Irish Air Corps BAE Seabhac, Loaded for Bear QRA c.2015

[AeroplaneDriver]

What's with the extra mini-tailplanes that Hawk 200s have? 

The original Hawk T1s didn't have them, but T2s and Hawk 100s do have them, very strange.

And why call a single seater Hawk a 200 and a two seater a 100? Someone got their thoughts mixed up there.

AFAIK the M'box Hawk 200 was modelled from the mockup as that didn't have the mini-tailplanes fitted.

I always thought the 100/200 nomenclature was a bit odd too.  As for the mini tailplanes...they are called SMURFS-Side Mounted Unit Root Fins.  They act as big vortex generators to energize the airflow over the tailplane because it gets blanked out by the longer slotted flaps on the 200.  The T-45 has the same thing.  They had pitch authority issues with flaps extended and gear retracted before they were added apparently. 

[PR19_Kit]

I always thought the 100/200 nomenclature was a bit odd too.  As for the mini tailplanes...they are called SMURFS-Side Mounted Unit Root Fins.  They act as big vortex generators to energize the airflow over the tailplane because it gets blanked out by the longer slotted flaps on the 200.  The T-45 has the same thing.  They had pitch authority issues with flaps extended and gear retracted before they were added apparently.

Magic, thanks for that.

I like the nickname for them. 

[AeroplaneDriver]

Well here she is done...my 11th COVID build!

HobbyBoss 1/48 Hawk 200 OOB except for a scratch built HUD to replace the pathetic kit piece, AMRAAMs and rails from an F-18E, and chaff/flare dispensers from an A-4E since the kit has nothing to represent these at the rear of the box at the base of the fin.  Colors are Hataka Barley Grey on the lower surfaces, Vallejo NATO Green and British Dark Green on top, and a Light Ghost Gray radome.  Decals are from the MaxDecal Irish Air Corps 2005-2010 sheet for the national markings (mostly form the PC-9 markings) and stencils from a mix of the kit decals and a XTradecal RAF Hawk sheet. 

I stuck with the backstory into original post.  This Seabhac (local name, Irish translation of "Hawk") is shown as it would appear on QRA.  Once the Irish Hawk force was integrated in the UK Air Defense network the IAC kept two fully armed Hawks on QRA at Casement Aerodrome just south of Dublin.  Normal QRA fit included two 190 Gal external tanks, two AIM-120 AMRAAM  and two AIM-9M Sidewinder AAMs and a centerline ADEN 30mm cannon pod with 130 rounds.  This aircraft, 272, was the third single seat Hawk delivered to the IAC, joining two single seat Hawk 100s that were part of the 14 aircraft deal. 

Weathering is minimal as the IAC ground crews take great pride in keeping their Seabhac fleet in tip-top condition.  In addition to their Air Defense role Irish Hawk are cleared to carry a varitey of Air-Ground ordnance including CRV-7 rocket pods, 500lb freefall and GPS guided bombs, and AGM-65 Maverick missiles.  In the hands or IAC pilots the diminutive Hawk proved to be a viable warplane.  In frequent DACT exercises with the RAF many a Tornado and significant number of Typhoons found themselves in the middle of the Seabhac's HUD.  A late 2020 upgrade program funded partially by BAE Systems, will see integration of the Meteor and ASRAAM AAMs and the Brimstone ASM. 

Overall this was a fun build.  The kit isn't bad, just not up to the Tamiya quality I've got used to wit recent builds.  It took a little filler at the fuselage join aft of the cockpit and at the wing roots and the underfusealge wing-fuselage joints, but not a whole lot.  I'm not all that happy with the kit seat.  It builds up as a fairly generic looking seat, so next time I see a good deal on a resin MB Mk.10 I'll likely replace it.

[comrade harps]

That is lovely. The two tone green camo works really well 

[zenrat]

8 days.  Well done.  It looks wonderfull.

[Old Wombat]

In absolute agreement with both of my esteemed Antipodean colleagues!

[PR19_Kit]

A super job there, it breathes 'Irishness' even. 

[NARSES2]

A super job there, it breathes 'Irishness' even. 

It certainly does, the colour scheme in particular is just terrific

[flappydaffy]

 

[Doug K]

Really nice

[Dizzyfugu]

Nice, well done! 

[Glenn Gilbertson]

Great story, superb build and looks so right - well done!

[Nick]

That looks brilliant. Well done! 

[Weaver]

Yeah, that's a looker, and a very natural choice for the IAC.

Re the 100/200 thing, I suspect it's just a matter of chronology. The first production Hawks were the 50-series in manufacturer's terms, with the last digit indicating the particular fit for any given customer. The improved basic Hawk was the 60-series, so it seemed reasonable to make the radically improved 'long-nose' version the 100-series. The single-seater came after that and was an even more radical change, so where do you go next? 200-series is the next 'slot' that leaves a reasonable gap to fit all the 100- variants in. 300, 400 etc... wouldn't be any more 'logical'. The only other option would be to re-name/re-number the whole range. That's not without precedent (BAe-146 - Avro RJ) but presumably the marketing guys decided against it.

[major]

That is cracking! 

You do realise though, everyone and his mother is going to start debating over whether you got the 'correct' shade of green!