avatar_Ed S

Autogyro in Vietnam, the AV-3

Started by Ed S, January 17, 2009, 07:02:38 PM

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Ed S

January 17, 2009, 07:02:38 PM
It's the return of the styrene junkyard.  Here is an old Airfix OV-10 that I started many years ago.  But it had some problems and got thrown into the junkbin. It's going to be combined with parts from an ERTL Hokum (yeah, that kit, the fictional two seater....) to make an attack Autogyro from Vietnam.



Ed
We don't just embrace insanity here.  We feel it up, french kiss it and then buy it a drink.

The Rat

#1
January 17, 2009, 08:44:35 PM
Lovin' the gyro concept Ed, a very underdone side of whiffery IMHO.  :thumbsup:
"My mind is a raging torrent, flooded with rivulets of thought, cascading into a waterfall of creative alternatives." Hedley Lamarr, Blazing Saddles

Life is too short to worry about perfection

Youtube: https://tinyurl.com/46dpfdpr

ChernayaAkula

#2
January 20, 2009, 07:57:09 PM
Cool concept! :thumbsup:

Will you use the coaxial rotors or bash the two rotor hubs to make a 6-bladed main rotor?  :wacko:
Cheers,
Moritz

Must, then, my projects bend to the iron yoke of a mechanical system? Is my soaring spirit to be chained down to the snail's pace of matter?

ysi_maniac

#3
January 21, 2009, 06:08:56 AM
Wonderful concept! :thumbsup:
Will die without understanding this world.

Ed S

#4
March 01, 2009, 11:47:09 AM
It's Mar 1:  Let the bashing begin!  Here are the major parts after the first round of surgery.  The tail has been cut off the Hokum.  And the bulges on the side removed.  The OV-10 wings have been shortened.  The vertical tails have been reshaped.  The booms have been trimmed to fit higher on the wing instead of below it as on the Bronco.



Here are a couple shots with the main parts taped together to see how it's going to look.





Ed
We don't just embrace insanity here.  We feel it up, french kiss it and then buy it a drink.

PR19_Kit

#5
March 01, 2009, 12:46:06 PM
Hey Ed, I could have used your wing off-cuts on my CV-10. Saved me hours of filing and sanding! :) :)

That's an amazing concept and well engineered too.

What are you doing about landing gear BTW? The Airfix OV-10 needs its main gear installed before you join the boom halves (daft idea...) but you're obviously going to use something else as the normal gear would be miles too tall.
Kit's Rule 1 ) Any aircraft can be improved by fitting longer wings, and/or a longer fuselage
Kit's Rule 2) The backstory can always be changed to suit the model

...and I'm not a closeted 'Take That' fan, I'm a REAL fan! :)

Regards
Kit

Ed S

#6
March 01, 2009, 01:07:48 PM
Quote from: PR19_Kit on March 01, 2009, 12:46:06 PM
Hey Ed, I could have used your wing off-cuts on my CV-10. Saved me hours of filing and sanding! :) :)

That's an amazing concept and well engineered too.

What are you doing about landing gear BTW? The Airfix OV-10 needs its main gear installed before you join the boom halves (daft idea...) but you're obviously going to use something else as the normal gear would be miles too tall.

This will still have to sit fairly high off the ground for the prop to clear.  I will use the kit L/G with some minor mods.

Ed
We don't just embrace insanity here.  We feel it up, french kiss it and then buy it a drink.

Ed S

#7
April 30, 2009, 08:26:30 PM
Haven't updated this build in a while.  It's been sitting on the back burner while I worked on some other projects.  Most of the major assembly and PSR is now done. 





Ed
We don't just embrace insanity here.  We feel it up, french kiss it and then buy it a drink.

ChernayaAkula

#8
May 01, 2009, 06:29:42 PM
Definitely going in the right direction!  :thumbsup: :bow:
Cheers,
Moritz

Must, then, my projects bend to the iron yoke of a mechanical system? Is my soaring spirit to be chained down to the snail's pace of matter?

John Howling Mouse

#9
May 02, 2009, 11:29:22 AM
Looks very fast, already.  Sounds like a clever idea for VN, too.  Looking forward to more (please!).   :cheers:
Styrene in my blood and an impressive void in my cranium.

Ed S

#10
June 01, 2009, 08:32:50 AM
I haven't updated in a few days, but it looks like I will finish for the 1 June deadline.  Here are some pics with a coat of paint on it.  And then with the decals.  I just need to add some details and weathering which I should finish today.









Ed
We don't just embrace insanity here.  We feel it up, french kiss it and then buy it a drink.

Weaver

#11
June 01, 2009, 10:20:46 AM
Damn that's looking good - Nice one ed!  :thumbsup:
"Things need not have happened to be true. Tales and dreams are the shadow-truths that will endure when mere facts are dust and ashes, and forgot."
 - Sandman: A Midsummer Night's Dream, by Neil Gaiman

"I dunno, I'm making this up as I go."
 - Indiana Jones

Ed S

#12
June 01, 2009, 12:33:45 PM
Unhappy with the Air Force's insistence that it could provide CAS with its fast mover jets and frustrated by the Air Force blocking all attempts to get their own organic light fixed wing a/c, the US Army realized by the early 1960's that the only solution was to find a rotary winged a/c that could preform the CAS mission.  Even with the newer turboshaft engines, the helicopter's performance wasn't satisfactory for the CAS mission.  As they explored alternatives, Bell-Cierva offered them an advanced autogyro that could meet their performance specs.  The result was the AV-3 Crow, the world's first turboprop driven autogyro.  With short fixed wings that could unload the rotor at high speed, the AV-3 was the fastest rotary winged a/c in the world and could achieve speeds in excess of 250kts.  With the capability of carrying up to 3000lb of ordnance plus two 20mm cannon in the nose, it was highly manuverable and had better range and loiter time than a helicopter for the same mission.  Althought not capable of a true hover, the Crow did have a clutch driven rotor that could be run up to speed by the engine, allowing extremely short take off runs.  Widely used by the US Army during the 60's and 70"s, the AV-3 were finally retired in 1981. The USMC and a number of foreign operators also found the AV-3 met their needs as well and it proved a major sales winner for Bell-Cierva. In addition to its role in CAS, the AV-3 was used for FAC, Artillery spotting, battlefield recce, and laison missions.

Some photos











Ed
We don't just embrace insanity here.  We feel it up, french kiss it and then buy it a drink.

The Rat

#13
June 01, 2009, 01:13:06 PM
AWESOME!  :wub: :thumbsup: :cheers:
"My mind is a raging torrent, flooded with rivulets of thought, cascading into a waterfall of creative alternatives." Hedley Lamarr, Blazing Saddles

Life is too short to worry about perfection

Youtube: https://tinyurl.com/46dpfdpr

frank2056

#14
June 01, 2009, 02:03:58 PM
That looks great, Ed! Your builds always have that surprise reveal where the end results aren't what most people (at least me) expected.
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