob

p.s. I don't think I've ever seen a thread where it was spelled out what each pilot's helmet looked like!

[Pappy]

Just caught up on this thread.

You wrote that you weren't too concerned about the helmet accuracy. But just for reference, the flight test team during the DRF competition was composed of the following aircrew (with helmet info):

Lt Col Marty Bushnell AFFTC) HGU-26/P dual visor, white

Lt Col Ed Thomas (AFFTC) HGU-55/P

Lt Col Joe-Bill Dryden (TAC) HGU-26/P single visor, red custom

Lt Col Paul (PC) Burnett (AFOTEC) HGU-55/P

Maj John "Wolfman" Cary (AFOTEC) HGU-55/P

Maj Don Newman (AFOTEC) HGU-55/P

Capt Keith Svendsen (AFFTC) HGU-26/P dual visor

Jim McKinney (GD) HGU-26/P single visor, silver/red/blue custom

Alex Wolf (GD) HGU-26/P single visor, white/red/blue custom

The GC pilots usually wore blue flight company flight suits. The USAF guys wore the standard green Nomex suits. Maj Newman and I were the flight test engineers (flew RCP in XL-2 only).

My (condemned) helmet

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v29/Phantomtoo/F-16XL/IMG_3190_zpszwqgfcmm.jpg

Marty Bushnell (FCP) Joe Bill Dryden (RCP)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v29/Phantomtoo/F-16XL/75-0747f-16xlctf1983031714.jpg

Marty Bushnell (FCP) Ed Thomas (RCP)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v29/Phantomtoo/F-16XL/75-0747f-16xlctf1983030312.jpg

Sven

Old Viper Tester

Edit: I forgot the Wolfman!

G'day Sven,

Is it possible to elaborate on what the initials in brackets mean? I assume GD is General Dynamics, but that is as far as I got. FCP/RCP Forward Command Pilot/Rear Command Pilot? Also, if possible, what is meant by silver/red blue (McKinney) and white red blue (Wolf) custom? I assume that this refers to graphics on their visor protectors?

Edited January 6, 2016 by Pappy

[Pappy]

On the subject of weapons, the Skunk Models kit gives quite a variety, but many of them don't match what was actually flown on the XL. Unless you go for a what-if, you would have to go to other sources of weapons to match the actual flight test weapons configurations. For example:

- Skunk gives you a bunch of Mk82 GP bombs with Snake-Eye retarding kits. The XL flew with either 12 or 6 slick Mk82.

- Two AGM-65 are provided, along with LAU-117 launchers, but the XL flight test configuration was six Mavericks

- Similarly, you get two Tactical Munitions Dispensers (now CBU-87 family), but the test configuration was six TMDs.

As for the sway braces, the XL didn't use them. The XL pylons were fitted with a General Dynamics "T" suspension. The typical ring-type lugs were removed from the stores and replaced with a T lug, so-called because the lug looked like a letter T sitting on top of the store with the arms of the T aligned longitudinally on the weapon (or LAU-117). The pylon had wedges side that slid under the T arms to secure the weapon. When the pickle button was activated, the wedges withdrew, releasing the T.

So-called “semi-conformal pylon – note no sway braces

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v29/Phantomtoo/F-16XL/75-0749%20f-16xlctf%2019821023%2034_zps9xtqadwb.jpg

6 x TMD (CBU-87) and external tanks

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v29/Phantomtoo/F-16XL/75-0749%20f-16xlctf%2019821213%2031_zpsmise6tzm.jpg

2 x BDU-38 and external tanks

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v29/Phantomtoo/F-16XL/75-0749%20f-16xlctf%2019820000%2001_zpsrs49hka9.jpg

6 x CBU-58 and external tanks

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v29/Phantomtoo/F-16XL/75-0749%20f-16xlctf%2019821213%2031_zpsmise6tzm.jpg

Sven

Old Viper Tester

G'day Sven,

The pics of the CBU-58s and CBU-87s look like the same pic, also, the semi-conformal pylon set-up looks very similar to the LODE-14 rack set up used on the BRU-3A/As (as used by F-111s) which also used the same T-lugs and crutching wedges visible in the pics you posted.

Thanks again,

cheers,

Pappy

Edited January 6, 2016 by Pappy

[Old Viper Tester]

G'day Sven,

Is it possible to elaborate on what the initials in brackets mean? I assume GD is General Dynamics, but that is as far as I got. FCP/RCP Forward Command Pilot/Rear Command Pilot? Also, if possible, what is meant by silver/red blue (McKinney) and white red blue (Wolf) custom? I assume that this refers to graphics on their visor protectors?

Corrected the image link. It now shows CBU-58s in the same tandem arrangement as the TMDs.

Alphabet Soup: Correct on GD, though we sometimes said it meant God D*#mn...

AFFTC = Air Force Flight Test Center

TAC = Tactical Air Command (forerunner of today's Air Combat Command)

AFOTEC = Air Force Operation Test and Evaluation Center

FCP = Front Cockpit

RCP = Rear Cockpit (both of these are hold-overs from F-4 terminology)

The GD helmets were either white or silver with a blue flash in the center of the visor protector flanked by two red flashes with a bit of white between them.

"Custom" just means that these weren't standard DoD issue items.

Also correct on the T-lug suspension. One of the GD engineers mentioned that it was a development from the F-111, though I had never seen them before.

The HGU-26 helmet with the single visor had a visor handle in the center like your pilot figure, the dual visor model had handles on either side of the visor protector. these are barely visible as white bumps in the picture of my helmet.

I too am contemplating a "family model" (two-seat) XL with the Skunk kit that I have. I model almost exclusively in 1/72, so I'm not up on all the 1/48 possibilities for donor kits.

gingerbob is correct about the two seater being the only one with the Ferris scheme. When the red, white, and blue motif was painted over on XL-1, it just copied the grey and layout of the regular USAF F-16 scheme. And yes, at first it was painted over, with paint that wore away every time it was hit by fuel spray during an aerial refueling pressure disconnect. I've got a picture somewhere of the blue showing through around the base of the tail.

One of my favorites. always got a kick out of seeing an are refueling door simulated on the bottom of the XL-2.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v29/Phantomtoo/F-16XL/75-0747f-16xlctf1983030302.jpg

Comment was often made about how large the simulated helmets were on the bottom of the aircraft. Of course the test pilots would say it was to depict the average fighter pilot (ego), while the TAC and AFOTEC pilots would claim the reverse, that it was to represent the "Golden Arms" (i.e. test pilots).

The 'highlight' at the wing root isn't always as evident as it is in this image.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v29/Phantomtoo/F-16XL/75-0747f-16xlctf1983022334.jpg

Sven

Old Viper Tester

Edited January 7, 2016 by Old Viper Tester

[Pappy]

Corrected the image link. It now shows CBU-58s in the same tandem arrangement as the TMDs.

Alphabet Soup: Correct on GD, though we sometimes said it meant God D*#mn...

AFFTC = Air Force Flight Test Center

TAC = Tactical Air Command (forerunner of today's Air Combat Command)

AFOTEC = Air Force Operation Test and Evaluation Center

FCP = Front Cockpit

RCP = Rear Cockpit (both of these are hold-overs from F-4 terminology)

The GD helmets were either white or silver with a blue flash in the center of the visor protector flanked by two red flashes with a bit of white between them.

"Custom" just means that these weren't standard DoD issue items.

Also correct on the T-lug suspension. One of the GD engineers mentioned that it was a development from the F-111, though I had never seen them before.

The HGU-26 helmet with the single visor had a visor handle in the center like your pilot figure, the dual visor model had handles on either side of the visor protector. these are barely visible as white bumps in the picture of my helmet.

I too am contemplating a "family model" (two-seat) XL with the Skunk kit that I have. I model almost exclusively in 1/72, so I'm not up on all the 1/48 possibilities for donor kits.

gingerbob is correct about the two seater being the only one with the Ferris scheme. When the red, white, and blue motif was painted over on XL-1, it just copied the grey and layout of the regular USAF F-16 scheme. And yes, at first it was painted over, with paint that wore away every time it was hit by fuel spray during an aerial refueling pressure disconnect. I've got a picture somewhere of the blue showing through around the base of the tail.

One of my favorites. always got a kick out of seeing an are refueling door simulated on the bottom of the XL-2.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v29/Phantomtoo/F-16XL/75-0747f-16xlctf1983030302.jpg

Comment was often made about how large the simulated helmets were on the bottom of the aircraft. Of course the test pilots would say it was to depict the average fighter pilot (ego), while the TAC and AFOTEC pilots would claim the reverse, that it was to represent the "Golden Arms" (i.e. test pilots).

The 'highlight' at the wing root isn't always as evident as it is in this image.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v29/Phantomtoo/F-16XL/75-0747f-16xlctf1983022334.jpg

Sven

Old Viper Tester

G'day Sven,

Thanks you again very much for the additional info, pure gold!

I like the Ferris scheme a lot and though I noticed the twin hemet ( and the vertical fin 'shadow') paint effects, I did not notice the wing root highlight, the pic you posted really shows it to great effect. I hope that you keep popping in, your comments are always valued,

G'day people,

I am getting towards the end of the ordnance stage. As already mentioned, the majority will not be applicable for the demonstrator (and none of it will be required for the NASA jet) but I am building it anyway because:

1. I enjoy it and,

2. I have lots of other builds that can use them

I was not happy with my AIM-120Bs, so I decided to strip them and start again. Apart from appearing over weathered, the ends of the missiles depicted a rocket motor. Normally this would be a good thing as most kits feature a simple flat end as per a dummy missile. I solved this by adding a plug of sprue to each missile.

I also cleaned up the fin stubs from what would be the hidden side. I initially left a small stub from the aft fin on the rear two missiles as the missiles do not sit completely flush in the aft troughs, until Sven pointed out that the demo bird did not have missile launchers fitted inside the missile bays and that the aerodynamic shapes were simply bolted to the underside. Further, these missiles did not have any underside fins.

Most of the painting is now done, I just need to do the detail painting and decals

As mentioned, the instructions indicate that an AN/AAQ-14 pod is provided, (this is from the kinetic 'Sufa' boxing)

but in reality, this is what is supplied, which is actually an AN/AAQ-28 LITENING pod.

The detail is okay, but could be better. The seeker turret is moulded as a single solid item, so I drilled out the seeker windows

Only dry-fitted here, but I also punched out a pair of acetate sensor windows.

The main gear bays has also been installed, the was pretty snug and the assembly clicked into place without issue.

The config I want to do is 2 x AIM-9, 4 x AIM-120B and 12 x Mk82 LDGP ('slicks') but unfortunately SW only provide Mk82 HDGP ("snakeyes'), so I am thinking of deviating from accuracy slightly and using the snakeyes. The demo jet bombs were painted entirely green (olive drab?), so again I have used a little artistic license and painted the bodies blue (for inert) with olive drab tails. The bombs in the kit feature mechanical fusing, which is not all that common these days, so it is annoying that these were not moulded with conical noses. I cut off all the nose fuses (concrete filled bombs won't need a fuse) and drilled out the noses to represent the nose fuse wells. I should have added all the conical nose plugs but I can live with that,

cheers,

Pappy

cheers,

Pappy

Edited January 7, 2016 by Pappy

[batcode]

Payload looks great, nice update look forward to the next one...

[Marlin]

Looks great Pappy.

Your build has convinced me that I also need this kit.

I can feel a "Wiffed" Israeli bird coming up.

/Bosse

[Pappy]

Cheers fellas,

G'day people,

Well, the stores are finally done!

Tanks, racks, pods and unguided bombs

Missiles

Guided bombs

The lot

The decals performed flawlessly and responded very well to Microsol/Microset, but I expected nothing less as they are printed by Cartograph. The decal placement guide was mostly accurate, but some of the locations for the smaller stencils were a little off, so it will pay to check your references. Some of the smaller stencils (e.g the 'NO LIFT' on the AGM-65 fins) are very difficult to read and I would not be surprised if some are upside down or back to front.

I also added some new lenses to the sensor turret of the AN-AAQ-28 LITENING pod provided

I have decided that this will be the stores config that my jet will carry. It is not strictly accurate as the demo jet carried all green slicks, but SW only provided snake eyes so I have decided to use them instead, but painted with blue bodies to denote inert rounds.

I have not seen any pics of a centreline (C/L) jug carried (though pics of the outboard jugs fitted do exist) so I will be taking a punt here as well. I expect that a C/L jug would have a minimal effect on rolling G limits and drag penalties, so it seems like a natural choice. In any case, you seldom see pics of F-16 completely without external tanks however aggressor jets and display jets are typical examples where a clean config is common.

Moving on,

I have started to add some PE from a an undercarriage set (designed for the Tamiya kit), it seems to fit for the most part.

The set includes brass replacements for the u/c doors

The doors are built up from several laminated PE sections

The main gear door parts will require annealing before you bend them. I used the kit parts as a template to obtain the correct curvature. Whilst being commendably thin, there is not much other improvement over the kit parts

cheers,

Pappy

Edited January 10, 2016 by Pappy

[Pappy]

G'day people,

A little more progress today, the intake assembly has been installed.

Once this assembly is installed, a bridging section extending from the rear of the nose gear bay and over the top of the main gear bay can be fitted. I had a few fit issues here and despite scraping the back if the part and the recess in which it locates, I still would up with a small step where it joins the intake assembly, which will require some putty and sanding to blend in.

cheers,

Pappy

[Pappy]

G'day people,

I have glued the two fuselage halves together on this beastie. The lower half joins along a panel line inboard of the LEX (to avoid an awkward seam) and although the two halves fit, it is not a great fit.

I also managed to get a small step on the fwd left fuselage, although this could just be me.

The join is a pain, but it should only take a couple of sanding sessions to get past.

Round two:

The majority of the seam was filled, but there were several small spots that needed a second go. It may look like a lot of filler, but most of it is just a surface smear.

My jet will be in flight. I used to jam a perspex rod up a kit's jacksie, but these days I prefer a brass stand inside a purpose made receptacle. Before I closed up the fuselage,

I added such a structure inside the lower fuselage (sorry for the crap pics)

cheers,

Pappy

[Janremco]

Coming all together very nice Pappy, a pleasure to read and giving lots of information.

Jan Remco

[uilleann]

Excellent work Pappy!

[Pappy]

Coming all together very nice Pappy, a pleasure to read and giving lots of information.

Jan Remco

Excellent work Pappy!

Thanks very much for the encouragement fellas, I really appreciate your comments.

G'day people,

Well, I am still fighting the kit seams (and they are fighting back!) so while the putty is curing, I decided to work the undercarriage.

I have stated that my kit will be posed in-flight, and I wanted to add a dynamic element so in addition to flying I want to depict the undercarriage during a point in its retraction cycle with the gear nearly up. This will pose a few challenges as the nature of the f-16 u/c system requires that the nose wheel rotates through 90 degrees as it retracts rearwards and the main gear also folds up, though forwards and with the main wheels rotating as well. Also, both the nose and main u/c units extend with the weight of the jet removed. Finally there are an abundance of drag braces and hydraulic actuators that will need to be modified, but I think I will need to adjust and position these items with the u/c units in position.

First up, I decided that the nose gear unit would provide a nice way to ease into the required surgery,

The lower oleo section was carefully removed and a suitable diameter of plastic rod was used to fashion the 'extended' oleo section. I also cut off the molded scissor links and replaced them with scratch built items. This unit was then set aside to let the glue harden properly.

Next up the main gear units. My example featured a short shot attachment point on the r/h gear leg.

I contacted SW and I am pleased to say that true to their word, I was sent a replacement u/c sprue which arrived in less than two weeks, as per their e-mail.

While I was waiting I began by (very carefully!!) removing the main gear units from their attachment point. this meant that this plate could then be cleaned up and installed into the main gear bay assembly and would permit me to add the gear units at a much later stage.

Having separated the gear units, I then set about rotating the wheel attachment points so they would be in a position to 'tuck in' as the gear legs fold forwards and upwards.

I am not sure if I have properly articulated these joints as there is a structure of some sort (torque link ?) hanging off the side of each leg. I just repositioned these through 90 degrees so that they were moving with the axle but it was just a guess as these also have their own joints.

The wheels have been assembled and feature pleasing hub and brake details, but the tyres are completely devoid of any tread pattern

If I was building this kit in a static pose, I would replace the wheels with resin items.

Finally, a test fit with the main u/c components

At this point I realised that I will still need to extend the main gear units slightly in order for the wheels to be correctly positioned within the main gear bay, bugger!

cheers,

Pappy

Edited January 18, 2016 by Pappy

[Janremco]

Great addition to the F-16 retracting the gear. Getting curious about the result.

Jan Remco.

[woody37]

Great build progress and loving the contribution from OVT too.

I build a 1/72 XL years ago and it's a shame that the F-16 sprouted lumps and bumps instead of this gorgeous profile.

[fallmonk]

Any further on Pappy ?

Am in the middle of building this kit also , nothing wrong with the kit , the owner on the other hand is making hard work of it , think mojo is lost at min ,

Enjoying your thread and took your advice on the front amram solution,

Undercarriage feels fragile , could probably do with a white metal upgrade , has anyone Sussed out how much nose weight is required?

Instructions just say add weight!

[Pappy]

Any further on Pappy ?

Am in the middle of building this kit also , nothing wrong with the kit , the owner on the other hand is making hard work of it , think mojo is lost at min ,

Enjoying your thread and took your advice on the front amram solution,

Undercarriage feels fragile , could probably do with a white metal upgrade , has anyone Sussed out how much nose weight is required?

Instructions just say add weight!

G'day FM,

It looks like you are in the lead now!

Sadly no more progress, the kit keeps looking at me but I am currently in chopper building mode http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234999808-172-zvezda-mi-35-hind/.

My next hurdle are the bombs and their weapon pylons. The pylons used the LODE-14 ejection rack set-up (or similar), and the centre section was left as unpainted steel, so these need masking and painting.

Secondly, the bombs supplied by SW are snakeyes (high drag), whilst the real deal used Mk.82 slicks. I don't mind cheating here and using the kit items (although it would have been nice to include the correct weapons since they supplied the testbed markings), but the issue is that the spacing of the weapons pylon attachment points do not match the holes on the bombs!

So my choice is to either ;

1. Raid the spares for some Mk.82 low drags and drill holes to match

2. Cut off the mounting points on each pylon and make new ones.

I will go with the second option as the bombs are already painted (and I am running out of bombs!) and if I leave the rear pylon attachment in place, I will only have to make a new forward mount, so this seems like the more expedient course.

It is great to hear that my AMRAAM solution worked for you, it seemed like the easiest option. My kit will be in flight, so the strength of the u/c is not an issue for me. From what I have seen of the white metal replacements, they do not add much (if any) extra detail and can be a real pain to clean up. F-16's generally aren't tail sitters so I would not go crazy with the nose weight. I like to push some split shot sinkers into a blob of Milliput jammed into the radome. I haven't ever weighed the radome but it wouldn't be more than a about 10g? The XL has a longer fuselage and the nose gear is further away from the mains, so if anything, it should need less weight. The F-16 undercarriage elements are very fine individually, but when all the bits are dded together, it does make for a fairly robust assembly,

cheers,

Pappy

Edited March 30, 2016 by Pappy

[Pappy]

G'day people,

 

One of the unusual aspects of this kit is that SW have decided to include the 'doughnut' panel as integral with the fuselage halves. This makes for an awkward seam as it passes inside the air brakes.

 

 

 

The wing/LEX seam has also been sorted. SW have placed the seam inboard of the lEX leading edge which allows for the preservation of a crisp leading edge, although it did suck up a little filler to blend the join.

 

 

There should be a small bump on the left side of the fuselage right about where the throttle is in the cockpit. This bump is on all F-16s however it is usually covered by the LEX, but since the F-16XL LEX begins further aft, the bump remains exposed. I used a blob of sprue and blended some putty in to fair the bump in. To their credit, SW did actually include a very subtle bump (well two actually, they also included one on the right side!) but i managed to destroy it whilst cleaning up the fuselage seams.

 

 

(sorry for the crappy pic)

 

Finally I have started to add some of the smaller details;

 

The upper antenna farm

 

 

and the emergncy arrestor cable

 

 

cheers,

 

Pappy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 6, 2016 by Pappy

[Pappy]

G'day people,

 

Creeping forwards slowly.  Today I worked on the stores pylons. having previously frilled these to accept the plastic rod that the bombs will be mounted on, the next task was to paint them up.

 

 

The stores suspension and release mechanism was left unpainted. This portion of the pylons was picked out with a brush.

SW/Kinetic's approach to the wingtip missile pylons is to provide a clear insert that incorporated the upper/lower wingtip nav lights. I left the clear part off whilst painting up the LAU-7 rails to avoid masking. Attaching the clear insert after painting was fun, as the clear part requires a deft touch to fit to the launcher and touch up without damaging it. The clear part also serves as the connecting part between the launcher and wing proper

 

 

I had earlier decided on installing the belly tank. I don't think the demo bird used this tank, but there are pictures of the external wing tanks installed. I have changed my mind and will not install the centre tank, so this will mean that the locating holes for the pylon will need to be filled and sanded

 

 

I have also added all the flight controls

 

 

The upper fuselage antennas have been installed

 

 

I still need to add some antennas to the lower fuselage. There is a pair that live directly beneath the intake lip and another pair aft of the nosewheel bay. The problem I have is that I am not sure exactly where these locate, as it looks like some of these are off centre. Does anyone have any clear pictures of drawing that could help?

cheers,

Pappy

[Old Viper Tester]

Will these help?

 

This is the UHF blade on XL-2 - moved from the inlet location.

 

XL-1 inlet. The antennas are slightly off-set to the left.

 

See the belly shot above for lateral positioning:

 

XL-1 spine:

Notice from the spine photo that these were taken when the red, white and blue markings were replaced with grey, hence the different tones on the spine.

Sven

Old Viper Tester

Edited November 14, 2016 by Old Viper Tester
Noted the XL-2 aft UHF blade.

[snapper_city]

Only just seen this. Watching with interest. 

[Pappy]

9 hours ago, Old Viper Tester said:

Will these help?

 

 

 

 

Sven

Old Viper Tester

 

G'day Sven!

 

As usual, gold, thank you very much

 

9 hours ago, snapper_city said:

Only just seen this. Watching with interest. 

 

Welcome aboard Snapper

 

cheers,

 

Pappy

[Pappy]

G'day people,

 

A little more progress today.

 

The driver has been installed,

 

 

The area behind the seat looks a little bare.

 

 

with the canopy framing in place most of this will be obscured, but it still looks a little empty. I will have a think about the level of greeblies I will want to add.

 

Turning towards the other end of the jet, the fin has been fitted.

 

 

The fit here was pretty good, I just used a wipe of filler smoothed with a wet finger to blend in the seam.

 

Work continues on the gear. I modified the retract actuators next. The top one is the original part and the lower one shows the actuator cut off, shortened and re-attached into the drilled actuator body.

 

 

A little bit of wiring and the undercarriage parts are ready for paint

 

 

The last bit I managed was to eliminate the dreaded canopy seam. Starting with a sanding stick and moving onto sanding pads, the canopy was progressively buffed back to clarity before being given a nice dip in some Future,

 

 

 

I love that stuff!

 

thanks for looking,

 

Pappy

[Pappy]

G'day,

 

More stuff

 

 

 

 

Pappy

[Pappy]