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Etihad Airways + Holiday airlines Airbus A320 Dual build


RCI

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On 11/20/2020 at 6:33 PM, RCI said:
On 10/31/2020 at 8:30 AM, Challenger350Pilot said:

 

paul, i think my next WIP here will be something more popular, i can clearly see that people are not so much into Airbuses of shabby turkish operators :D

Apart from a 757 demonstrator on the bench, i thought of an aero america 720, Delta DC9, ValuJet DC9, Air Austral 787, Etihad 773, Air Canada DC9 - suggestions?

Haha! Always remember...build for yourself...people like what they like; what’s most important is YOUR standard, which is very high, inspiring, and indicative of a master. Build away...Airbusses or whatever you like. We are ALL learning from your exquisite work. 
 

As for a suggestion as to what’s next...how about an older Delta DC-9?? A classic and beautiful airplane in a very classy livery. I have an Authentic Airliners DC-9-30 in my stash being saved for the sideways positioned Delta widget from the late 60s. 
 

Paul

Edited by Challenger350Pilot
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1 minute ago, Challenger350Pilot said:

Haha! Always remember...build for yourself...people like what they like; what’s most important is YOUR standard, which is very high, inspiring, snd indicative of a master. Build away...Airbusses or whatever you like. We are ALL learning from your exquisite work. 
 

as for a suggestion as to what’s next...how about an older Delta DC-9?? A classic and beautiful airplane in a very classy livery. I have an Authentic Airliners DC-9-30 in my stash being saved for the sideways positioned Delta widget from the late 60s. 
 

Paul

hey paul,

i always build for myself, as most of us do, i guess. My problem is simply that i love so many types and schemes that it is hard to decide. when it comes to a final idea it usually is the most stupid, boring or weird one. thats why i was asking for input... i also thought of a delta 717, but i think that DC-9 idea is great. I used to fly on these as a boy a lot...unforgetable experience 🙂

I think a DC9 brings up a whole new level of challenges... 🤯

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On 11/20/2020 at 1:51 AM, RCI said:

 

The aer lingus plane will get some preiser pilots inside, because it will have flaps in CONF1+F, which wouldnt make sense on an empty flightdeck


You don’t have to have pilots in the flight deck to have the flaps at CONF 1+F. In hot weather (over 30 deg) it is standard to only retract the flaps to 1+F as overheating can be detected in the bleed ducts around the wings. Once it happens it can take hours to reset. Leaving the slats extended is supposed to prevent it happening.

 

Cheers

Glen

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Only just found this, I'm in now, beautiful casting on the windows, I usually cheat with cabin windows and use decals, curious about the window shades, here in Australia, they always make you open them fully for take off and landings, it's a safety requirement these days.

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1 hour ago, Glen said:


You don’t have to have pilots in the flight deck to have the flaps at CONF 1+F. In hot weather (over 30 deg) it is standard to only retract the flaps to 1+F as overheating can be detected in the bleed ducts around the wings. Once it happens it can take hours to reset. Leaving the slats extended is supposed to prevent it happening.

 

Cheers

Glen

Hi Glen, thanks for your input, allthough i disagree. At air berlin we had that procedure as well to cool down the bleed ducts ( we did it every time required and some Fuel suppliers went mad), but it was canceled after a few years and only kept on the 330 fleet. Easyjet for example does not have it all, as airbus does not make this SOP mandatory anymore.

I dont know about aer lingus, but also i can't remember we ever did this SOP after the last flight of the day, it was more a thing in turnarounds, so there was always someone on the flightdeck.

 

39 minutes ago, Graeme H said:

Only just found this, I'm in now, beautiful casting on the windows, I usually cheat with cabin windows and use decals, curious about the window shades, here in Australia, they always make you open them fully for take off and landings, it's a safety requirement these days.

i think it is requirement almost everywhere and usually happens while taxiing...while some people keep them shut or half open once boarded.

on the other hand i have seen some airlines not taking this rule for serious and keep them shut at landing... the CONF1 A320 is basically one that is depicted between after pushback and before take off.

 

Fuselage wedding... the fit is OK, but not outstanding, in fact revell was better.

 

Also i started with the wingbox. Lots of stuff is missing, compared to revell. Inner tank fuel pumps are scratchbuilt, still missing is the RAT bulge and the Gear stiffener plates.

 

IMG_1844 IMG_1843

 

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8 hours ago, RCI said:

Hi Glen, thanks for your input, allthough i disagree. At air berlin we had that procedure as well to cool down the bleed ducts ( we did it every time required and some Fuel suppliers went mad), but it was canceled after a few years and only kept on the 330 fleet. Easyjet for example does not have it all, as airbus does not make this SOP mandatory anymore.

I dont know about aer lingus, but also i can't remember we ever did this SOP after the last flight of the day, it was more a thing in turnarounds, so there was always someone on the flightdeck.

Agree, can't remember that on the Air Berlin fleet...even on the 330s... and I have never seen it with Lufthansa either.

But on the other hand...when is it really hot over here 😉

 

Love it so far and will definitely follow and learn again.

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2 hours ago, coneheadff said:

Agree, can't remember that on the Air Berlin fleet...even on the 330s... and I have never seen it with Lufthansa either.

But on the other hand...when is it really hot over here 😉

 

Love it so far and will definitely follow and learn again.

 

at etihad it is standard. I remember doing this a few times before this procedure was made redundant. I was basically useless, because its intention was to avoid a bleed duct overheat ECAM, which only older aircraft were prone to and air berlin had not that many... a few times the fueler refused to drive under the wing... so we had to retract them on stand, which again ment you had to clear the whole area and so on... not a practical thing when ground services are not used to this ( even in PMI). As soon as you go further down, like egypt or UAE where they have temperatures well above 40 degrees, they are used to deal with this 🙂

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The procedure is still in our FCOM which is apparently direct from Airbus but that doesn’t mean that is standard for all airlines of course. I hadn’t heard that it was only an issue with early aircraft. I know of one case where they had to tow the aircraft into a hangar to get it to cool down enough to clear the message.  Refuelling could be an issue in some places - if I knew that would be the case I taxied in with them out and retracted everything just before turning onto stand. Seemed to work ok! i have seen A330s parked with slats out - I presumed that was for a similar reason. On the A300 we used to leave the slats out on turnarounds to save wear, only fully cleaning up for nightstop.

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1 hour ago, Glen said:

The procedure is still in our FCOM which is apparently direct from Airbus but that doesn’t mean that is standard for all airlines of course. I hadn’t heard that it was only an issue with early aircraft. I know of one case where they had to tow the aircraft into a hangar to get it to cool down enough to clear the message.  Refuelling could be an issue in some places - if I knew that would be the case I taxied in with them out and retracted everything just before turning onto stand. Seemed to work ok! i have seen A330s parked with slats out - I presumed that was for a similar reason. On the A300 we used to leave the slats out on turnarounds to save wear, only fully cleaning up for nightstop.

Well, Easyjet also claims themself as a Standard Airbus SOP operator, in fact they are not and deviating from the standard, which i think every airline does to their own needs. Even airberlin said it is operating standard airbus from 2014 on... and yes they were, but in the 3rd Level of FCOM there were company SOPs and of course company call outs. I remember when we asked a technician why this Bleed duct procedure came up, and he said it is to protect older planes from suffering bleed duct overheat, and that this is basically not necessary for newer MSNs, but obviously the company wanted us to do it with every plane, and the reason why they kept it on the 330s was that all of them were rather old and operating to Abu Dhabi continuesly... 🤷‍♂️ i remember that i also got that ECAM years ago, but it took us like 45 min or so to get away with it...

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  • RCI changed the title to Etihad Airways + Holiday airlines Airbus A320 Dual build

Soooo, apparently the customer is not interested in his model anymore, which i am fine with. A***oles are everywhere in the world...why not here.

The good thing is, there are now two models for me. My wife is a former etihad cabin manager, so she suggested i finally should build one.

I dont have to change anything, i'm still doing structural work.

 

I finally installed all fuel pumps and also the RAT bulge. All of this is missing on the zvezda kit. Also i will the MLG stiffener plates and the gear bay etch parts.

I copied the zvezda clear part, cause the plastic is so soft, you cant polish it. Also it didnt fit a 100%.

The Flapgaps had to be puttied, the lower wing flap pocket was missing on the inboard flaps only... so will be sanded and rescribed.🤯

So resin copys were made and i released them from the molds a bit earlier, the resin is a bit like gel, you can still form it. That enabled me to perfectly match it to the fuselage. Saves me a lot of work when it comes to sanding...especially around clear parts that helps a lot.

 

IMG_1934 IMG_1935

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Good evening chaps!

 

that zvezda wingbox really is a rather simple representation of the real thing.

there was no other way than starting 3D designing new parts and printing them with my 3d printer.

 

Lets go.

 

THIS IS ZVEZDA's idea of a pack outlet vent... 🤔 they left a square area out and you are supposed to fill them with these cubes!?!

IMG_1979

 

THE REAL THING

IMG_1975

 

MY IDEA adjusted to scale...

Bildschirmfoto 2020-12-18 um 23.25.11

 

i would also post a picture of zvezda's APU inlet, BUT THERE IS NONE :wacko: the photoetch is also not really doing the job. SO:

Bildschirmfoto 2020-12-18 um 23.25.39

 

 

THE PRINT (pack outlet vent is 2,78mm long, APU inlet is 8,5mm long.

 

 

IMG_2004

 

 

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Incredible attention to detail RCI very impressive work so far, I come out in a cold sweat every time I see the underside of a 320 gashed my head quite badly one night due to my carelessness still have the scar as a reminder.  This is coming along nicely well done

 

regards

 

Eamonn

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2 hours ago, Team Aer Lingus said:

Incredible attention to detail RCI very impressive work so far, I come out in a cold sweat every time I see the underside of a 320 gashed my head quite badly one night due to my carelessness still have the scar as a reminder.  This is coming along nicely well done

 

regards

 

Eamonn

sounds not nice, i have had that at least 10 times at the upper overhead panel, i think it is the ELT switch that has creates many scarfs and especially people swearing :D

 

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  • 1 month later...

A lot of steps were done in the past few weeks.

 

All details are done on the wing box. I added a scratchbuilt RAT case, fuel pumps, Landing lights, 3d printed Pack outlets, Landing gear stiffener plates and some etchparts for the wheel well (next time they will be 3d printed as well).

APU intakes have been installed, cockpit and all other major parts glued in place and i am quite happy the way the cockpit clear part turned out.

I copied the zvezda part and added some emerald dye to the clear resin, so there is the typical solar protective color in the windows. Worked really great...also couldn't resist to place a techlog on top of the glareshield.

I already sanded and filled everything. Way more work than expected and than the revell A319 was... sometimes zvezdas part layout really drives me crazy.

A 160 cabin windows were masked... what a painful job.

 

19FD5A05-8A53-4EC1-9A57-DB2C289BFE44 IMG_2221 IMG_2220 IMG_2242 IMG_2241

 

 

 

and apart from that i was also able to continue on my 738. I decided to go masks only insatead of white decals and possible mismatching red ones. I must say, its such a satisfying work, and alltough way more complicated than decaling, the results are not comparable. you get like a 100% true colors...

 

IMG_2186

 

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So today in the process of prepairing the 320s for white paint, i felt the urge to start "riveting" , allthough these are screws, the rivets are not visible on modern aircraft. Good that i still have A320 walkarounds with lots of pictures from its belly, so i was able to depict the real thing as good as possible.

I am quite happy with these actually...but it took me a few hours and i really felt exhausted afterwards. Never the less i must say, it is worth the effort.

 

First picture is the final version. the others were made in the process.

They are so fine that i am afraid they gonna vannish once the gloss coat is applied. So for testing i did one before painting and the other one will be done after the paintshop. lets see, how it looks in the end.

 

IMG_2249 IMG_2247 IMG_2246

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Came a bit forward in terms of painting.

The etihad base color was quite a tough one. I did somw attempts to find the right color. As you can see, i composed it with a lot of different colors.

The holiday airlines livery was easier, allthough the masking of cheatlines was difficult.

The result is quite ok. I think the blue part of the cheatline may be a bit too dark, but i m ok with it. Only 5 photos exist of TC-GAA. Next step is decaling. I decided to paint the orange bits, cause usually yellow/orange laser printed decals are not true to color.

The etihad decals come from the revell kit, holiday airlines will be designed and printed by myself.

 

IMG_2288 IMG_2310 IMG_2314 IMG_2315 IMG_2316 IMG_2317 IMG_2319

 

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  • 3 months later...

Sooooo...long time no posts here, but i was not pausing. 

After demasking the cabin windows the edges were crap, i was cleaning it up a bit and the silver frames were really doing its job and giving the windows its final touch.

Decaling was painful, too many stencils and the cartograf stuff is not as good as i thought. especially when it comes to large decals... no fun here.

After applying the clear coat i found out that my silly technique of getting the great etihad metallic paint worked as exactly the way i wanted (though hard to see on the pics). I now have a metallic paint with the finest possible metallic grain on it. i wanted to avoid the sparkle effect, which would have looked toyish in this scale.

I also decided to mask more of the holiday livery than i initally planed. So there are only stencils, Reg, the words "happy liner" and the black smiley decaled. All the rest is painted. way better solution. Same problem with the undefined windows on that one, same solution worked well. You can see the final results at the last pictures, cabin windows look the way they should haha :D

Then i started "riveting" (actually screws) on the belly. I tested two different ways. One is before painting and the other is after the final polish. That works, doing them before painting has almost no effect. Quite a learning curve here for me... due to the small scale you want them as fine and tiny as possible, when painting, clear coating and polishing, they are gone. BUT when i did them on the holiday airlines jet i made them afterwards, and that is really mindblowing! it looks really good, if you keep doing it very softly and gentle. Went over it with an oil wash and tadaaa... after that i took some cotton pads and tried to make it less intense, again worked fine.

Big contra: if you mess it, thats it. Cause i did it on top of the finish, if you run a line too far or not straight, it is too late. the amount of work to correct it would be tremendous.

I then printed some WBF seals, no issues applying them. quite a tough job to cut them in their exact shape.

 

Did the screw thing on the engines as well. After clean up (also cleaned the fan, lots of sanding dust, as seen on the pic) i did some weathering, but no pictures so far...

 

 

IMG_2463 IMG_2467 IMG_2947 IMG_2524 IMG_2526 IMG_2525 IMG_2523 IMG_2661 IMG_3044 IMG_3045 IMG_3072 IMG_3032 IMG_3033 IMG_3034 IMG_3047

 

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