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Lockheed Ventura in civvies


rob Lyttle

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Hi all.

I'm now the proud owner of this magnificent box of tricks...

IMG_20190111_214802

 

And I'm looking at options for a civilian conversion.

I am finding pics of various makeovers, Howard 250etc, and even the trike U/C version.

Longer nose and long windows, and so on.

Wouldn't want the build to turn into a nightmare.... So, is there much in the way of civilian options that are still quite close to the PV1 airframe?

N

I'm not fancying reshaped fuselage bottom, but I could prob hack away at some square windows.

I'm looking at a picture of N5390N, but looks like the ventral gun position has been completely made over. Could even be a PV2 for all I know.....

 

Anybody done a civvie conversion or got their eye on a viable project??

 

Ideas appreciated.....

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Well, @dcrfan, that could be an interesting project in itself.

I've developed a liking for the old Lockheed twins, after doing the little Beech 18 ( expeditor)

But I'm on a steep learning curve!

I've got the Lodestar kit by Special Hobby, but of course it's as a drab military version.

But isn't the Ventura tail wrong for a Lodestars?

Or are you a fearless kit modifier?

And is it anywhere near the top of the stash pile?!

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2 minutes ago, rob Lyttle said:

Well, @dcrfan, that could be an interesting project in itself.

I've developed a liking for the old Lockheed twins, after doing the little Beech 18 ( expeditor)

But I'm on a steep learning curve!

I've got the Lodestar kit by Special Hobby, but of course it's as a drab military version.

But isn't the Ventura tail wrong for a Lodestars?

Or are you a fearless kit modifier?

And is it anywhere near the top of the stash pile?!

Plastic in the kits is only provided to be cut, filed, sanded and generally remodelled.  I also have a pair of Classic Airframes Hudsons so with the Ventura, I'm sure a Lodestar will arise.  Actually I think the engine nacelles and cowlings will be the biggest hurdle  

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Hello

A quick cross-check of the web and Lockheed twins book yielded this civilian PV-1 Ventura photos:

9033L.jpg

24-3.jpg

Apart from N64001 above photos of two other straightforward Ventura conversions (N1508V and N52K) had been published in Air-Britain book but unfortunately I could not find them on www. Cheers

Jure

Edited by Jure Miljevic
grammatical error corrected
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Hi Rob,

Not that familer with the Ventura, but I like this......and you could foil it, which you seem to enjoy doing.

Dennis

bingapis.com photo 

 

md14-2.jpg

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9 hours ago, DMC said:

Hi Rob,

Not that familer with the Ventura, but I like this......and you could foil it, which you seem to enjoy doing.

Dennis

This is a L14 Super Electra.

The plane is carrying the standard Lockheed factory color scheme/markings...  red with black outlining.

 

Tim

Edited by VH-USB
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22 hours ago, rob Lyttle said:

Hi all.

I'm now the proud owner of this magnificent box of tricks...

And I'm looking at options for a civilian conversion.

I am finding pics of various makeovers, Howard 250etc, and even the trike U/C version.

Longer nose and long windows, and so on.

Wouldn't want the build to turn into a nightmare.... So, is there much in the way of civilian options that are still quite close to the PV1 airframe?

I'm not fancying reshaped fuselage bottom, but I could prob hack away at some square windows.

I'm looking at a picture of N5390N, but looks like the ventral gun position has been completely made over. Could even be a PV2 for all I know.....

Anybody done a civvie conversion or got their eye on a viable project??

Ideas appreciated.....

If you are wanting information on civil Venturas I strongly suggest the book 'The Lockheed Twins' by Peter J. Marson. This book is the definitive study of twin-engine Lockheeds.

Unfortunately, the book is OOP and used copies are a bit expensive. The cheapest I have seen of late is around US$86.00. But this is a fabulous book and well worth it.

About a year after it's initial publication I purchased a brand new copy direct from the publisher (Air-Britain) for only US$20.00, a bargain as I recall the original price was around US$65. Must not have sold well, a pity as this book is a 'must' for any aviation library.

 

Tim

Edited by VH-USB
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I bought one of those kits from home bargains cos it was cheap and I thought I could do a Howard 500 conversion. When I got all my research together I realised this was a major project with changes to wing engines nacelle and fuselage length making it infeasible for me. You CAN make a Super Ventura without too much trouble though... I just did not like the colour schemes that were available.  I ended up selling the kit here in OZ

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@VH-USB, I think I'll check with the public library and see if there's one in the system somewhere.

Yes @wallyinoz , the Howard conversions I can see do look like a thorough makeover.

But the Super Ventura idea sounds like a contender.

I'm not a modeller that's obcessed with historical rightness at all costs. A fictional regional operation, or just a private owner enthusiast making something of a war surplus bargain.

So, for example, my Beech 18 ended up in KLM livery, although they never had one.

They should have, though.... Looks smart!

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  • 2 months later...

Hi Rob,

There were some relatively stock PV-1's used in Canada in civil roles, IIRC; forestry, photo surveying, etc.  Internet image searches rely entirely on associated text & many photos are wrongly captioned, so the hunt will be a matter of trying every possibility. Even "Airplane; Canada" (...& the same, using every Province in turn...) could yield something that won't show up with more definitive search terms. It's a jungle out there & some useful images can ONLY be found by accident, while looking for something else...

 

Cheers, -Lars

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