Hawker-PAC 'Turbo Fury'; FAA 'N287FS', operated by Flight Systems Inc.; 1984

[Dizzyfugu]

Part trois of the Turbo Fury saga... 

1:72 Hawker-PAC 'Turbo Fury'; FAA registration 'N287FS', operated by Flight Systems Inc. and used during USAF fly-off trials; Edwards Air Base, 1984 (Whif/PM Model kit conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Some background:
The origins of the Turbo Fury reach back to 1943, when the piston-driven Hawker Sea Fury's development was formally initiated in response to a wartime requirement of the RAF.

As the Second World War drew to a close, the RAF cancelled their order for the aircraft. However, the Royal Navy saw the type as a suitable carrier aircraft to replace a range of increasingly obsolete or poorly suited aircraft being operated by the Fleet Air Arm. Development of the Sea Fury proceeded, and the type began entering operational service in 1947.

1:72 Hawker-PAC 'Turbo Fury'; FAA registration 'N287FS', operated by Flight Systems Inc. and used during USAF fly-off trials; Edwards Air Base, 1984 (Whif/PM Model kit conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Hawker-PAC 'Turbo Fury'; FAA registration 'N287FS', operated by Flight Systems Inc. and used during USAF fly-off trials; Edwards Air Base, 1984 (Whif/PM Model kit conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


The Sea Fury had many design similarities to Hawker's preceding Tempest fighter, but the Sea Fury was a considerably lighter aircraft. Both the Sea Fury's wings and fuselage originated from the Tempest but were significantly modified and redesigned.

The Sea Fury attracted international orders as both a carrier and land-based aircraft; it was operated by countries including Australia, Burma, Canada, Cuba, Egypt, West Germany, Iraq, and Pakistan. The Sea Fury was retired by the majority of its military operators in the late 1950s in favour of jet-propelled aircraft. One of the largest export customers for the type, Pakistan, went a different way.

A total of 87 new-build Sea Furies were purchased and delivered to Pakistan between 1950 and 1952, but some ex-FAA and Iraqi Sea Furies were also subsequently purchased.

1:72 Hawker-PAC 'Turbo Fury'; FAA registration 'N287FS', operated by Flight Systems Inc. and used during USAF fly-off trials; Edwards Air Base, 1984 (Whif/PM Model kit conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Hawker-PAC 'Turbo Fury'; FAA registration 'N287FS', operated by Flight Systems Inc. and used during USAF fly-off trials; Edwards Air Base, 1984 (Whif/PM Model kit conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


The Sea Fury began to be replaced by the jet-powered North American F-86 Sabre in 1955, but it became quickly clear that the Sabre was primarily a fighter, not a ground attack aircraft. It also lacked adequate performance in 'hot and high' operation theatres, and the PAF's B-57 bombers were too big for certain CAS tasks, and their number highly limited.

Hence the decision was taken to modernize a part of the PAF Sea Fury fleet for the ground attack role. This was to be achieved with a better engine that would deliver more power, a better overall performance as well as an extended range for prolonged loiter times close to the potential battlefield.

1:72 Hawker-PAC 'Turbo Fury'; FAA registration 'N287FS', operated by Flight Systems Inc. and used during USAF fly-off trials; Edwards Air Base, 1984 (Whif/PM Model kit conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Hawker-PAC 'Turbo Fury'; FAA registration 'N287FS', operated by Flight Systems Inc. and used during USAF fly-off trials; Edwards Air Base, 1984 (Whif/PM Model kit conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


Engine choice fell on the Allison T56 turboshaft engine, which had originally been developed for the C-130 Hercules transporter (later also installed in the P-3 and E-2) - the type had just been bought by the PAF, so that low maintenance cost due to parts and infrastructure commonality was expected. Pakistan Aeronautical Complex (commonly abbreviated 'PAC') was tasked to develop a suitable update, and this lead to the integration of a turboprop engine into the Sea Fury airframe.

For the relatively small Sea Fury airframe the T56 was downrated to 3.000 hp, to which approximately 750 lbs of thrust from its exhaust could be added. The latter was bifurcated and ran along the fuselage flanks, ending in fairings at the wings' trailing edge. In order to cope with the additional power, the original five-bladed propeller had to be replaced by a six-bladed, indigenously developed propeller. Together with the more pointed spinner and the raised propeller position, the Sea Fury's profile changed dramatically, even though the good field of view for the pilot was retained. Officially, the modified machines were just called 'Sea Fury FB.61', inofficially they were called 'Turbo Furies' or  'وایلار' (Urdu: Wailer), for their characteristic, penetrating engine and propeller sound.

1:72 Hawker-PAC 'Turbo Fury'; FAA registration 'N287FS', operated by Flight Systems Inc. and used during USAF fly-off trials; Edwards Air Base, 1984 (Whif/PM Model kit conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Hawker-PAC 'Turbo Fury'; FAA registration 'N287FS', operated by Flight Systems Inc. and used during USAF fly-off trials; Edwards Air Base, 1984 (Whif/PM Model kit conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


Internally, structural reinforcements had to be made and new wing spars were introduced. These allowed higher g forces for low level maneuvers and also carried additional ordnance hardpoints under the outer wings - these enabled the aircraft to carry HVARs of American origin and/or several small caliber bombs instead of only a single pair of up to 1.000 lb (454 kg) caliber.

The last piston engine Sea Furies in Pakistani service were ultimately retired in 1960, while the Turbo Fury fleet was used throughout the 1965 India-Pakistan War. After the end of hostilities, the 'Turbo Furies' were quickly phased out since it had become clear that they had become too vulnerable in battlefield conditions.

1:72 Hawker-PAC 'Turbo Fury'; FAA registration 'N287FS', operated by Flight Systems Inc. and used during USAF fly-off trials; Edwards Air Base, 1984 (Whif/PM Model kit conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Hawker-PAC 'Turbo Fury'; FAA registration 'N287FS', operated by Flight Systems Inc. and used during USAF fly-off trials; Edwards Air Base, 1984 (Whif/PM Model kit conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


Some of these machines were sold to Thailand, though, where it served with the Royal Thai Marine Corps (นาวิกโยธินแห่งราชอาณาจักรไทย) in the CAS role and saw frequent use: The Chanthaburi and Trat borders with Cambodia gave the Marine Corps Department its first assignment, safeguarding the coastline and southeastern border. Since 1970 the Marine Corps' Chanthaburi-Trat Task Force had been officially assigned the defense of this area.

During 1972 and 1973, Thai Marines were involved in the "Sam-Chai" anti-communist operations in Phetchabun Province and the "Pha-Phum" anti-communist operations in Chiang Rai Province. In 1973 and 1974, they took part in anti-communist operations in the southern provinces of Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat. After ten years of frequent and successful use, the end of the Thai TurBo Furies came - the type was retired in late 1975. Two specimen were sold into the USA to Flight Systems Inc., where the machines were de-militarized and modified to be used as fast low-level target tugs.

Still, the aircraft would see a late career for the USAF, even though only an indirect one - and ironically against another WWII veteran reincarnation! In 1971 Piper Aircraft Corp. at Lakeland, Florida, built for the USAF's PAVE COIN programm (calling for a simple aircraft tailored to the ground attack role for small armies) two Piper Enforcers by heavily modifying two existing P-51 Mustang aircraft and fitting them with Lycoming T55-L9A turboprop engines, along with numerous other significant modifications.

1:72 Hawker-PAC 'Turbo Fury'; FAA registration 'N287FS', operated by Flight Systems Inc. and used during USAF fly-off trials; Edwards Air Base, 1984 (Whif/PM Model kit conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Hawker-PAC 'Turbo Fury'; FAA registration 'N287FS', operated by Flight Systems Inc. and used during USAF fly-off trials; Edwards Air Base, 1984 (Whif/PM Model kit conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


Prior to the PAVE COIN evaluation, N202PE was lost in a crash off the Florida Coast. Although the Enforcer performed well in PAVE COIN, Piper failed to secure a United States Air Force contract. Anyway, Piper kept on lobbying Congress for another 8 years to force the USAF to officially re-evaluate the Enforcer.

Eventually in the 1979 defense bill $11.9 million was allocated for Piper to build two new prototypes and for the USAF to perform another flight evaluation. Since the Enforcer was never in the Air Force inventory, it was not given an official military designation and did not receive an Air Force serial number. Instead, it carries the Piper designation PA-48 and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) registration numbers N481PE and N482PE.

During 1983 and 1984 the PA-48s were pitted against several "modern" jets at 1984 at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida and Edwards Air Force Base, California. Beyond 'state of the art' competirion,  the USAF wanted a direct competitor - and found Flight Systems Inc's Turbo Furies. One of these, aircraft N287FS, was leased in 1981 and revamped to military status in order to act as a further benchnmark and as aggressor.

1:72 Hawker-PAC 'Turbo Fury'; FAA registration 'N287FS', operated by Flight Systems Inc. and used during USAF fly-off trials; Edwards Air Base, 1984 (Whif/PM Model kit conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Hawker-PAC 'Turbo Fury'; FAA registration 'N287FS', operated by Flight Systems Inc. and used during USAF fly-off trials; Edwards Air Base, 1984 (Whif/PM Model kit conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


By the time the machine had already undergone some major modifications, including an ejection seat for the pilot and a new five-bladed propeller plus exhaust dampers in order to minimize the machine's distinctive, penetrating noise.
Further modifications saw the re-installment of armament, including wing hardpoints and the respective wiring, as well as adding four 20mm cannon, this time domestic Pontiac M39A1 revolver cannon - easily recognizable through the longer gun barrels that protruded from the wings' leading edge.

1:72 Hawker-PAC 'Turbo Fury'; FAA registration 'N287FS', operated by Flight Systems Inc. and used during USAF fly-off trials; Edwards Air Base, 1984 (Whif/PM Model kit conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


During the two years of evaluation the revamped Turbo Fury fared well, while its sister ship remained in the target tug role - and it was the only machine to survive, since N287FS crashed on 8th of August 1984 at Eglin AB due to hydraulic failure, with the pilot escaping securely thanks to the new ejection seat.



General characteristics:
    Crew: One
    Length: 36 ft 2 in (11.05 m)
    Wingspan: 38 ft 43⁄4 in (11.69 m)
    Height: 15 ft 101⁄2 in (4.84 m)
    Wing area: 280 ft2 (26.01 m2)
    Empty weight: 10.500 lb (4.767 kg)
    Loaded weight: 14,100 lb (6.400 kg)
    Max. takeoff weight: 15,650 lb (7.105 kg)

Powerplant:
    1× Allison T56 turboshaft engine rated at 2.206 kW (3.000 hp) plus 750 lbs of residual thrust

Performance:
    Maximum speed: 490 mph (427 knots, 790 km/h) at 18,000 ft (5,500 m)
    Range: 700 mi (609 nmi, 1,126 km) with internal fuel;
               1,040 mi (904 nmi, 1,674 km) with two drop tanks
    Service ceiling: 35,800 ft (10,910 m)
    Rate of climb: 4,320 ft/min (21.9 m/s)

Armament:
    4× 20 mm (0.787 in) Pontiac M39A1 revolver cannon
    Eight underwing hardpoints for an external load of 4.000 lb (1.814 kg),
    including bombs, unguided rockets, napalm tanks or drop tanks



The kit and its assembly:
Turbo Fury V3.0, spinning forth the initial fictional background story of this whif conversion. The combination of a WWII figher design and a C-130 Hercules sounds unlikely, but that's what I built. The idea of revamped piston-engine aircraft for a post-WWII-use has its charm and continually brings forth impressive designs, like the real world Piper PA-48.

Inspiration came with a set of 1:72 aftermarket C-130J resin engine nacelles from OzMods, which I had bunkered a while ago. This time the engine was mated again to the single seater kit from Pioneer2/PM Models. The Hercules engines are an almost perfect fit - the original fuselage just had to be cut away behind the original exhaust reflectors. Some sculpting had to be done on both sides, and the wing roots filled up in order to match the new, more narrow engine, but things went really smoothly.

1:72 Hawker-PAC 'Turbo Fury'; FAA registration 'N287FS', operated by Flight Systems Inc. and used during USAF fly-off trials; Edwards Air Base, 1984 (Whif/PM Model kit conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


This time, the Turbo Fury was to have a more modern touch - we are in the 80ies now. So I decided to use the original C-130 sickle blades that come with the OzMods conversion kit, even though I only used five of them instead of six (the spinner was modified accordingly). Another idea was to conceal the original exhaust pipes under the cockpit - I scratched dampers with intakes that would muffle engine sound and mix the hot gases with fresh air. These break up the sleek lines of the Fury, but I think that this installation makes sense, also as a potential survival measure that reduces the aircraft's IR signature?

1:72 Hawker-PAC 'Turbo Fury'; FAA registration 'N287FS', operated by Flight Systems Inc. and used during USAF fly-off trials; Edwards Air Base, 1984 (Whif/PM Model kit conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Hawker-PAC 'Turbo Fury'; FAA registration 'N287FS', operated by Flight Systems Inc. and used during USAF fly-off trials; Edwards Air Base, 1984 (Whif/PM Model kit conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Hawker-PAC 'Turbo Fury'; FAA registration 'N287FS', operated by Flight Systems Inc. and used during USAF fly-off trials; Edwards Air Base, 1984 (Whif/PM Model kit conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


Otherwise, only little things were changed. In the cockpit a new seat and a dashboard cover were added. The underwing hardpoints were new, too, and I added some antennae for a more modern and purposeful look. All pylons are new, and the bomb ordnance was puzzled together from the spares box, including four Rockeye CBUs from an Italeri F-16, an camera pod (from an Italeri F-18, IIRC) and a single ACMI pod from an Italeri F-21.

1:72 Hawker-PAC 'Turbo Fury'; FAA registration 'N287FS', operated by Flight Systems Inc. and used during USAF fly-off trials; Edwards Air Base, 1984 (Whif/PM Model kit conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Hawker-PAC 'Turbo Fury'; FAA registration 'N287FS', operated by Flight Systems Inc. and used during USAF fly-off trials; Edwards Air Base, 1984 (Whif/PM Model kit conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


Painting and markings:
Piper's PA-48 was a bit of inspiration for this build, and I wanted the final Turbo Fury to be an American aircraft. USAF use would have been unlikely, though, but a private operator like Flight Systems Inc. (Which also operated F-86 as target tugs!) opened a new opportunity, as well as the historic trials of the PA-48 in the early 80ies.

Well, how to paint the Turbo Fury? An early idea had been a simple, all Gunship Grey aircraft with low-viz markings, but I eventually settled for the contemporary "USMC Land Scheme", applied to helicopters (AH-1, CH-46) and some of the USMC's OA-10. On a classic airframe like the Sea Fury's it would look totally anachronistic - but for an aggressor and test aircraft? Why not?

1:72 Hawker-PAC 'Turbo Fury'; FAA registration 'N287FS', operated by Flight Systems Inc. and used during USAF fly-off trials; Edwards Air Base, 1984 (Whif/PM Model kit conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


This wraparound scheme consists of grey, green and black - I used FS 35237 (Humbrol 145), FS 34097 (Humbrol 105) and FS 37038 (Humbrol 85, slightly lightened with some Humbrol 32 Dark Grey). The cockpit interior was kept in dark gray, the landing gear is in Aluminum, just like on the former builds of this series.

As per usual the kit received a light black ink wash and some dry painting that emphasizes the panel lines.

Decals were puzzled together from the scrap box, with some typical US markings and modern stencils.

1:72 Hawker-PAC 'Turbo Fury'; FAA registration 'N287FS', operated by Flight Systems Inc. and used during USAF fly-off trials; Edwards Air Base, 1984 (Whif/PM Model kit conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Hawker-PAC 'Turbo Fury'; FAA registration 'N287FS', operated by Flight Systems Inc. and used during USAF fly-off trials; Edwards Air Base, 1984 (Whif/PM Model kit conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Hawker-PAC 'Turbo Fury'; FAA registration 'N287FS', operated by Flight Systems Inc. and used during USAF fly-off trials; Edwards Air Base, 1984 (Whif/PM Model kit conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr




Even though the paint finish turned out to look a bit more worn than initially intended, I am very happy with the result of this "Final Turbo Fury", esp. with its modern details. It looks rather odd and purposeful! And there's still one Hercules engine left... maybe a forth Turbo Fury might come forth, in the hands of another obscure operator's hands.

[zenrat]

Great model and excellent pictures as always.

Maybe No.4 would be a retired military plane given a new life as a racer?

[PR19_Kit]

What a MONSTER prop! 

But it suits the application of course. 

That camo is so good you almost see the aircraft at all. 

[Dizzyfugu]

Thank you. Fourth engie ist still available - one idea I curently have is to build N287FS's sister ship, which remained a target tug aircraft. A typical all-white livery with a blue cheatline should look nice, and simply "different"? But that's not settled yet.

The paint finish is under par, though, because the acrylic varnish suddenly became cloudy and white - I tried to repair that, but you still see the flaws esp. on the black paint, esp. on the wings... 

Still, the thing looks odd enough - and the five-bladed prop really makes a difference. Six blades would have been over the top, but this here is IMHO enough to look plausible? This thing screams "bad news"! 

[Captain Canada]

Beauty ! Love the big prop and the camo is sweet ! Almost looks like a P-47 in one of the in-progress. pics.

[NARSES2]

Love it, especially like others the prop 

[nighthunter]

Hey Dizzy, why not Ireland, for the next TurboFury?