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STOVL Canberra


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This GB comes along just at the right time for me, I've had this idea running through my head for sometime and as it wouldn't go away I started to cut some plastic.

The idea is that in light of a number of projects which were in the planning stages using the proven Bristol Pegasus VTOL engine, like the AW.681, Do.31 and the lesser known Gloster P411, a proof-of-concept prototype was needed and because of the aircraft sizes involved, something similar in size was required and it was decided to used the venerable Canberra.

AW_681a.jpg

dornier31.jpg

GLOSTER_P411.jpg

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The main donor kits will be the Matchbox PR.9 and two Airfix Harrier GR.3 kits. Additional parts will be a pair of Braz Resin 1/144 767 engine fronts, some 1/48 Gripen main wheels (these might change as I've not seen them yet and might be to big) for the main wheels which will be in the Harrier's main wheel position, some left over front u/c gear from my Airfix Nimrod (got a Heritage Aviation white metal set for the Cammett conversion project) and a Vulcan canopy (more of this later)

The story will progress beyond the proof-of-concept prototype into an in-service variant used specifically in the 'Wild Weasel' role. One of the things I'm doing is to move the wing to the shoulder position, this is done for a couple of reasons, 1. so the aircraft doesn't sit too high, 2. make it as similar to the three RW projects mentioned previously.

The first thing to do was to figure out how I was going to raise the wing and it occurred that I could use the wings to simpify the wing/fuselage connection. Here you can see I've glued the wings together and also added some spars, these are to keep everything straight and level as I assemble the parts. I've also set the wings close together in the middle, I did this because the Harrier fuselages are way wider than the original nacelles so the inner wing could be moved towards the center.

StovlCanberra015.jpg

Here you can see how I'm planning the Harrier fuselage to wing, for the moment I'm using a GR.5 fuselage as a guide as the GR.3 kits haven't arrived yet. Top photo shows that I'm going to set the two nozzles equally either side of the original Canberra main u/c point, the bottom photo shows just how wide the Harrier fuselage is compared to the original nacelles.

StovlCanberra014.jpg

StovlCanberra.jpg

Edited by kitnut617
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The Braz Resin engine fronts arrived on Friday, they are just what I needed. I had done a bit of research on fan diameters, and worked out the scales effect and the 1/144 767 fronts are close to the Harrier fan size in 1/72

StovlCanberra024.jpg

The next part of the build was to re-position the wing in the Canberra fuselage, I did this by using my profile gauge on the bottom of the wing and transfering the shape to the fuselage, then cutting out the top of the fuselage with my coping saw. Here's the end result of all that hacking about.

StovlCanberra013.jpg

I cut the hole out carefully as I needed some of the cut out part to go back in. Here's the wing to fuselage joint with the this cut-out bit put back in. At the moment everything (apart from the wing) is just dry fitted.

StovlCanberra016.jpg

StovlCanberra017.jpg

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cheers Andy,

For the cockpit I've decided to go with a side-by-side arrangement, I've done this by just cutting out a mirror-image on the starboard side of the port side, then using a couple of Aeroclub bang-seats, found there was plenty of room for a center console between them. Finding a bubble canopy wasn't that hard as I had a Vulcan canopy sitting around, with a bit of polishing to get the fuzzy look to most of it I can get a reasonable clear bubble canopy, and with just a couple of careful passes with a half-round file I got the edges to fit on the fuselage quite well.

StovlCanberra010.jpg

StovlCanberra011.jpg

StovlCanberra012.jpg

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As this will end up as a 'Wild Weasel', I decided to change the nose cone. I've a few that I could use but haven't decided on which one yet.

This one is from a T.11 but I think it will have to be shortened and re-profiled a bit if I go with this one.

StovlCanberra006.jpg

This one is a 1/48 Harrier II Plus nose.

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And this one is from a Javelin.

StovlCanberra019.jpg

I think the Javelin nose looks the most pleasing (apart from the original of course)

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Personally I would go with the origional nose, but hey, it's your model and the work so far is looking real good, I like it!!

Regards,

JB.

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Paging Deanflyer......please pick up the white phone. You've got a soul brother mate, he's a touch left of field like you!

This I have just got to watch.... I love the imagination squire.

Rich R

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Paging Deanflyer......please pick up the white phone. You've got a soul brother mate, he's a touch left of field like you!

This I have just got to watch.... I love the imagination squire.

Rich R

I always think Douglas Adams had it right when he described the small hut with the words 'Welcome to the Asylum' over the door...on the inside!

If I'd had no luck finding engine fronts for my Matchbox Canberra, I was going to do away with the jets completely and replace them with a couple of Lancaster Merlin engine nacelles...seems like this build will look even less like a Canberra than that!

Watching with interest,

Dean

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I always think Douglas Adams had it right when he described the small hut with the words 'Welcome to the Asylum' over the door...on the inside!

If I'd had no luck finding engine fronts for my Matchbox Canberra, I was going to do away with the jets completely and replace them with a couple of Lancaster Merlin engine nacelles ...seems like this build will look even less like a Canberra than that!

Watching with interest,

Dean

Thanks Bexy, Dean ..... interesting idea that Dean, I think I would go with a couple of Wyvern TF.1 engines myself, RR 24 cylinder Eagle 'H' configuration plus contra-props. This pic is of a 1/8th scale working replica engine.

5a.jpg

There's a fellow over on the 'What-If' forum who's trying to make a turbo-prop Canberra, something like a Boeing XB-47D but not in the pods.

Boeing_XB-47D_.jpg

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I considered turboprops on the Canberra, but I've seen a turboprop Meteor and thought that'd be too much like plagiarism. Also, my idea was along the lines that the jet had never been invented, and I just happened to have a couple of Lanc nacelles going spare...

Keep it up,

Dean

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While I'm waiting for the two Airfix Harrier GR.3's to arrive, I've been thinking about how to graft on the new fan fronts. It's not as easy as just cutting the cockpit section off the front because the fuselage around the fan and front nozzles flares outwards around the cockpit. It looks like I will have to do something like this, again I'm just using this GR.7 (not a GR.5 like I said earlier) as a guide:

StovlCanberra031.jpg

I'm going to try and save the fairing around the nozzle but I will have to cut the fuselage right back around it. I'm going to make up a new section of nacelle, I'm going to make a decal (two actually) like this, which will be attached to some styrene card:

StovlCanberra025.jpg

This has been done on paper so I can test it out, once the decal has dried to the styrene properly, I'll cut it out like this.

StovlCanberra026.jpg

And give it a bit of a curl:

StovlCanberra027.jpg

I've developed out the cut-outs and each line has a slight curve to it, when it's been shaped into a round piece, all the curved lines should connect to each other, something like this:

StovlCanberra028.jpg

Then I'll attached the new fan front on something like this, it appears to be ok but once I get the GR.3 kits I can adjust the pattern to suit it better.

StovlCanberra029.jpg

Then it will be down to some PSR.

Edited by kitnut617
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  • 2 weeks later...

Finally the GR.3's arrived, and the bashing starts in ernest. I had forgotten that this kit is different to the GR.7 kit in that the top half of the wings are seperate so that the fuselage halves are more or less complete but there's some other differences which will have to be re-thought, the nozzle fairings for instance.

StovlCanberra033.jpg

I will have to concentrate on getting these new nacelles completed first because fitting them to the Canberra wing is going to be a bit difficult, it looks like I will have to make some new front nozzle fairings as the ones on the kit won't work. I've just slipped the new fan front into the opening just to see what's involved, I've found that the GR.3 fuselage is about 1/8" smaller than the same place on the GR.7 though (that's about 9" full scale). I'm not sure if that is how it is on the real thing but it works into my favour as now the new transition I will make will be not quite as barrel shaped.

StovlCanberra034.jpg

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I've started to cut the original nacelles out of the wing but there's a small snag, there's not enough wing there now, the new nacelles are too close so I will have to think this out a bit before a chop anymore plastic.

StovlCanberra036.jpg

I'm going to use these bits from the GR.7 though:

StovlCanberra037.jpg

And these from a Buccaneer:

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And these bits from the Nimrod:

StovlCanberra039.jpg

I'm going to use these 1/48 Harrier main u/c for the main gear on this project, just got to find another to match. Thiese are from a Monogram AV-8B kit

StovlCanberra032.jpg

Edited by kitnut617
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Just caught up with your progress, and from a hardcore Canberra :nerd: I have to be honest, this ones really coming together nicely and is a brilliant concept.

Bexy

Edited by bexwh773
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Thanks Bex :kissing2:

So I was looking for some parts to busy up the office, something that would show the WO had a different panel to look at when I came across this which I had bought quite a few years ago:

StovlCanberra040.jpg

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It's a Golden Dragon Prowler 'pit and it's got some features I was looking for. It helps that I can't find the kit I got it for (it's got to be around somewhere) but anyway, out with the saw and I've got it to look like this:

StovlCanberra042.jpg

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Just waiting for the 'sloooow' drying superglue to dry properly, and then I'll be re-profiling the back bulkhead to suit the fuselage and canopy.

Edited by kitnut617
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Things are progressing, I finalized the shape of the new transition bit and made a new development, which I've now made into a decal:

StovlCanberra049.jpg

This was set on a piece of 1mm card and after it dried I set about cutting all the 'fingers'. I've decided to do one new nacelle first and work around whatever problems that might crop up and that will make to second one easier. After all the 'fingers' were cut, I gave them a gentle curve then formed the piece into a cylinder:

StovlCanberra046.jpg

I'm going to leave the pour lug on the rear of the fan fronts and with a little filing of the outside edges, they help to keep the new transition in place. I've filed a small flat area on the pour lug which corresponds with a bit of styrene strip I've used to glue the transition together:

StovlCanberra047.jpg

StovlCanberra048.jpg

I've just got a little bit a final adjustment to do on the fingers, then it will be glued together.

Edited by kitnut617
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Some progress and a set back. I've fine tuned the 'fingers' on the transition and glued it to the fan front, I did this by gripping all the fingers with a rubber band and then super-glueing the finger tips. Before I did this I positioned the fan front center slightly offset to the back end center of the transition, the Harrier fuselage has this too as it has a hump with goes over the wing center section.

StovlCanberra050.jpg

Once the super-glue had dried I flooded all the gaps between the fingers with liquid cement and then when that had dried, I poured in a good amount of super-glue to the inside. This should give it a good bond as there were some places where the liquid cement hadn't done it's job and the super-glue worked it's way through the gaps. Once this was all dried I gave the outside a session of wet&dry to smooth off the ridges.

Then it was onto fitting the transition to the Harrier fuselage, but first I had to do some hacking to the fuselage. I had to be careful here because I wanted to use as much of the front nozzle fairings as possible. So after much trial fitting got the fuselage into this state.

StovlCanberra054.jpg

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I found that the Harrier fuselage at the point where I've cut it isn't round, more oblong so I massaged the open end of the transition until I got an almost perfect match. You can see here the hump I took into account.

StovlCanberra052.jpg

StovlCanberra051.jpg

The next stage was to fit the u/c I want to use, these are 1/48 scale Harrier main wheels. I had to cut quite a large wheel bay but for this project the rear of these Harrier fuselages are only just a streamlined fairing to house the main wheels and support the puffer tube. Apart from that it looks better when it is trial fitted to the Canberra as a whole, the 1/72 Harrier u/c looking way too small.

StovlCanberra057.jpg

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Before I close the fuselage up I wanted to see if I could make the nozzle mechanism that comes in the GR.3 kit work. But because I'm using the GR.7 nozzles I couldn't get it to do that so I've had to modify the nozzle sockets to how the GR.7 kit is.

StovlCanberra058.jpg

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On to the set back. I found that I had the inner wings too close together so had to cut them apart. I decided then to assemble the whole wing as one by using a spar. I used some .25x.125 rectangular tube for this so after working out the total length of the spar I tapered each end so they would fit into the outer wings.

StovlCanberra061.jpg

Then I glued the inner and outer wings of one side to the spar then worked on the other side making sure everything measured the same. I add another spar to the front one where I had cut it in half as I had made the gap between the two inner wings wider.

StovlCanberra062.jpg

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When lining all the wing section up I used a panel line on the wing which seems to be where a real spar would be on a RW Canberra. To make sure I got the outer wings lined up right, I drilled a small hole in the wing underside which straddled this panel line. I could then line up the spar with this panel line where I wouldn't have been able to see it.

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StovlCanberra065.jpg

Then I've had to add a bit of card between the two inner wings because of the increased gap.

StovlCanberra067.jpg

StovlCanberra066.jpg

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The next stage is to fit the new nacelles to the wing. It's my thinking that the center of the four nozzles in the lift position would have to be somewhere near the load cg and as this load cg would have to be somewhere forward of the main wheel center, my intention was to move the nozzle center forward about an 1/8", this is about 9" real world. But to see if I was more or less right I asked John Adams (Aeroclub) who has told me in the past he is very knowledgeable of the Canberra and he provided me with a load cg chart/drawing for a B.8 (because he has already said that the Matchbox PR.9 has a B.8 fuselage for length and the Frog B.8 really has a PR.9 fuselage for length), but what I wasn't prepared for was just where the load cg is in front of the main wheels, a whopping 42". In the last photo above you can see a black marker mark almost at the leading edge of the wing, this is where 42" corresponds and this has changed where the new nacelles will go. It works out to my advantage though, because 1. the puffer boom now will only protrude out from the trailing edge an inch, and 2. it now places the main u/c leg almost directly under where the new spar is. (where it is in real world). This will also effect where the under wing load-out will be.

Edited by kitnut617
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