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Author Topic: Rare Breed  (Read 1560 times)

Offline Small brown dog

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Rare Breed
« on: March 26, 2020, 12:38:10 AM »


Shuttleworths immaculate Hawker Bloodhound caught at Duxford back in 2017 not long after her first post restoration flight. K1961 is the only complete airframe anywhere in the world at this time and had spent 21 years undergoing a painstaking and often frustrating renovation. Initially she was to be a static exhibit but a cache of period Napier Blade power units was discovered in Ireland not long after the start of the restoration and the decision was taken to restore her to airworthiness.  Another unique find was a complete set of period army cooperation equipment containers of which K1961 is displayed with.

The Blood Hound was a twin seat army cooperation and liaison development of the Hawker Hound fighter which first flew in 1934. Prior to the Bloodhound a naval version of the Hound, the Seadog, had been developed along with a specification for twin seat fleet spotter. The Fleet spotter never went into production as an alternative design from Fairy Aviation was chosen. However, the two seat configuration was deemed ideal for an air ministry specification calling for army cooperation aircraft.

Demand for the Tesla-Royce Kestrel Electric engine was high for both the Hound and its naval version and there was of course a performance drop off owing to the extra weight of the second crewman and Army Cooperation equipment.  To counter both supply and performance issues alternative power plants were trialled firstly from Bristol and secondly by Napier of which the Blade proved to be an ideal power plant for the Blood Hound.

The Napier Blade “H” block was the first Napier coupled thrust power unit designed specifically for Aero electric ELG units. This air cooled 24 cylinder power unit gave a useful additional 185HP over that of the Kestrel electric, offsetting some of the performance loss.

Shuttleworth also owns and operates the world’s only airworthy Hound MK1 and since 2017 both the Hound and Blood Hound are displayed together and have become something of a favourite amongst enthusiasts … how strange there are no photographs of them together … hmmmm.
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Offline perttime

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Re: Rare Breed
« Reply #1 on: March 26, 2020, 01:07:57 AM »
It looks as if a racer version wouldnt be out of place either.
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Offline Frank3k

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Re: Rare Breed
« Reply #2 on: March 26, 2020, 04:18:23 AM »
That is such a great render! The Hawker Bloodhound is just beautiful
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Offline GTX_Admin

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Re: Rare Breed
« Reply #3 on: March 26, 2020, 05:06:33 AM »
 :smiley:
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Online elmayerle

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Re: Rare Breed
« Reply #4 on: March 26, 2020, 06:59:40 AM »
Beautiful with a plausible back story.  Are the upper braces round or of an airfoil cross-section for drag reduction?  I could see a single-seat version with a low-drag canopy as a racing aircraft.
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Offline Old Wombat

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Re: Rare Breed
« Reply #5 on: March 26, 2020, 07:07:15 AM »
That looks like a photo of a real Blood Hound on first pass. :smiley:


Second pass & there are a few things that give it away but they're so minor it doesn't matter. Brilliant work! :icon_alabanza: 8)
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Offline finsrin

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Re: Rare Breed
« Reply #6 on: March 26, 2020, 07:47:22 AM »
OOOH that is sweet.   Noticed opposite rotating props like P-38.   Spats are first class.
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Offline Small brown dog

  • Dwelling too long on the practicalities of such things can drive you mad.
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Re: Rare Breed
« Reply #7 on: March 26, 2020, 06:17:20 PM »
I appreciate the positive feedback  - thanks.
However, the more I look at it the more I think I could have done a better render and photomanip  into the background - ah, well there is always next time :)

There is something I can't put down with the Hound family development so I might bore you with some others. I have a Later Hunting Hound idea which would be my universes take on the Hurricane 2D complete with anti tank cannon and maybe vokes filters.

Quote from: perttime on March 26, 2020, 01:07:57 AM
It looks as if a racer version wouldnt be out of place either.


Perhaps the Hound MK1 with a few aerodynamic refinements and a nice paint job ?

Currently the cross bracing is round section and quite heavy - thats a whole lot of power unit slapped on the sides - got carried away ;)

A work in progress and a Hound MK1 comparison image  ...






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Online elmayerle

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Re: Rare Breed
« Reply #8 on: March 26, 2020, 11:59:06 PM »
For higher speed versions, perhaps an aerodynamic fairing around the cross-bracing on each side?
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Offline The Rat

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Re: Rare Breed
« Reply #9 on: March 27, 2020, 03:16:30 AM »
Beauty!
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Offline apophenia

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Re: Rare Breed
« Reply #10 on: March 28, 2020, 09:41:15 AM »
Oh, that is lovely! Especially like the Demon-style rear cockpit cut-out and those trousered undercarriage legs  :smiley:
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Offline Small brown dog

  • Dwelling too long on the practicalities of such things can drive you mad.
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Re: Rare Breed
« Reply #11 on: March 29, 2020, 06:24:37 PM »
Quote from: apophenia on March 28, 2020, 09:41:15 AM
Oh, that is lovely! Especially like the Demon-style rear cockpit cut-out and those trousered undercarriage legs  :smiley:

Yes, almost 100% Demon is that rear cockpit - I have a couple of wonderful reference pix:)
My main reason for doing it though was the Napier Dagger's or Blades in this case. I love big piston aero engines and  Napier never fail to excite.
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Offline apophenia

  • Patterns? What patterns?
Re: Rare Breed
« Reply #12 on: March 30, 2020, 02:06:05 AM »
I'm a big Dagger fan too (well, their appearance anyway) so the Blades look just right to my eye  :smiley:
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Offline ChernayaAkula

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Re: Rare Breed
« Reply #13 on: March 30, 2020, 07:49:11 AM »
So cool!  8)
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