Recce and Surveillance GB - General Discussion

[McColm]

Has anyone thought of putting swing-wings on a Mig-25 or Mig-31?

[loupgarou]

Make a biplane from it! 

That's exactly my plans 

Gondor

Oddly enough my thoughts were bi-plane or sesqui-plane, but then I thought : Nah

Naaah... ThePZL-23 deserves a Delanne wing, like  the Lysander P12. 

[Nick]

I've worked out my two main contenders for this GB.

First up is the MU-2S (1/72 Hasegawa) from Japan but in an RAF Coastal Command scheme. The idea is that Coastal Command isn't scrapped in 1969 but carries on watching the waters around the UK for threats - Shackletons and Nimrods etc. One aspect is the Maritime Rescue role for which the MU-2S is used to patrol for those in peril on the sea, looking out for oil rigs on fire, dropping life-rafts and directing the RNLI etc.

The other one is the venerable Shackleton MR3 (1/72 FROG) which will patrol the waters around Argentina. This AVRO heritage follows on from the Lancasters and Lincolns that were used by the Fuerza Aérea Argentina but these may be flown by Argentine Naval Aviation. They had P-2 Neptunes and S-2 Trackers in the 1962-1982 period.
I will be stocking up on sanding paper tomorrow...

[PR19_Kit]

Thanks to Fred Zenrat's and Tophe's fertile imaginations I've had an idea for this GB.

Now the question is : Were all the fuselages on the Ju-88, -188, -288 and -388 the same cross section?

[Weaver]

Has anyone thought of putting swing-wings on a Mig-25 or Mig-31?

Yes - MiG did!

See here: https://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread194305/pg1

[Gondor]

Thanks to Fred Zenrat's and Tophe's fertile imaginations I've had an idea for this GB.

Now the question is : Were all the fuselages on the Ju-88, -188, -288 and -388 the same cross section?

I think so other than the 288. I will check my refference on the 288 and 388 book tomorrow for you kit.

Gondor

[kerick]

So plenty of fuselages in the spares box but no wings, then?

IIRC Special Hobby did a TR-1/U-2R.

Something like that, yes. I have one of those SH ones too, and a wingless Rareplanes vacform TR1, and a High Planes TR1 as well, in BLUE styrene!

I'm imagining a U-2 fuselage as a spy submarine prowling the coast!

[kerick]

I'll probably just cut and sand one long piece of plastic or even balsa to make both wings out of one piece. Less chance of snapping one off down the road. Plenty of random drop tanks for wing pods.
It would be a poor man's/poor country's U-2. Maybe a two seater with the guy in back with a Polaroid camera and a note pad.
Now is a time to consider paint and markings so I don't get so stuck at paint time. Maybe a Norwegian ac patrolling the long border with those nefarious Swedes.

I'm going to try cutting off the F-5F wings just outside the landing gear and attach extended wings there. If that doesn't want to work I'll try cutting out the main gear and insert it into the extended wing. Either way I'll put skids on the wing tips to absorb damage. I'm thinking of black undersides and maybe simple camo topsides.

[Weaver]

I'll probably just cut and sand one long piece of plastic or even balsa to make both wings out of one piece. Less chance of snapping one off down the road. Plenty of random drop tanks for wing pods.
It would be a poor man's/poor country's U-2. Maybe a two seater with the guy in back with a Polaroid camera and a note pad.
Now is a time to consider paint and markings so I don't get so stuck at paint time. Maybe a Norwegian ac patrolling the long border with those nefarious Swedes.

I'm going to try cutting off the F-5F wings just outside the landing gear and attach extended wings there. If that doesn't want to work I'll try cutting out the main gear and insert it into the extended wing. Either way I'll put skids on the wing tips to absorb damage. I'm thinking of black undersides and maybe simple camo topsides.

Don't forget that F-5s have Starfighter-thin wings. A much longer wing would probably have to be thicker to get enough bending strength into the spar. I suspect that your second plan (cutting the original gear out and fitting it to an all-new wing) is going to be the way to go.

[kerick]

It might be. I'll check the thickness of the F-5 wing and see

[McColm]

Has anyone thought of putting swing-wings on a Mig-25 or Mig-31?

Yes - MiG did!

See here: https://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread194305/pg1

Thanks that's very interesting

[kerick]

I'll probably just cut and sand one long piece of plastic or even balsa to make both wings out of one piece. Less chance of snapping one off down the road. Plenty of random drop tanks for wing pods.
It would be a poor man's/poor country's U-2. Maybe a two seater with the guy in back with a Polaroid camera and a note pad.
Now is a time to consider paint and markings so I don't get so stuck at paint time. Maybe a Norwegian ac patrolling the long border with those nefarious Swedes.

I'm going to try cutting off the F-5F wings just outside the landing gear and attach extended wings there. If that doesn't want to work I'll try cutting out the main gear and insert it into the extended wing. Either way I'll put skids on the wing tips to absorb damage. I'm thinking of black undersides and maybe simple camo topsides.

Don't forget that F-5s have Starfighter-thin wings. A much longer wing would probably have to be thicker to get enough bending strength into the spar. I suspect that your second plan (cutting the original gear out and fitting it to an all-new wing) is going to be the way to go.

If I were to build it wheels up I would have to bend the wings upward like modern airliners.

[Dizzyfugu]

Thanks to Fred Zenrat's and Tophe's fertile imaginations I've had an idea for this GB.

Now the question is : Were all the fuselages on the Ju-88, -188, -288 and -388 the same cross section?

I think so other than the 288. I will check my refference on the 288 and 388 book tomorrow for you kit.

Gondor

88 and 188 were identical, the 288 was a completely different aircraft. The 388 was based on the 88/188, but - depending on the version - it had an enlarged/bulged bomb bay section, and the tail (barbette) might differ, too.

[PR19_Kit]

Yes indeed.

After searching The Loft high and low I found examples of the 88, the 188 and the 288. And the 288 is NOTHING like the others, except maybe the cockpit of the 288 looks slightly like the 188.

So my first idea for this build is out the window, but an article in the latest Aeroplane magazine has given me completely different idea, so I may be in. 

[McColm]

Just had another idea but I don't know if it will be finished in time.  Based on the Lockheed EC-121 Warning Star but with the Grumman E-1 Tracer radome fitted to the roof of the Constellation or has that already been done?
Idea withdrawn.