G-VTOL?

[PR19_Kit]

I'd come to the same conclusion Mossie, I reckon G-VTOL's big tanks WERE the ones from G-APUX!  Adding the four fins wouldn't be all that difficult to a company the size of H-S

After all both aircraft were company owned and by the time H-S built G-VTOL G-APUX had long gone, sold to Chile I believe. Thanks for the offer but I have more tanks than I have socks at the moment.  

[Thorvic]

maybe one for Freightdog as Harriers did use the ferry tanks including the GR3's in Operation Corporate, so would be ideal for the new Airfix kits as well as the recent Sword ones

[PR19_Kit]

How big a tank though? Colin already does the 200 gall versions, I have two packs of them in my Harrier Project box.

[kitnut617]

I'll have to get some more of those myself Kit, I've got one set sometime ago but those are for another project.  (light comes on) Mind you, I did buy an ExtaKit FA.2 the other week becuase 1. it was cheap 2. because I needed to get to the minimum order value    but it has a pair of 200 Gal tanks too --

[PR19_Kit]

I'll have to get some more of those myself Kit, I've got one set sometime ago but those are for another project.  (light comes on) Mind you, I did buy an ExtaKit FA.2 the other week becuase 1. it was cheap 2. because I needed to get to the minimum order value    but it has a pair of 200 Gal tanks too --

Does that kit come from Sword originally too?

[kitnut617]

I'll have to get some more of those myself Kit, I've got one set sometime ago but those are for another project.  (light comes on) Mind you, I did buy an ExtaKit FA.2 the other week becuase 1. it was cheap 2. because I needed to get to the minimum order value    but it has a pair of 200 Gal tanks too --

Does that kit come from Sword originally too?

Box says manufactured by MPM Kit.  I'll have a look at the sprues later and see if it looks the same layout of the T.2/4

[Captain Canada]

It comes with an extra canopy as well, as apparently one of them is wrong. Which is fine by me...the more junk in the spares box, the merrier !

[rickshaw]

What this thread has brought home to me again is how unique each aircraft type actually is.  I'd have thought a standardised set of drop tanks in various capacities would have been developed  a long, long time ago.  However it seems unique ones kept being developed for each and every aircraft.

[PR19_Kit]

Didn't Douglas develop the Aero A1 tank shape for the Skyhawk, and it was made in various sizes for all sorts of USN types after that?

I've been spending an hour or so scaling photos and stuff and come to the conclusion that the Hunter tanks with an additional 7mm length, plus the four fins, will do the job for G-VTOL's big tanks. One of the plans is very misleading in that it says it shows 330 gallon tanks but I worked out the volume from the drawing and it's almost 400!

[rickshaw]

Perhaps the problem was a weight rather than a volume limitation on that pylon?

Yeah, the Aero Tank would be the way to go but I can't think of anything other than the Skyhawk that carried it.  Mmm, perhaps the Skyraider?  It had bit tanks which were a similar shape to the Skyhawk's...

[jcf]

Douglas used the aero series stores designs on numerous types and in all sorts of proposals,
like the F3D-3:

[kitnut617]

I'll have to get some more of those myself Kit, I've got one set sometime ago but those are for another project.  (light comes on) Mind you, I did buy an ExtaKit FA.2 the other week becuase 1. it was cheap 2. because I needed to get to the minimum order value    but it has a pair of 200 Gal tanks too --

Does that kit come from Sword originally too?

Box says manufactured by MPM Kit.  I'll have a look at the sprues later and see if it looks the same layout of the T.2/4

Did a comparison last night, there's no resemblance between the parts in the two kits, XtraKit Sea Harrier has very soft details to the parts, while the two trainers are really quite good. The Trainers have a single piece top half to the wing, the XtraKit SHAR has separate wing halves and have the plug in tabs for connecting to the fuselage. Completely different.

The Sword kits have three different fins, one would solve the Airfix new tool GR.3 fin problem (sorry Colin), they have a variety on noses too.

[Captain Canada]

I'll have to look in the Sword boxes tonite. I only recall 2 fins but three sounds nice !



Also have to keep an eye on the ferry tank talk that started all this. I want to do one of my GR.1s as an OCU type, in a cross country excercise with 4 tanks. That's why I was wondering about the centreline tank.

On that note, if you were going to operate your Harrier in  strictly conventional flight, then would a centreline tank be feasible ?

[PR19_Kit]

The re-released Sword T4/4N has all three fins for sure, I just checked.

Carrying a centre-line fuel tank on any first generation Harrier is a big no-no, at least in the real world.

The centre-line rack is used for recce pods and baggage pods and rarely for bombs as well, but NEVER for fuel tanks. a) It's not plumbed for fuel and b) it'd be ruddy dangerous with all the ultra hot gas whizzing around it during VSTOL operations.

[sandiego89]

Didn't Douglas develop the Aero A1 tank shape for the Skyhawk, and it was made in various sizes for all sorts of USN types after that?

. One of the plans is very misleading in that it says it shows 330 gallon tanks but I worked out the volume from the drawing and it's almost 400!

Be carfull about volume, as sometimes the whole shape may not hold fuel, especially the nose cone and tail area.  So the 330 might be accurate.

Attacksquadron from Poland does a Douglas/A-4 300 gallon tank set, and yes I believe it was used by other airframes as well.  Looks like a nice kit and available from white ensign.  Looks like the the buddy kit in there as well??  https://www.whiteensignmodels.com/product-search/Attack+Squadron/1/

Dave