TOPIC: New Models for 2020

Some progress with the shapely F-11 Tiger. Perusing old photos enabled me to get some idea of how the real one looked:




I began sheeting the nose, tail and the area around the air intakes. You will remember Steve's bon mot of my building technique: "sticking together various bits of balsa and then removing everything that isn't aeroplane shaped". And that's basically how I proceeded:



I take care over the shape of the nose; even more so the fuselage profile at the rear end, where I glue on a template (which is removed later):




The rear end is quite a subtle shape (the afterburner nozzle is within this) and took a couple of goes to get looking even 'half right.
Excess sheet balsa will be removed after the addition of the fin and tailplane.
Now for the all-important aiir intakes: get those wrong and the model is compromised.

To wrap the intakes with A grain or plank them that is the question? Looking good still.

My flying chum Pete Sanders has been busy building up his stock of free flight models during lockdown including this Skyleada Comet 1 for Rapier L2HP from a Vintage Model Company kit, covered in tissue and sprayed with Humbrol Aluminium Shade Acrylic to represent the prototype aircraft.

Roger comments: it's so good modellers are spending their time profitably. Some years back Andy Blackwell campaigned the larger Comet, which he powered with a genuine Jetex 100. It flew beautifully - very smoothly, just like the real thing. I hope Pete's goes as well. I hope Pete may have a problem finding a good Rapier L-2 HP ... a Tender L-2L may be a better option for a nice smooth passenger friendly sortie!

It's good to see all the building going on .... let us hope that when we are finally allowed out to play the weather will be as good as it is at the moment (oh please, please, pretty please).

I've made slow progress with the F-11 Tiger; as is the way with these sorts of shapely fuselage, the build turned into something of a 'stringer-fest', and I had to take care that the 1/16" stringers were not too unevenly spaced.









The air intakes need gluing in place (note I've painted to orifices - it's messy doing this later, and I have yet to make cut outs for the wing, tailplane and fin and add the nose block. The trough is lined with 1/32" balsa (which makes replacing any foil easier). The weight at this juncture is a little over 14 grams .... not too bad.

I don't think I'll be adding any cockpit detail, so this area will be left flat.

The wing section of the real thing was quite thin, so I need to make a decision on the aerofoil before starting the 'one piece' wing. Thin wings on models are prone to warp!

I hadn't realised it was quite such a shapely beast, very nice.

It's been quite quiet on the building thread, but from my email correspondence I know people have been busy - if not with building, then with flying.
I was not happy with my F-11 Tiger fuselage - there were too many compromises in the building and the shape of the air intakes - though faithful to the Russian drawings I was using, just didn't look 'right':



so I did what I should have done initially, which is to make my own drawings (with more formers), working with the many photos out there on the Internet. The photos, of course, show different marques of the aeroplane, so you do have to be careful, but it was possible to end up with something that (at last!) didn't look too different from the 'real thing'':









You will note the (many) extra formers. The sheet on the fuselage sides will be cut out to that a thin 'one piece' wing can be slid through, and there is a slot for the fin. The trough is large enough to take a Tender L-2L . At this point it weighs a tad over 15 grams - not too bad.

Next: nose block and canopy before starting on the wings.