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C-47 G-AMPO Colour Query


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5 minutes ago, PLC1966 said:

G-AMSV was my Dak fight, Bristol Lulsgate into the Fairford Airshow.

 

Head banging from doing best part of a bottle of Southern Comfort watching Live Aid the day before.

Overall, a good weekend then?

 

Steve

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31 minutes ago, janneman36 said:

 

Sorry to hear about the fit problems on the Airfix as my experience is completely the opposite..

I construct the fairings to the fuselage and assemble the wings in one piece before I mate them with the fuselage ..that works for me and I don’t have any large gaps .

 

Cheers, Jan - I wish I'd known that when i was building it! I followed the instructions - fitted the wingroot fairings, then the centre section, then the upper wings. 

Edited by Paul Bradley
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The last Airfix Dakota I tackled was the RAF Dakota IV  boxing.Once the interior was installed the fuselage did not want to close up without gaps at the nose and rear fuselage under the tail.Once that was rectified the spar required considerable thinning to allow the upper wings to sit flush with he lower surfaces.Did I have a rogue kit?or could it be the latter issue kits are not as straight as the first production batch boxed as a Skytrain.I've now put that build to one side and have harvested the windows and ADF loop for the next Dakota.

Whilst I realize that civil schemes are less popular than military I am surprised that we did not see a greater choice of airline decals being released for the Airfix kit,though hats off to 26 decals for producing the Atlantique,Intra and Air Anglia scheems.It is therefore encouraging to see the interest in this thread and some interesting pictures.

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Edited by jyguy
typo
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@jyguy. Thanks for the cockpit shot of G-AMSV! Good point about the lack of civilian decals for Daks, and personally, I'm so glad 26 Decals offered us the Air Atlantique options. They were so prevalent in our skies that I was always surprised that someone like Xtradecal didn't tackle the subject. Harvest Air would be another option I would like to see.

 

Steve

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1 hour ago, fightersweep said:

@jyguy. Thanks for the cockpit shot of G-AMSV! Good point about the lack of civilian decals for Daks, and personally, I'm so glad 26 Decals offered us the Air Atlantique options. They were so prevalent in our skies that I was always surprised that someone like Xtradecal didn't tackle the subject. Harvest Air would be another option I would like to see.

 

Steve

Yes I agree mostly by Night I seem to recall.Mail and newspaper contracts and a lot of work for Ford.

 

Harvest Air is a must have though anybody producing it would sell probably only sell Two sheets.I'am surprised that nobody has produced Ruskin Air Service decals commercially. The Northwest scheme worn by Papa Yankee would be a nice addition too.S&M decals covered some of the earlier operators such as Morton,Silver City,Westpoint,BUA and South West aviation.Sadly they've been out of print for a while.

Returning to the original subject of the thread your probably aware 'MPO served the British Aircraft Corporation for a while.Colour pictures of the aircraft in the livery are rare but it would make an interesting  subject.

 

JYG

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@jyguy

 

Yes! Well remember the night flights. My favourite used to be the DC-6 that used to drone over at altitude at about 2 or 3 o'clock in the morning. Lovely sound. I suppose Harvest Air decals would be a small seller, but I would certainly lap them up. Being a Southend on Sea boy, anything Harvest Air was a regular sight. Then as a postie, I delivered to their hangar at the airport, so got a closer look still at the occasional Dak and the Islanders. I did pick up the Ruskin decals via here, but know several people that would love a set, but they're not easy to come by. I have the feeling that civilian Daks could be a slippery slope into another obsession!

 

Steve

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Great memories.Harvest air and its owner were colorful to be sure.

I remember the museum at Rochford on Aviation way with the Beverly towering over the other exhibits.

 

Ah the douglas DC 6.I have the Heller 72nd kit but that's a whole nother thread!

 

G

 

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4 minutes ago, jyguy said:

 

I remember the museum at Rochford on Aviation way with the Beverly towering over the other exhibits.

 

 

Southend Air Museum ?  Went there at about 7 or 8 with my bro.  Train from Colchester, remember the Beverley and the J-29, not a lot else. Do remember the Carvairs at the Airport.

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I was on my postie round at the same time they broke up the Beverley. That was a heart wrenching sight, but at least the cockpit got saved. My other favourite exhibit was the CASA 2.111. As a kid mad about the Battle of Britain movie, that was a real draw for me. I later got involved with the off shoot of the Southend Museum, the Rebel Air Museum at Andrewsfield and Earls Colne. Talking of the CASA 2.111, the museum's other memorable exhibit was only a few feet away.....

 

50041141632_554e7a3919_z.jpg

 

Steve

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On 6/23/2020 at 9:01 AM, Army_Air_Force said:

Here's G-AMPO at the former RAF Usworth in June 1982.

 

c47a4.jpg

That’s the scheme she was in when I flew in her in the early 80’s from Liverpool to St.Mawgan. She did pleasure rides during the show and threw a piston. Mechanics and spares flown in to repair her. Our party was the last to leave the airshow and the pilot auctioned the piston afterwards. I think it raised a fiver!

 

Trevor

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  • 4 weeks later...

Just been looking back at this superb thread (thank you guys!) making notes ahead of the build, and just spotted something I missed obsessing over the colours. G-AMPO has eight cabin windows each side! Just trying to figure out their position now. Crikey! One has to be on the ball with these Daks!

 

Steve

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The eighth window makes it effectively a Pionair.  BEA's conversion (either Pionair passenger config or Pionair Leopard for cargo) involved the removal of the original radio compartment as "modern" civil radio fit could be smaller.  That allowed for an additional row of seats at the front of the cabin, and thus an extra, evenly spaced, window at the front end.  AMPO didn't fly for BEA, but seems to have undergone much the same conversion.

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@Lazy8

 

Thanks ever so much for the reply and the helpful information. Good timing as I was only just dry fitting the interior and wondering why the eighth window was in the radio room. Problem solved, and one that makes perfect sense. Time to add a few new windows, as well as deciding between the Airfix and Esci kits in my stash.

 

Steve

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Slight thread drift!

 


Here is the transfer sheet from the ESCI Dak I bought at St.Mawgan air show and which was flown back on G-AMPO! All rather meta.

 

50130059298_431875cd79_b.jpg

 

Seven windows per side, so if I’d finished it then, it’d be wrong....

 

I wonder if it will fit the Airfix offering?

 

Trevor

 

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@Max Headroom

 

Not every day you get to fly your kit purchase back home on the subject matter aircraft! Nice one. That's the Esci kit I have at present, hence me being confused initially about G-AMPO and the number of cabin windows. Can't match your kit/flight story. Closest I can get was with a copy of the 1983 Great Warbirds Air Display poster I picked up a few years back (I was there aged 13). I bought my poster from an ex director of IWM Duxford, and he flew back with said poster aboard Sally B. Lucky chap!

 

Steve

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DC-3 cabin windows are a bit of a :worms:. Of the 200-odd that came onto the Australian register after WWII, quite a few (I'm not sure how many, but most of the ANA ones did) got the eight window conversion but then some (again, can't give a number) only had six. As is so often the case, you need a picture (or several - the more the merrier ...) to be sure.

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Esci were in error with their Eastern Airways sheet for G-AMPO/MRA.It was a generic C47 kit issued in different boxing's to suit various markets.After nearly Forty Years the Eastern Airways decals tend to crumble.I guess a coat of clear and use of tepid water may help.

I doubt they will fit the new tool Airfix kit.

Post war in the Uk  most ex Military Dakotas were initially converted to 32 seaters.With the advance in navigational aid coverage and R/t the Navigators and warless ops were done away wih.By now more modern faster types had displaced Daks on the longer routes.This meant their was now room for an extra row of passenger seats at the front of the cabin.

Some British Dakotas that had served with survey companies or as freighters retained 6 or Seven windows aside rather than the Eight of the 36 seaters.

So check your reference pictures with the date they were taken in mind.

I hope this thread and the "a fashionable pair of Daks"one spawns some civilian Gooney birds.Heck I'am almost tempted to take on another Airfix One.

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7 hours ago, jyguy said:

I hope this thread and the "a fashionable pair of Daks"one spawns some civilian Gooney birds.Heck I'am almost tempted to take on another Airfix One.

Thanks for all of the extra info! Well, this thread will be spawning three civilian Daks from me. G-AMPO, G-APML and G-DAKS, although the latter will be in a military scheme so probably doesn't count.

 

Steve

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  • 1 month later...
On 6/24/2020 at 4:19 PM, fightersweep said:

@jyguy

 

Yes! Well remember the night flights. My favourite used to be the DC-6 that used to drone over at altitude at about 2 or 3 o'clock in the morning. Lovely sound. I suppose Harvest Air decals would be a small seller, but I would certainly lap them up. Being a Southend on Sea boy, anything Harvest Air was a regular sight. Then as a postie, I delivered to their hangar at the airport, so got a closer look still at the occasional Dak and the Islanders. I did pick up the Ruskin decals via here, but know several people that would love a set, but they're not easy to come by. I have the feeling that civilian Daks could be a slippery slope into another obsession!

 

Steve

What a very interesting thread,Dakota's were a very large part of one's youth,there were so many smaller airlines still

operating them in the mid '60-early 70's.

One remembers a Sunday drive with mother and father out past the old Derby aerodrome,father pulled in to have a look

and there on the tarmac was a Derby Airways aircraft just finishing loading up,a few moments later accompanied by spits,bangs and clouds of smoke,the engines roared into life.

The aircraft waddled off around the perimeter track and took off from the grass runway.

 

When in the eighties one worked shifts,it was common to hear the DC-6 come climbing up out of Manchester at 5am as

one was getting into the car to set off for a 6am day shift.

It sounded wonderful and seemed to have reached cruising altitude as it passed over our house because there was a distinct reduction in power and propeller revs.

 

Edited by DaveWilko
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