Vicker's High Flyer

[NARSES2]

Progress and she would be finished in time for Telford, but she won't be going 

When I fitted the exhausts on to the starboard nacelle they show just how skewed the casting of the nacelle is  I thought I'd dealt with most of the problems and could live with the rest, but no. Stands out like a sore thumb. If I'm honest I think it would take more skill then I've got, even had before my eye problem, to sort this out. There's a possibility the twist is a one off I suppose and other Kora kits I've built have been fine.

I will finish her, and post pictures but she won't be going tripping.

[PR19_Kit]

Aaaaawwwwwww. 

[kitbasher]

When finished it'd be good to see this lined up against a Mosquito, Chris.

[NARSES2]

When finished it'd be good to see this lined up against a Mosquito, Chris.

From some angles the resemblance is quite striking mate. She is just about finished, photo's after Telford

[kitbasher]

It's that I've been thinking, just to wind up the rivet counters, to whif up a Mossie to look like one - FB.VI with its outer wing panels replaced by Spitfire I/II wings and a smaller, more domed cockpit canopy off something.  Maybe a Lancaster mid-upper turret.

[NARSES2]

It might work. Certainly from certain angles

[NARSES2]

Just about finished. I'll get her done this week and post some photos so people can see the planform above all else which is quite interesting.

After her photo session she will be sent to the "cupboard of shame" although I have had a glimmer of an idea of how I can sort out the problem caused by the twisted wing - at least cosmetically. So maybe a challenge for 2019 ? We shall see.

[NARSES2]

Well after the trials and tribulations detailed above, caused partly by some bowed resin and partly by me not spotting it early enough she's finally finished. The phots don't really show the problem as I haven't taken any that actually show it and the propellers hide the most tell-tale aspect of it to some extent. Anyway she will not be going anywhere other than the storage box used for those models I'm not particularly happy with.

Vickers Type 432 – Viper

Some real world background.

The origins of the Type 432 lay with requirements set out in 1939 for twin-engine fighters with 20 or possibly 40 mm cannon. Vickers had originally set out a proposal for a Griffon-engine aircraft, equipped with a 40 mm cannon in a flexible mounting in the nose. Initially the Air Ministry encouraged development of this design but eventually interest waned.

So eventually via a rather convoluted process the idea morphed into what became the Type 432 and this was developed up to a flying prototype. In appearance it resembled, from some angles at least, a somewhat larger version of the de Havilland Mosquito. The pilot had a pressurised cockpit in the nose, with a bubble dome, similar to an enlarged astrodome. The pressurised cockpit took up the nose section so the 6 x 20mm cannon would have been fitted in a fairing below the fuselage, to the rear of the aircraft. The aircraft's elliptical wing was built using a unique stressed-skin structure, designed by Barnes Wallis for lightness. The top and bottom were manufactured separately, and then clamped together at the leading and trailing edges, this being named "peapod" or "lobster-claw" structure. This allowed a large internal space unobstructed by ribs, hence capable of housing large fuel tanks (similar to Wallis's geodetic designs). This would have given the aircraft quite impressive range figures.

The first prototype Type 432 flew on 24 December 1942. Initial trials revealed serious handling difficulties on the ground, amongst other problems, including whilst trying to land. Eventually these were fixed to some degree but at the end of the day the estimated maximum speed of 435 mph at 28,000 ft was never attained as the Merlin 61 engines did not run satisfactorily above 23,000 ft .

When the competing Westland Welkin was ordered into production, the second prototype of the Vickers fighter, the Type 446, was cancelled, before completion, on 1 May 1943. The first prototype was retained by Vickers for test purposes until the end of 1944, when the aircraft was scrapped after completing only 28 flights.

The What If

Eventually after many trials and tribulations the Type 432, now named Viper, entered limited production and saw service with two R.A.F. squadrons (310 and 616). These squadrons had their individual flights distributed along the east coast of the British Isles in order to provide long range interception capabilities for any high flying German bombers or reconnaissance aircraft attempting to penetrate British airspace, notably the Ju 86. In the event by the time the Vipers entered service these didn't really materialise and any threats that might have occurred could satisfactorily be dealt with by the high flying marks of Spitfire, which could also perform very well at lower altitudes.

Initially there was a fear that the Ju 86's might turn to night attacks, but given that the Viper was a single seater and the nature of the construction of its pressurised cockpit made it difficult to turn it into a two seater, a night fighter version was considered not to be a practical proposition. Besides by then the high flying Mosquito night fighters were coming into service and proved exceptional in their abilities to tackle what turned out to be a very limited threat.

So after some 12 months or so of service the Vipers were gradually withdrawn and the majority were quickly scrapped. A couple were retained by Vickers and  A & AEE Boscombe Down where they did useful work in the fields of general pressurisation of aircraft systems and more specifically into the problem of how to escape from an aircraft flying at extremely high altitudes.......safely.

So there it is. In the end a frustrating build, but strangely an enjoyable one until I discovered that skewed nacelle !

Finished Model

A rather Mosquito like tail end ?





A rather intriguing plan view



The Vipers fangs – 6 x 20mm canon

[TomZ]

Looks very good 

TomZ

[PR19_Kit]

A fascinating aeroplane indeed, and what a strange wing plan form too.

But it looks a great model Chris, as you say, like a large Mossie, but really impressive. 

And the backstory sounds very plausible indeed, just the sort I like. 

[TheChronicOne]

See there it turned out great! Just a little creative photography and posing required.    Too bad it's going to the dungeon, but I understand.

I've had cars and such that had good sides and bad sides and I'd try to park it in a manner where people saw the less busted up side so uhhh....   yeah.

[Old Wombat]

My brain just keeps telling me it looks "wrong" because it looks too much like a Mosquito for the ol' grey cells to separate the two.

[kitbasher]

Nice build Chris, well done.  Really is an uglied-up Mossie - Vickers should have been ashamed of themselves!

[JayBee]

Brilliant build Chris, looks great.
Looking at the last photo, the one with your hand in it, I am amazed as to how small the beast is.
I have always thought that the "Mayfly" was much larger.

Jim

[PR19_Kit]

Chris has just got big hands..............