Erryplanes by perttime

[GTX_Admin]

Hmmm...European Air Racing is a interesting scenario on its own... :)

[raafif]

how about some schemes like on the real Bf-109 racers ?

NOT a whif -- story on Hyperscale ...

[apophenia]

Hmmm...European Air Racing is a interesting scenario on its own... :)

Indeed. And these schemes are great! What the significance of the hammer on the wing of 'Red 63"? Sponsored by the SKP perhaps? 

[GTX_Admin]

NOT a whif -- story on Hyperscale ...

Can you post link please?

[raafif]

took a while to find it but ......
                 http://hsfeatures.com/features04/bf109g624racercs_1.htm

[GTX_Admin]

 :)

[perttime]

how about some schemes like on the real Bf-109 racers ?
...
http://hsfeatures.com/features04/bf109g624racercs_1.htm

Thanks for that! It has been a while since I last read a Stenman book. The libraries here have them too.
My color schemes are often limited by what my skill and patience allow....

What the significance of the hammer on the wing of 'Red 63"? Sponsored by the SKP perhaps? 

Not SKP :) In a larger version of the picture, you can see #63 has a name: "Ilmarinen". In Kalevala (a mashup of Finnish mythology), Ilmarinen is one of the main characters: a smith with some god-like features. The hammer is the hammer of Ilmarinen. His main works include the dome of the sky (well done), Sampo (which was so good everybody started fighting over it), and a Bride of Gold (who turned out hard and cold).

[perttime]

A couple of more racers...

Inevitably, many Heston fighters were returned to their roots in civilian hands, and turned into air racers. A typical solution was to rebuild a Heston Dragon with a somewhat tweaked engine, 5 blade propeller, low cockpit canopy, and larger tailheathers from a Heston Basilisk.

This one was built into a racing configuration by a Polish team in 1980s. It was purchased by the Swedish tools, car supplies and leisure products retailer chain Biltema in 2004. It was flown by the Company's Chief Pilot Bertil Gerhardt, until he handed over racing duties to Pär Cederqvist in 2009. At the age of 67, Gerhardt had decided to retire into flying aerobatic displays in Biltema's other aircraft.



In real life:
Bertil Gerhardt died in a landing accident, flying Biltema's Spitfire Mk.XVIII in 2010 http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/late-touchdown-mystifies-spitfire-crash-investigators-356038/
Pär Cederqvist continues flying Biltema's Spitfire Mk.XVI and Cavalier Mustang, and some other interesting aircraft, together with Bertil Gerhardt's son Filip.

Pär Cederqvist & Supermarine Spitfire Jämi Fly In 2011 part 2 www.viihde.foorumi.eu

.

[perttime]

With WW2 warbirds and especially their piston engines becoming old and hard to get, European air racers were facing problems ... or perhaps opportunities.

People didn't really want to convert more historically precious airframes into racers, and pulling apart and rebuilding an old airframe wasn't actually much easier than building a new one using existing jigs and templates, especially if you didn't plan to build it EXACTLY as originally designed.

Finding a solution to the engine problem wasn't hard either. Actually it was right there at the other end of the airport apron. Commuter airliners usually found no difficulties getting spare engines and propellers. Their turboprop engines had a plenty of power and a good power to weight ratio. They were also easy and economical to operate.

In 1989, the European Air Racing Federation made the decision to allow turboprop engines in the Open class, starting in the 1991 Race Season. The rules were adjusted to keep the old piston engined racers competitive but, since then, almost all new racers have used turbines for power.

Race 39 - "Puukko" - is a good example of the new generation of Open racers. Most of the airframe is built in modified Heston fighter jigs. The radiator "dog house" has been eliminated but the turboprop exhaust takes advantage of the radiator air exit of the original Heston design.

[GTX_Admin]

Wicked!  I have a kit of the Heston Racer here somewhere too....

[perttime]

Back to Governmental vehicles...

With a bigger nation come bigger possibilities - and bigger problems. Finland, now Suomi the State, had been forged into unity during the war but to a large extent the other States were just awakening to not being under "Russian rule". Most people liked the new stability, combined with more freedom. Then there were those who wanted something different: groups with strong identities, and perhaps their own histories. The Ural Cossac uprising of 1981 was an extreme example, and nobody was prepared for it. The uprising spread to large areas of the Mordva and Yugra republics, and the northern parts of neighbouring Kazakhstan before it was put down. Now, there was an urgency to be more prepared anywhere in the Federation, to keep similar blood baths from happening again.

Having seen the efficiency of US Homeland Security Piper PA-48 Enforcers, in discouraging and countering insurgents in USA, the Finnish Federal Government commissioned the Government-owned defence and aerospace company Patria to search for similar solutions. They asked for an aircraft that could precisely attack trouble spots, and was economical enough to be fielded in large numbers. As a result of the studies, Patria acquired the rights for series production of the Heston line of military aircraft. For the task at hand, they designed and produced a modernized version of the Heston Basilisk, the Patria LX-115, with some modern materials and a turboprop engine. In later production runs, the LX-115 was upgraded with glass cockpit, sensors for all weather operation, missile integration and counter-measures.

In line with naming other domestically produced military vehicles, the nickname of the new COIN aircraft is a description worked into an abreviation: Lepakko, or "Bat". LEPAKKO comes from "LEntokone, PAtria, Kapinan Kukistaja": "Aircraft, PAtria, Counter-Rebellion"... and, as there are not that many ways to end a proper Finnish word, an "O" was added for good measure.

[perttime]

The Finnish Federation Border Guard is a military organisation with limited police authority. In addition to border control, its duties include assisting other authorities in whatever emergencies may arise. With the long borders and vast wilderness areas, the Border Guard saw a need for more aircraft to cover all the land and water that they were responsible for. Preferably, it should be something that could see well, and deal with any minor issues right there and then. When the Lepakko was selected for service with the Army, the Border Guard enquired about modifications for their particular needs. The needs were relatively easy to fulfill: another set of optoelectronic sensors, and more internal fuel which the aircraft can carry without problems while only light weapons loads are used. Initially, 60 more aircraft, with designation "Patria LX-117", were added to Patria's to-do list.

Typically, "Leppas" operate as outriders for larger Border Guard patrol aircraft like Dornier Do-228 or SAAB 340. The aircraft are networked, so that any aircraft in the patrol can see what everybody else is seeing. Border Guard "Leppas" usually carry a light mix of air-to-ground and air-to-air missiles on wing pylons, in addition to the 20 mm guns at wing roots. Additional fuel or a recce pod is sometimes carried on the center line. The aircraft retain wing stations for more stores but they are mainly considered a precaution, in case the Border Guard ever needs to integrate with war-fighting forces for large scale action.

Leppa? That's LEntokone, Patria, PArtio, or "Aircraft, Patria, Patrol". Also, a fitting (nick)name for a bat in Finnish children's books.

In 2012, this particular Patria LX-117 "Leppa" was operating from the Omsk-Severnyj Airbase in the southern part of Yugra, not far from the Kazakhstani border.

[Brian da Basher]

That's one sleek looking machine there, perttime!

Nice work!

Brian da Basher

[Daryl J.]

Woah!   (eyes big in admiration)

[perttime]

I'm glad you like it!
Installing a sufficiently powerful turboprop seemed like a good idea.
The color scheme on the latest one is my best effort to apply the Real-World Rajavartiolaitos colors to this design.

[apophenia]

Love those sickle prop blades too 

[perttime]

The props are my approximation based on some ATR-72 commuter airliner photos.

[perttime]

(note: this post is a duplicate of my Beyond '46 GB post)

On 12 May 1944, the British Air Ministry requested proposals for single seat fighters, powered with a single Rolls-Royce Derwent turbojet. To save time, Heston Aircraft's chief designer George Cornwall based his new design on the successful Basilisk piston-engined fighter (itself developed from the Heston Dragon interceptor).

The piston engine was removed and the jet engine mounted underneath the forward fuselage so that its exhaust exited underneath the middle of the fuselage. The aircraft's nose was recontoured to allow for the engine placement, the armament of four 20 mm guns, and an additional fuel tank. In the tail, the ducting for the radiator of the piston-engined Heston fighters was removed, allowing a slimmer tail cross section. No changes were made to the wings other than the elimination of the air intakes, and reshaping of the front spar to clear the engine. The vertical stabilizer was redesigned to keep its bottom end out of the blast of the engine, and its top part was correspondingly enlarged. To protect the fuselage, a steel heatshield was added to its bottom.

Taxi tests began in November 1944, but the heatshield proved to be too short and the heat from the engine exhaust scorched the surface of the rear fuselage as well as the rubber tire of the tailwheel. Modifications to rectify the problems took until January 1945. The first prototype was ready for flight testing on 11 February, followed by a second one in April.

The tests revealed a number of problems: the engine exhaust damaged the surface of the airfield, the cockpit sometimes filled with smoke from oil that had dripped onto the engine, and the aircraft was short-ranged. However, the aircraft now named "Adder" proved to be easy to fly, and with a top speed of 848 km/h - or 527 mph - it was significantly faster than any propeller driven aircraft. The reshaped nose of the "Adder" also gave the pilot an improved view forward, compared with single-engined propeller fighters.

In July 1945, the Air Ministry ordered 150 Heston Type 9 "Adder" Mk. I fighters which were to be used both operationally and for converting pilots to flying jet aircraft. Only 36 production aircraft were completed to Mk.1 standard, the subsequent ones being upgraded to Mk. II.

[perttime]

Another part for Beyond '46...

Before Adder Mk.I became operational, it was decided that something should - and could - be done about its shortcomings. Heatshielded fuselage bottom and an all-metal tailwheel were adequate to keep the fighter from scorching itself when running the engine on the ground. That only left the problem of setting fire to grass airstrips and melting the tarmac ones. A tricycle landing gear was the obvious solution, and Heston engineers quickly designed a retractable nosewheel, and mainwheels with an altered geometry that put them behind the aircraft's center of gravity. These changes were first tested on the second Adder prototype - and then rushed into production aircraft that were not yet too far finished on the production line. An additional benefit was improved forward visibility during taxiing.

The range of the Adder was adequate for training and point defence purposes but more would have been better for allround fighter performance. The use of tip tanks had already been demonstrated by the US P-80 fighter, and others, and it was decided to make them available on Adder Mk.II. However, it was felt that in many circumstances the additional weight of the tanks would decrease aircraft performance. The solution was to deliver them with both conventional and tank wing tips. Tips tanks could then be fitted - or removed - in operational units, as needed.

Denmark had been looking for a fighter aircraft to replace their Spitfire Mk.IX fighters that were becoming outdated by 1945. In discussions with the British Air Ministry in September 1946, it was discovered that the RAF was willing to let go part of their Adder fighters and focus on the Gloster Meteor. The Royal Danish Air Force received the news with enthusiasm and sent over instructor pilots for conversion to the type. The first eight of 60 Danish Heston Adder Mk.II aircraft landed at Kastrup airport on 21 February 1947, and a conversion course for operational pilots from Eskadrille 725 was started the next day. Danish Adders protected the small country and its surrounding sea areas until 1952 when they were replaced with SAAB 29 aircraft. In that time, they were used to shoot down 164 Soviet aircraft, for the loss of 18 Adders.

[apophenia]

Love your Adder! The Danish example looks especially nice (and it's amazing how much the tip tanks change its appearance).  :)

[perttime]

I think I'll do one more Adder... My eye seems to prefer the taildragger version and there's still some small rarely mentioned European countries on my list.... 

[apophenia]

Agreed on Adder aesthetics. The guys who repaired the tarmac asphalt might have a different viewpoint 

[raafif]

tricycle-gear one for the FAA ??

[perttime]

Agreed on Adder aesthetics. The guys who repaired the tarmac asphalt might have a different viewpoint 

.... or the guys who had to put out the fires on grass strips...

[perttime]

When Lithuania was liberated from six years of Soviet occupation in 1946, most of its Air Force pilots had been serving in Western, mainly British and French, forces. An own Air Force was seen as a necessity for the liberated nation, from both the practical point of view and for building national spirit. For some time Lithuania coped with older fighter models like Spitfire Mk.V and  Avia B.135.

Technology had developed rapidly and the older aircraft did not have the speed and firepower of only a few years later models. The latest fighter aircraft were not easy to get in a time of war, though, and funds were short. In 1948, British Air Ministry informed their Lithuanian counterparts that they would be willing to donate a number of Heston Adder Mk.I jet fighters. With the taildragger landing gear, the Mk.I was hard on airfields but the Lithuanians decided that they would cope.

28 Adders were flown to Kaunas airfield between 17 and 29 October 1948, and Lithuanian fighter pilots and mechanics were soon converted to operating jet fighters. In addition, 15 sets of wing tip tanks were acquired to extend the range of at least some of the aircraft. Inspired by the Norwegian "coastal camo", Lithuania's Air Force decided to paint their aircraft in a two-tone shape-disrupting camouflage scheme.