The Last F.A.R.T. !

[Gondor]

The Last F.A.R.T

The last F.A.R.T. was the surviving aircraft of a short production run of Drone helicopter targets used by the UK Services. The Lynx D.12 was the winner of a little known requirement issued in the mid eighties, for a "Fast Airborne Rotary Target" to tow a gunnery banner or carrying various ECM pods enabling it to act as a hostile target/missile for various sections of the armed forces. The fact that it was a helicopter allowed the Drone to operate from various locations including ships and it's various unique aerial manoeuvrers inherent in its basic design as a helicopter enabled the resulting drone to be a difficult target for all types of gunners trying to shoot at it.
The six airframes that were re-manufactured to D.12 standard were all early naval aircraft which had been replaced by newer versions but still had quite a lot of hours left on the airframe. Various enhancements were included as well as the multi channel full axis drone flight control system, such as the BURP BERP blades to assist in the manoeuvrability and speed of the aircraft.

More to come as I think it up 


Anyway, construction has started. I don;t want to get too far too quickly as you can see from the picture below that the plastic is a deep blue and the colour scheme is a nice bright red and yellow so I need to prime this one rather thoroughly.



More to come.

Gondor

[Scooterman]

Can't wait for this one!

[Rheged]

The English Electric Eructator was the  unsuccessful competitor in this contract. Fitted with BEL-CH, (Bichannel  Engine Load-Checking Helps)  the   SBD  (Small Batch Drone) was rejected as emitting too many noxious miasmas.

[Tophe]

I came smiling, unsure    (English is not my mother language)... but you are so serious (almost), I had to check the meaning of fart.
Google Translate confirmed my smile, saying this is like "go phut", "wallop". This is enriching my English vocabulary, about what is important in life: I mean Helicopters...

[loupgarou]

I came smiling, unsure    (English is not my mother language)... but you are so serious (almost), I had to check the meaning of fart.
Google Translate confirmed my smile, saying this is like "go phut", "wallop". This is enriching my English vocabulary, about what is important in life: I mean Helicopters...

Well no, the french equivalent would be pet (official definition: Gaz intestinal qui sort de l'anus avec bruit.).   

[Tophe]

Yes, this is what Google Translate told me, but this does not speak to our English-speaking friends.
(Sorry, these smiles divert from the main subject: the inventive model )

[Gondor]

This is still ongoing as it were 

Decided that the F.A.R.T. should have a Towed Radar Decoy as well, or rather that the plan was to have a Towed Radar Decoy but I decided not to follow through with that 

Sponson's and rear parts of the engine cover/exhausts are fitted along with the blanking plates and lower door runners as well. I hope to try out a technique I saw on Britmodeller for forming a quilted surface for the rear bulkhead and side-wall's of the interior prior to painting the inside. More fettling and the like on the outside regardless and if the quilting doesn't work then I will probably just paint an effect of quilting.

Gondor

[Gondor]

Well it fits together 



So mostly painting of the interior including this



which is a close up of the worked foil that will represent the quilting on the insides of the airframe.

Gondor

[Tophe]

Not easy, but go on!

[Rheged]

This is still ongoing as it were 

Decided that the F.A.R.T. should have a Towed Radar Decoy as well, or rather that the plan was to have a Towed Radar Decoy but I decided not to follow through with that 


Gondor

I quite like the idea(in a most uncouth way) of a Towed Universal Radar  Decoy, or at least the presumed abbreviation!

[Gondor]

This is still ongoing as it were 

Decided that the F.A.R.T. should have a Towed Radar Decoy as well, or rather that the plan was to have a Towed Radar Decoy but I decided not to follow through with that 


Gondor

I quite like the idea(in a most uncouth way) of a Towed Universal Radar  Decoy, or at least the presumed abbreviation!

I think most people will Add the Initial letter from Universal by themselves which is why I didn't bother 

Gondor

[Gondor]

Will so far so good. The foil has been cut and glued into place, I might add a little more to hide the odd joint or two but I'm not sure if it's worth it. Anywho, progress shots..

The rear cabin wall



Cabin roof and the Starboard side of the cabin



Port side of the cabin



Lastly for tonight, a view of most of the cabin so far



Hope to finish the floor tomorrow as well as priming the padding and the fuselage where PSR has taken place.

Gondor

[Thorvic]

Looks pretty good so far, once primed and painted it will look the part. The floor is just a rubber sheet to keep the water out. Once the cabin is done and the fuselage together the build will leap along 

[Old Wombat]

If you have a F.A.R.T. equipped with a T.U.R.D. is it called an Outcome?




Forget the hat! Forget the coat! Sprint like mad!

[zenrat]

This is still ongoing as it were 

Decided that the F.A.R.T. should have a Towed Radar Decoy as well, or rather that the plan was to have a Towed Radar Decoy but I decided not to follow through with that 


Gondor

I quite like the idea(in a most uncouth way) of a Towed Universal Radar  Decoy, or at least the presumed abbreviation!

I think most people will Add the Initial letter from Universal by themselves which is why I didn't bother 

Gondor

I liked the "follow through" comment.