Tupolev ANT-25 distance record - modified IKAR 1/72nd

[fjaweijfopi4j48]

From 5 years ago, a long span plane that performed a long span flight.

 

 

I owe the pleasure of having this one to Lars Opland, who very kindly agreed to pass it on from his personal stash. Those who know Lars are aware that he lives in Wasilla, Alaska, inside an igloo made of kit boxes.

As said, my joy was immeasurable when I had the kit, finally, in my hands. This Russian-made jewel is kind of hard to get. Made by Ikar (Икар) and with the box lid illustrated by E. Alexeenko, it can depict both versions of the famous plane, the one piloted by Chkalov to Vancouver, Washington, or the one piloted by Gromov to San Jacinto, California.

The plane itself was a real stylized beauty, and the model is a good rendition of it. The kit is rough. Flash, perhaps some chunkiness, but with some good surface detail and interesting parts’ count.

The transparencies could be rescued, but perhaps using them to pop vacuformed replicas would be wiser.

The decals got a tad smashed in the long haul from mother Russia.

The instructions are...there. But you should gather some references. I did and had a very good time going through the history of the type development, the construction, modification and trials of the machines, and the record flights themselves. I chose to model the modified RD-1 that landed in San Jacinto, California, since I live in the general area. My maternal grandparents were originally from Russia and I ended up in California, so it is sort of commemorative build of the family history.

A short clip of it landed at that location can be watched here:

http://www.criticalpast.com/video/65675063618_Russian-Airmen_flying-6600-miles_over-North-Pole_crowd-watches

It is the machine that has no blue nose (the blue nose is the one mostly modeled, by the way) and could appear a tad less showy, but perhaps some scratchbuilt details could bring some extra pizzazz.

The kit box is apparently made of recycled material: recycled polar bear, recycled burlap, recycled politburo members. There were some broken parts...I found at the bottom of the plastic bag a quality control tag stamped “#1”, so, number 1....we know who you are, and we are watching you. Another kit with broken parts and to Siberia you go! 🙂 . By the way, are you the same “number 1” as in Austin Powers’ Dr. Evil?

As I was saying, lots of excitement and great potential.
The kit:

Now, the bad news. The kit parts are, as said before, rough. The wings and ailerons are, by far, the worst, and almost fall in the mission impossible category. Harbor no illusions, to fix them will imply very hard work making the labor of the Volga Haulers look like ladies on tutus on a paddle boat on a summer day at the lake.

And then, the bad news: once the parts are sort of cleaned up, they won’t particularly feel inclined to match their opposite counterparts. More work ahead.

Some bad news: references are not always perfect, look, when possible, at actual photos of the machine you are modeling. There is good will on part of the scholars and writers, but their product does not always match reality.

Even more...bad news: the trailing edges are very thick, the “flat” parts (like the inner surfaces of the ailerons, are not flat. The flash present is not of the "gone with the wind" type, but instead requires positive action to be removed. It is strange, but it is as if the wing/aileron molds (which are bigger) were produced somewhere else, up to far lower standards.

And -finally- some good news: once you are done with the wings and ailerons, Siberia will appear to you as a Cote D’Azur destination. AND the rest of the kit is rather good, although not quite “there”, as in "normal". Yes, Tamiyinsky and Hasegawaboff this one is not. But, my friend, you are a modeler, are you not? Get at it!

There is another one of these made by Eastern Express. I haven’t seen one personally, though. For what I can tell from photos on the Net these are the same masters, but modified. The wings are broken down differently and the laid-down is different.

Was that one refined at the time of re-issue? I’d like to know. Some halved parts of the IKAR kit are rendered as one in the Eastern Express kit, the interior is not there anymore, the prop blades are attached together, etc. Sort of simplified version seems to me, and again I wonder if they did something –in case they are more or less the same masters- to improve the horrid quality of the wings seen in the IKAR kit.
A said above, the Plane depicted here is the one that flew from Moscow to San Jacinto, California (N205-1) and not the most commonly represent in model form that portrays (with its blue nose) the one that flew from Moscow to Vancouver, Washington (N205) a few months earlier.
Not, by any means at all, an easy one, but the final product is indeed appealing.

Many little improvements were made to the kit, the addition of an engine, new Venturis, vac transparencies, full interior, etc.

The slender beauty, elegance and grace of the original is something to behold.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Unfinished project]

Another stunner Moa 

[Roger Holden]

The kit was indeed, partially re-tooled as one of a series of kits issued by the Tupolev Design Bureau (the others were jets). The wing was re-made in one piece and it came in an understandably long, thin box. Never seen the Eastern Express version, which is clearly a re-issue. Never bought this later version as I already had the original Ikar release. 

 

The ANT-25 flights are some of the most controversial in aviation history. Lots of people at the time thought they were an elaborate hoax, including the USAAC personnel who examined the aircraft closely and international observers such as C.G.Grey, editor of Britain's 'Aeroplane' magazine, who described them as 'Flights of Fancy' in his editorial.  Somehow the technical anomalies around the flight were overlooked and they got accepted for political reasons as the US was trying to cultivate a better relationship with the USSR.

 

I read a few years ago an interesting book entitled 'Russia's Shortcut to Fame', which attempts to analyse the flights in detail. The book contains a few 'gaffes' as the author knows little about aircraft, but the central premise is credible. It maintains that the aircraft, far from flying over the Pole, took off from a Russian island in the Alaskan chain and merely flew a few hundred miles down the US coastline. This was based on the testimony of an eskimo who helped Russians unload aircraft parts and construction equipment from a ship in such a location.  The film the Russians submitted as official evidence of the Moscow take off shows the aircraft in an earlier flight with various detail differences. The radio transmissions the Russians broadcast during the course of the flight contain lots of errors of position/time, giving the plane impossible speeds over some legs of the flight. The plane had zero de-icing provision, surely a necessity for long distance polar flying.  When, shortly after, the Russians attempted to make a 'bona fide' trans-Polar flight using a much more advanced 4-engined aircraft it disappeared without trace.........  

 

Whatever the truth, it's undeniably a fascinating plane and model subject.

[Massimo]

I didn't know this aircraft and it's really unique!

You did another great model and from a basic kit too!!!

Well done again!!!

[JWM]

Perfect done!

Cheers

J-W

 

[dogsbody]

That is a beauty, Moa. You are truly a master of the craft.

 

 

Chris

[fjaweijfopi4j48]

24 minutes ago, Roger Holden said:

Whatever the truth, it's undeniably a fascinating plane and model subject.

Thanks Roger for an interesting contribution to the post.

By default, I do not trust ANY goverment blindly. I try to analyze and be critic of any claims.

The superpowers, traditionally, try to advance their own agenda, with very little consideration for the truth. Now, there is a difference between sustaining that the earth is flat and mankind never reached the moon, and healthy skepticism.

The US goverment has a list of lies as long as its history, so does Russia (and many others).

With my own ears I witnessed packs of blatant lies told to tourists, groups, students and general public by docents/tutors/volunteers at so many aviation museums (and art museums) that I lost count. Every country, every state, every city wants its claim to fame, and truth (as current heads of states and as in Orwell's 1984 demonstrate) can be in the wrong hands a very pliable substance.

The US and allies have consistently denied feats of other countries (so did the other sides), and at every turn would try to undermine, no matter ethics, any political gain. I have suffered, along thousands upon thousands, what "intelligence" services and propaganda and counter-propaganda can do to countries.

I believe -in this case- the Russians.

It's a wonderful world, as Louis Armstrong used to beautifully sing.

Cheers

Edited November 3, 2018 by Moa
to correct typo

[fjaweijfopi4j48]

8 minutes ago, dogsbody said:

That is a beauty, Moa. You are truly a master of the craft.

 

 

Chris

Just having fun, Chris.

When I see what real masters can do, I go and stay in the basement against the wall for months.

[dogsbody]

7 minutes ago, Moa said:

Just having fun, Chris.

When I see what real masters can do, I go and stay in the basement against the wall for months.

 

You haven't seen any of my styrene butchery and you probably never will. No photos!

 

If I could turn out a model that looks as good as yours look, there'd be pictures plastered across the Internet!

 

 

Chris

[fjaweijfopi4j48]

17 minutes ago, dogsbody said:

If I could

The only model that is not good is the one that doesn't get build.

All models are good models if they provide fun, entertainment, nice leisure time, relaxation, a space out of the grit of everyday life, or any other joy.

[Roger Holden]

33 minutes ago, Moa said:

 

The US goverment has a list of lies as long as its history, so does Russia (and many others).

 

Well, I like a good conspiracy and this one's a Doozy.  Official US technical files on the flight mysteriously 'disappeared'. 

 

But then, I also believe in UFO conspiracies......👽  Guess we'll never find the truth.

[Jonners]

Very nice indeed, Moa, and thanks for the very informative and entertaining description- it certainly made me smile! The contours on those wings look horrendous; it surely must take quite an amount of effort to produce such bizarre mouldings! 

Jon

[Learstang]

I have the Tupolev Design Bureau version of this kit. If I ever get around to building it (which I may - I love Soviet experimental aeroplanes), it will never, ever come out as nicely as yours did, Claudio!

 

Best Regards,

 

Jason

[Flankerman]

Great model Moa ........

 

There's a scale replica of the machine at Monino........

 

 

........... and a bust and memorabilia of pilot Valeri Chkalov.....

 

 

Ken

 

 

[RidgeRunner]

Hi Moa!

 

Since I first learned about this record flight many years ago I've been intrigued by it. What a fantastic model you've built here to commemorate it. Excellent!

 

Martin

Edited November 4, 2018 by RidgeRunner

[72modeler]

I remember seeing a video clip of one of the two airplanes a while back and was amazed at the wingspan. It brings new meaning to the term high aspect ratio wing! Looks like there was enough flash on this kit to build another, and those wing moldings are horrible. I would have pitched this one against the wall, but you have managed yet again to bring a horrible kit to a high standard of quality. Bet that puppy was no fun to fly with a full fuel load and into turbulence. Looks like a prop-driven U-Twoski!

Mike

[invidia]

Very graceful looking plane, beautiful model as normal. 

[Courageous]

Another intriguing build. Those kit wings looked disgusting but obviously worked your magic.

 

Stuart 

[woody37]

Wow,  not an easy aircraft to photograph and looking at the kit contents, an even harder one to bring up to the standard you have. Quite stunning

[MartinSK]

You have done fantastic and fanatic job from that kit. Great selection of unusual subject!

[pheonix]

That is yet another of your lesser known but very interesting types. Beautifully finished, as ever, and a very interesting background to what is obviously a controversial subject.

 

P

[spiton]

Your models of airplanes fron the golden age, are really beautyfull. And Fantastic. But bigest suprised, was model of polish glider "Szybowiec bydgoszczanka"... I am members of forum, whem this model in scale 48 was show, and  i was very suprisew, that somebody build this on i 72 scale.

[kapam]

Yet another astonishingly excellent build!

The skills on display here are incredible!

[cngaero]

That's a very attractive looking model and is lightyears away from the original kit. 

[Aardvark]

On 11/4/2018 at 12:35 AM, Roger Holden said:

The ANT-25 flights are some of the most controversial in aviation history. 

Yeppp,

....and first of the moon was 

Captain Ivan Sergeyevich Kharlamov in 1938

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_on_the_Moon

 

....and

 

hitler was building Nazi UFO 

https://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/weird-news/501881/nazi-ufo-hitler-flying-saucer-antarctic-south-pole-base-flugscheiben-v7-haunebu-die-glocke

..and...

e.t.c., e.t.c

...in the end, until now, a very large number of people are convinced that the planet Earth is flat, stands on three elephants, and elephants stand on three whales that sail on the sea ...

 

On 11/4/2018 at 12:35 AM, Roger Holden said:

Lots of people at the time thought they were an elaborate hoax, including the USAAC personnel who examined the aircraft closely and international observers such as C.G.Grey,

Predictions by photo and appearance?

It's  interesting type sport ... the main thing is very

very accurate.

 

On 11/4/2018 at 12:35 AM, Roger Holden said:

Britain's 'Aeroplane' magazine, who described them as 'Flights of Fancy' in his editorial.  Somehow the technical anomalies around the flight were overlooked and they got accepted for political reasons as the US was trying to cultivate a better relationship with the USSR.

Yeppp....

"even the long-distance flight of Gromov’s crew across the North Pole to the USA in 1937 under the most difficult weather conditions and the fact that the FAI registered a new world record of flight range of 10,148 km 290 m was not at all perceived.

According to the FAI code, the record flight of Gromov, Yumashev and Danilin over the turning points of the route was witnessed by sports commissioners, and in the territory of America control was exercised by the sports commissioners of the US National Club. At the next presidium of the international aviation federation, this achievement was included in the official list of world and international records of the FAI. However, as it turned out, not all representatives of the world aviation public were going to agree with this, it seemed, a fait accompli.

There was a situation where, within three months after the aviation achievement was entered into the official list of international records, any national flying club, a member of the FAI, could protest it. Of course, the protest was required to be supported by documentary or calculated data, sufficiently substantiated.

Anticipating such a protest, the British press expressed doubts about achieving a record, in particular, they appeared on the pages of the magazine "Airplane".

In the Soviet journal “Airplane” No. 2 for 1938, an article appeared in response, signed by M. Krivisky, Chief Sports Commissioner of the CAC. The article was entitled “Airplane jugglers, and we will give some of its points:

“The unexpected statement of the journal even to its regular readers seemed so wild that they addressed the editor with puzzled letters of protest. Of course, these attacks of the Royal National Aeroclub of England on the flight of the Soviet pilots did not pass. The Secretary of the Aero Club of England, Harold Perin, made a request to the editor of the magazine, in which he noted that the Aero Club of England drew attention to a number of articles published in the magazine, starting in July 1937, claiming that the record flight of the USSR pilots was fraudulent, since replenish fuel in flight, and this is contrary to the conditions of the FAI Code. The Secretary of the Aeroclub of England asked the editor for evidence of such a statement.

Here is an excerpt from the response of the Erplen magazine editors to the English Aero Club Secretary.

“The peculiarity of this case lies in the fact that it is impossible to present in concrete form evidence that this record has not really been set. However, we have mathematical proofs based on Russian data showing that this machine could not cover the specified distance. ” The Aero Club of England was not satisfied with this kind of "solid evidence" and asked the editor to send all the materials on the basis of which the calculation was made.

We do not know what materials were sent to the English Aeroclub, but we had the full opportunity to get acquainted in detail with the calculations referred to by the editor of the magazine in a letter to the Secretary of the Aero Club of England.

Convicted by its readers in a dishonest attitude towards real facts, the editorial staff hastens in the pages of his journal to reinforce the previously expressed “suspicion” with calculations.

In order to mislead the reader, the author of the article first gives relatively correct information about the aircraft and the engine, but then uses incorrect figures and reasoning as an axiom for further proof. Taking for its calculations the value of the most favorable required power, equal to 75% of the total motor power, it operates further with this fictional figure and using the rules of simple arithmetic “proves” that with this flight mode, gasoline could last only 42 hours 30 minutes, while the plane flew from Moscow to San Jacinto 62 hours 17 minutes and therefore de Soviet pilots secretly descended to replenish their fuel reserves.

... In fact, even at the beginning of the flight, when the car had 6,400 kg of fuel and oil on board, and therefore the weight of the aircraft was 11,500 kg, the flight was made at a speed of 200 km / h, a thrust force equal to the weight divided by quality, was equal to 11 500/17 = 676.5 kg. And that means power equal to the force of thrust multiplied by the speed and divided by the value 270? The efficiency of the screw was equal to (676.5?? 200): (270? 0,791) = 633.5 l. p., i.e., slightly less than 67% of the total engine power: not 75%, as the author of the article in Airplane magazine believes.

Further, pretending to be naive, the author of the article during subsequent calculations “forgets” to note the fact that as the fuel reserves decreased, the lighter plane required correspondingly lower power. By the end of the flight, when the weight of the aircraft was only 6500 kg, and the speed of 165 km / h, the most suitable power needed was to be 250 liters. with., which is only 26.3% of the maximum power. The average value of the most desirable power for the entire flight is 46.6% of the maximum engine power, i.e., 442.7 liters. p., not 710 l. p., as claimed by the author of the "calculations" given in the Airplane magazine.

Of course, with this required power and fuel consumption of 210 g / l. s / h (Erplen magazine even took a smaller one — 200 g / l. s / h) for “calculations”. The fuel supply of 6,100 kg on board made it possible to continue non-stop flight for 65 hours and 30 minutes at an average speed of 182, 5 km / h and fly non-stop distance equal to 11 972 km.

The actual flight data fully correspond to the short calculations given. The plane stayed in the air for 62 hours and 17 minutes, covered the actual distance a little more than 11,000 km, and when landing in tanks there were still 250 kg of fuel and 120 kg of oil.

If you do juggling with numbers and make exactly the same calculation, then for the weight of the aircraft at the end of the flight the possible duration will be 120 hours.

The author, in his discussion of speed, proceeds from the conditions of a headwind, and even by a force of 42 km / h. It is at a distance of 11,000 km and for 2 days. No need to have too much knowledge in aerology, so as not to doubt the absurdity and imagination of such a statement. Further, the author cites a number of ridiculous arguments about the incredibly high altitude and oil consumption, many times higher than the real one. The author is surprised at the great quality of the aircraft. But if we recall that the extension of the TsAGI-25 aircraft reaches a very large number - 13.75, then the quality of 17 does not seem incredible. In conclusion, the author cuts from the shoulder:

- No, it can not be! There can not be such an aircraft, since the possibilities exceed it "all the data of the corresponding machines built up to date".

... Record recognized by the world, controlled by the Soviet and American sports commissioners and registered in the FAI. It is here that the author of the article gives himself away. It is very unpleasant for him that the record is included in the official list of world and international records. In the new article he does not hide his antipathy towards the Soviet pilots. And, rejecting the obviously unfair technical evidence, forgetting about decency, falls upon the International Aviation Federation with the “terrible” accusation that the Federation, “which is actually a French body (?), As its name says (?), Has found possible to witness the record. " He threateningly asks: “We would like to know the names and nationalities of the commissioners and were they actually sports commissioners?”

He “convicts” FAI in that her message contains the word “commissioner” without an increase “sports”, hinting that maybe these were not sports commissioners, but simply ... Soviet commissioners in a different meaning of the word. Having finally lost his presence of mind, he yells hysterically:

“If the French are satisfied with this, then the only thing we can say is: Long live the Popular Front! - and sing the "Internationale"

... In conclusion, it should be added that the Aeroclub of England is trying to convince the editors of the enticing magazine and asks the magazine to publish the quoted excerpt from the last letter of the Secretary of the Aeroclub of England to the editor of Erplen magazine:

“The committee established to study this issue concluded that the flight could have been carried out on this machine. Considering that the Russians have fulfilled all the provisions of the FAI sports code for this record and provided proper documentation confirming their implementation of these rules, the committee believes that the FAI did quite right to witness the Russians record, and that it was obliged to do just that. Our perfectly correct calculations, based on the figures you provide, are at your disposal, and we hope that you will take advantage of our offer and familiarize yourself with these calculations in order to reclaim your incorrect statements. ”"

Resource - Google translate from Russian:

https://military.wikireading.ru/7986

"Lost victories of Soviet aviation"
Maslov Mikhail Aleksandrovich

On 11/4/2018 at 12:35 AM, Roger Holden said:

It maintains that the aircraft, far from flying over the Pole, took off from a Russian island in the Alaskan chain and merely flew a few hundred miles down the US coastline. This was based on the testimony of an eskimo who helped Russians unload aircraft parts and construction equipment from a ship in such a location. 

Yes, and before that, the ANT-25 aircraft, to check the possibility of carrying out an ultra-long flight, made flights along the following routes:

Moscow - Udd island: 

https://ru.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Беспосадочный_перелёт_Москва_—_остров_Удд

 

Moreover, the landing had to be on the sand along the sea, which is not an airfield, at the risk of damaging one of the two record aircraft available. Is there some kind of complicated hoax?

On 11/4/2018 at 12:35 AM, Roger Holden said:

When, shortly after, the Russians attempted to make a 'bona fide' trans-Polar flight using a much more advanced 4-engined aircraft it disappeared without trace.........  

Let's define! RD (ANT-25) was a special aircraft for records. Yes, a small batch of ANT-36 bombers

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tupolev_DB-1

was later released at its base ANT-25, but as a bomber this aircraft was unsuccessful.

Bolkhovitinov DB-A

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bolkhovitinov_DB-A

It was not a special record aircraft, it was a bomber designed to repl

ace the famous, but by that time obsolete TB-3.

But who was Flight H-209 (DB-A) pilot? It's was famous person Sigizmund Levanevski:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sigizmund_Levanevsky

He was known because of the rescue of the polar pilot Matters. And that's all ... further, as we see, he started a black streak of bad luck.

He was the first to fly to America on the ANT-25 through the North Pole, but too much oil was poured into the tank, it foamed and flowed through the tank lid, Levanevsky took it as a leak and came back.

After that, he said that it was impossible to fly on the ANT-25 through the North Pole, and the best aircraft for this purpose is made only in the West.

In the West, he bought the Vultee V-11, which was not adapted for such flights, by that time, successful ANT-25 flights had taken place.

Now you understand what condition he went on that tragic flight on the N-209? The man who actually slandered ANT-25 before Stalin and spent government money to buy an unnecessary plane .... he simply could not return, or give up the flight ... he needed only a victory, only a landing in America....

Unlucky pilot with combinations raw and undelivered aircraft....the final was somewhat predictable,

although some chance of a successful outcome was maintained.

But unlucky...

In the Soviet Union, the mystery of the disappearance of flight N-209 excited many fan aviatiion, in fact, the mystery of the disappearance of Levanevsky is such a Soviet analogy of the mystery of the disappearance of Amalia Erhard, only the mystery of Levanevsky has not been solved yet.

 

B.R.

Serge