1:144 Lockheed L300-1100 (C-141) Starlifter, Air Greenland, 2004

Dizzyfugu · June 08, 2021, 04:25:03 AM

It took a while to complete this project (some days off, allergic shock...

), but here's another (kind of) airliner: a civil Lockheed Starlifter, in the form of "OY-GRI", operated by Air Greenland, 2004:

1:144 Lockheed L300-1100 "StarLifter"; aircraft "OY-GRI", operated by Air Greenland; 2004 (Whif/modified Roden kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Some background:
The Lockheed L300 was originally conceived as a military strategic airlifter that served under the designation C-141 Starlifter with the Military Air Transport Service (MATS), its successor organization the Military Airlift Command (MAC), and finally the Air Mobility Command (AMC) of the United States Air Force (USAF).

In the early 1960s, the United States Air Force's Military Air Transport Service (MATS) relied on a substantial number of propeller-driven aircraft for strategic airlift, such as the C-124 Globemaster II and C-133 Cargomaster. As these aircraft were mostly obsolescent designs and the Air Force needed the benefits of jet power, the USAF ordered 48 Boeing C-135 Stratolifters as an interim step. The C-135 was a useful stop-gap, but only had side-loading doors and much of the bulky and oversize equipment employed by the U.S. Army would not fit.

In the spring of 1960, the Air Force released Specific Operational Requirement 182, calling for a new aircraft that would be capable of performing both strategic and tactical airlift missions. The strategic role demanded that the aircraft be capable of missions with a radius of at least 3,500 nautical miles (6,500 km) with a 60,000 pounds (27,000 kg) load. The tactical role required it to be able to perform low-altitude air drops of supplies, as well as carry and drop combat paratroops. Several companies responded to SOR 182, including Boeing, Lockheed, and General Dynamics.

Lockheed responded to the requirement with a unique design: the Lockheed Model 300, the first large jet designed from the start to carry freight. The Model 300 had a swept high-mounted wing with four 21,000 pounds-force (93 kN) thrust TF33 turbofan engines pod-mounted below the wings. An important aspect was the cabin's floor height of only 50 inches (130 cm) above the ground, allowing easy access to the cabin through the rear doors. The two rear side doors were designed to allow the aircraft to drop paratroops (in August 1965 the aircraft performed the first paratroop drop from a jet-powered aircraft). The rear cargo doors could be opened in flight for airborne cargo drops. The high-mounted wings gave internal clearance in the cargo compartment of 10 feet (3.0 m) wide, 9 ft (2.7 m) high and 70 ft (21 m) long. The size enabled the Starlifter to carry, for example, a complete LGM-30 Minuteman intercontinental ballistic missile in its container. The aircraft was capable of carrying a maximum of 70,847 pounds (32,136 kg) over short distances, and up to 92,000 pounds (42,000 kg) in the version configured to carry the Minuteman, which lacked other equipment. The aircraft could also carry up to 154 troops, 123 paratroops or 80 litter patients.

1:144 Lockheed L300-1100 "StarLifter"; aircraft "OY-GRI", operated by Air Greenland; 2004 (Whif/modified Roden kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:144 Lockheed L300-1100 "StarLifter"; aircraft "OY-GRI", operated by Air Greenland; 2004 (Whif/modified Roden kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:144 Lockheed L300-1100 "StarLifter"; aircraft "OY-GRI", operated by Air Greenland; 2004 (Whif/modified Roden kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

President John F. Kennedy's first official act after his inauguration was to order the development of the Lockheed 300 on 13 March 1961, with a contract for five aircraft for test and evaluation to be designated the C-141. One unusual aspect of the aircraft was that it was designed to meet both military and civil airworthiness standards, since Lockheed hoped to sell the aircraft, much like the C-130 Hercules, to airlines, too. The prototype C-141A (s/n 61-2775) was manufactured and assembled in record time. The prototype was rolled out of the Lockheed factory at Marietta, Georgia on 22 August 1963 and first flew on 17 December, the 60th anniversary of the Wright brothers' first flight. The company and the Air Force then started an operational testing program and the delivery of 284 C-141 aircraft.

The effort to sell the aircraft on the civilian market included some detail changes like a different yoke and cockpit equipment. Two versions were offered: the original aircraft (designated L300-100 StarLifter), based on the C-141's hull, and a strongly stretched version, 37 feet (11 m) longer than the L300-100, and marketed as the L300-200 SuperstarLifter. Specialized versions like an aerial firefighting water bomber were proposed, too, and an initial L300-100 prototype made a global sales tour (which was later donated to NASA).
Response from the civil market was rather lukewarm, though, and resulted only in orders from Flying Tiger Line and Slick Airways for four aircraft each. Nevertheless, production of the civil StarLifter was launched in 1966, since the differences to the military aircraft were only minimal and Lockheed considered the financial risks to be acceptable. However, only twelve aircraft were initially ordered when production was greenlighted, but there was the expectation to attract more sales once the aircraft proved itself in daily business.

1:144 Lockheed L300-1100 "StarLifter"; aircraft "OY-GRI", operated by Air Greenland; 2004 (Whif/modified Roden kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:144 Lockheed L300-1100 "StarLifter"; aircraft "OY-GRI", operated by Air Greenland; 2004 (Whif/modified Roden kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:144 Lockheed L300-1100 "StarLifter"; aircraft "OY-GRI", operated by Air Greenland; 2004 (Whif/modified Roden kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Despite a very good service record, this did not happen. To make matters worse, unexpected legal problems seriously threatened the newly introduced transport aircraft: In the early 1970s, strict noise limits for civil aircraft threatened operations, esp. in the USA. Several American L300 operators approached Lockheed for suitable noise reduction modifications, but the company did not react. However, third parties that had developed aftermarket hush kits for other airliners like the Boeing 707 or the Douglas DC-8 chimed in and saw their opportunity, and in 1975 General Electric began discussions with the major L300 operators with a view to fitting the new and considerably quieter Franco-American CFM56 engine to the transport aircraft. Lockheed still remained reluctant, but eventually came on board in the late 1970s and supported the conversion kit with new nacelles and pylons. This engine kit was unofficially baptized the "StarSilencer" program, which was offered as a retrofit kit and as an option for newly built aircraft, which were designated L300-1100 and -1200, respectively.

The kit was well received and all operational private L300s were upgraded with the fuel-efficient 22,000 lb (98.5 kN) CFM56-2 high-bypass turbofans until 1984, preventing a premature legal end of operations in wide parts of the world. The benefits of the upgrade were remarkable: The new engines were markedly quieter than the original Pratt & Whitney TF33-P-7 turbofans, and fuel efficiency was improved by 20%, resulting in a higher range. The CFM56s also offered 10% more thrust than the TF33-P-7s' 20,250 lbf (90.1 kN each) output, and this extra thrust improved the aircraft's take-off performance, too.
The USAF did not adopt the "StarSilencer" upgrade and rather focused on the fuselage extension program that converted all existing C-141As into C-141Bs from 1979 onwards, so that the aircraft's payload potential could be better exploited. However, the new CFM56 engines made the L300 more attractive to civil operators, and, beyond the upgrade program for existing airframes, a second wave of orders was placed for both the L300-1100 and -1200: until 1981, when civil L300 production was stopped, eighteen more aircraft had been ordered, primarily for operators in North America and Canada, bringing total production to 40 machines, plus the initial demonstrator prototype.

1:144 Lockheed L300-1100 "StarLifter"; aircraft "OY-GRI", operated by Air Greenland; 2004 (Whif/modified Roden kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:144 Lockheed L300-1100 "StarLifter"; aircraft "OY-GRI", operated by Air Greenland; 2004 (Whif/modified Roden kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:144 Lockheed L300-1100 "StarLifter"; aircraft "OY-GRI", operated by Air Greenland; 2004 (Whif/modified Roden kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

One of these late buyers outside of the American continent was Air Greenland. Founded in 1960 as Grønlandsfly, the airline started its first services with Catalina water planes and within the decade expanded to include DHC-3 Otters as well as Sikorsky S-61 helicopters, some of which remain in active service. Grønlandsfly also picked up a Danish government contract to fly reconnaissance missions regarding the sea ice around Greenland.
During the 1970s, Grønlandsfly upgraded its airliner fleet, and mining in the Uummannaq Fjord opened new business opportunities beyond passenger services. To enter the bulk cargo business for mining companies with routes to Canada, North America and Europe as well as civil freight flights for the U.S. Army in Greenland (e. g. for the USAF's Sondrestrom and Thule Air Bases), the purchase of a dedicated transport aircraft was considered. This eventually led to the procurement of a single, new L300-1100 StarLifter with CFM56-2 engines in 1980 – at the time, the biggest aircraft operated by Grønlandsfly. Domestic as well as international passenger service flourished, too: By the end of 1979, the number of Grønlandsfly passengers served annually exceeded 60,000 – this was more than the population of Greenland itself! However, the airline's first true jet airliner, a Boeing 757-200, began operation in May 1998. Before, only propeller-driven aircraft like vintage Douglas DC-4 and DC-6 or the DHC Twin Otter and Dash 7 turboprop aircraft had been the main passenger types. In 1999, the airline already served 282,000 passengers, nearly triple the number at the end of the previous decade.
In 2002 the company rebranded itself, anglicizing its name to Air Greenland and adopting a new logo and livery. The L300-1100 was kept in service and remained, until the introduction of a single Airbus A330 in 2003 (purchased after SAS abandoned its Greenland service and Air Greenland took these over), Air Greenland's biggest aircraft, with frequent cargo flights for the Maarmorilik zinc and iron mines.

StarLifters remained in military duty for over 40 years until the USAF withdrew the last C-141s from service in 2006, after replacing the airlifter with the C-17 Globemaster III. In civil service, however, the L300, despite its small production number, outlasted the C-141. After the military aircraft's retirement, more than twenty StarLifters were still in private service, most of them operating under harsh climatic conditions and in remote parts of the world.

1:144 Lockheed L300-1100 "StarLifter"; aircraft "OY-GRI", operated by Air Greenland; 2004 (Whif/modified Roden kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:144 Lockheed L300-1100 "StarLifter"; aircraft "OY-GRI", operated by Air Greenland; 2004 (Whif/modified Roden kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:144 Lockheed L300-1100 "StarLifter"; aircraft "OY-GRI", operated by Air Greenland; 2004 (Whif/modified Roden kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

General characteristics:
Crew: 4 - 6 (2 pilots, 2 flight engineers, 1 navigator, 1 loadmaster)
Length: 145 ft (44.27 m)
Wingspan: 160 ft 0 in (48.8 m)
Height: 39 ft 3 in (12 m)
Wing area: 3,228 ft² (300 m²)
Empty weight: 136,900 lbs (62,153 kg)
Loaded weight: 323,100 lbs (146,688 kg)
Max Payload, 2.25g: 94,508 lb (42.906 kg)
Max Takeoff Weight, 2.25g: 343,000 lb (155,722 kg)

Powerplant:
4× CFM International CFM56-2 high-bypass turbofans, delivering 22,000 lb (98.5 kN) each

Performance:
Maximum speed: 567 mph (493 kn, 912 km/h)
Cruise speed: 495 mph (430 kn, 800 km/h)
Range: 4,320 mi (2,350 nmi, 6,955 km)
Ferry range: 7,245 mi (6,305 nmi, 11,660 km)
Service ceiling: 41,000 ft (12,500 m)
Rate of climb: 2,600 ft/min (13.2 m/s)
Wing loading: 100.1 lb/ft2 (490 kg/m²)
Thrust/weight: 0.25

The kit and its assembly:
This is another project I had on my agenda for a long time, it was inspired by a picture of the civilian L300 demonstrator and the question what a StarLifter in civil service could look like? Such a type (like the C-130) would only make sense for bulk cargo transport business, and probably only for rather remote locations, so I went up North with my thoughts and initially considered Air Canada or Buffalo Airways as an operator, but then remembered Air Greenland – a very good fit, and the current livery would make the L300 a colorful bird, too.

The basis is Roden's C-141B kit, AFAIK the only affordable IP kit of this aircraft when I had the idea for this build a while ago; A&A Models released in the meantime a C-141A in June 2021, but it is prohibitively expensive, and Anigrand does a C-141A resin kit. The Roden kit is a sound offering. The parts fit well, even though the seams along the long fuselage and the wing roots need attention and PSR, and at the small 1:144 scale the (engraved) surface details are just fine. It's not a stellar model, but a sturdy representation with surprisingly massive parts, esp. the fuselage: its walls are almost 3mm thick!

However, I did not want to build the stretched USAF version. The original civil L300 had the same fuselage as the C-141A, and I found this option to be more plausible for the haul of singular heavy equipment than the stretched version, and the decision to shorten the C-141B also had logistic reasons, because I'd have to store the model somewhere once finished... And, finally, I think that the original, short C-141 is just looking good. ;-)

1:144 Lockheed L300-1100 "StarLifter"; aircraft "OY-GRI", operated by Air Greenland; 2004 (Whif/modified Roden kit) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:144 Lockheed L300-1100 "StarLifter"; aircraft "OY-GRI", operated by Air Greenland; 2004 (Whif/modified Roden kit) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

So, I simply "de-plugged" the fuselage - and IIRC, Kit provided me with the vital info about the plugs' size and placements

. In real life, the C-141B had two extensions: a 160" plug in front and another 120" insert behind its wings. This translated into 2.8 and 2.1 cm long sections on the model that were simply sawed off from the completed fuselage. Thanks to the massive fuselage walls, gluing the parts back together was an easy task, resulting in a very stable connection. The seams were hidden under some PSR, as well as two windows. The C-141B's fairing for the refueling receptive was also sanded away. The front plug was easily hidden, but the rear plug called for some body sculpting, because the fuselage has a subtle bulge around the cargo door and its ramp – the shapes in front and behind it don't differ much, though.

1:144 Lockheed L300-1100 "StarLifter"; aircraft "OY-GRI", operated by Air Greenland; 2004 (Whif/modified Roden kit) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:144 Lockheed L300-1100 "StarLifter"; aircraft "OY-GRI", operated by Air Greenland; 2004 (Whif/modified Roden kit) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Another change for a more fictional civil variant: the engines. This was a lucky coincidence, because I had a complete set of four CFM56 turbofan nacelles left over from my shortened Minicraft DC-8 build a while ago, and the StarLifter lent itself to take these different/more modern engines, esp. for the civilian market. The swap was not as easy as expected, though, because the C-141's nacelles are much different, have longer pylons and their attachment points in the wings were OOB not compatible at all with the CFM56 pods. I eventually filled the attachment slots in the wings and glued the complete CFM56 nacelles with their short DC-8 pylons directly under the wings, blending these areas with PRS. The engines' position is now markedly different (higher/closer to the wings and further forward), but the engines' bigger diameter IMHO justifies this change – and it turned out well.

The rest of the Roden model was left OOB, I just added a ventral display adapter for the flight scenes.

Painting and markings:
As mentioned above, I was looking for a "bush pilot" operator of suitable size in the Northern hemisphere, and Greenland Air was chosen because of its exoticism and the airline's distinctive and simple livery. Does anyone know this rather small airline at all? Potential freight for the US Army as well as for private mining companies with lots of heavy equipment made the StarLifter's operation plausible.

To make the plan work I was lucky that Draw Decal does an 1:144 sheet for the airline's (sole) Boeing 757, and its simple post-2002 all-red paint scheme was easily adapted to the StarLifter. The fuselage and the nacelles were painted with brushes in Humbrol 19 (Gloss Red, it comes IMHO close to the rich real-world tone), while the wings and the engine pylons became Humbrol 40 (Glossy Light Gull Grey). For some variety I added a medium grey (Humbrol 126, FS 36270) Corroguard panel to the wings' upper surface, later framed with OOB decals. The white door markings came from a generic PAS decals sheet. All decals were very thin, esp. the Draw Decals sheet, which had to be handled with much care, but they also dried up perfectly and the white print inks turned out to have very good opacity. Adapting the Boeing 757 decals to the very different C-141 hull was also easier than expected, even though the "Air Greenland" tag on the nose ended up quite far forward and the emblem on the fin lots its uppermost white circle.

1:144 Lockheed L300-1100 "StarLifter"; aircraft "OY-GRI", operated by Air Greenland; 2004 (Whif/modified Roden kit) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:144 Lockheed L300-1100 "StarLifter"; aircraft "OY-GRI", operated by Air Greenland; 2004 (Whif/modified Roden kit) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

The cockpit, which comes with no interior, was painted in black, while the landing gear wells and struts were painted in a very light grey (Humbrol 196, RAL 7035) with white rims.
Panel lines were emphasized with a little black ink, and the cockpit glazing turned out to be a bit foggy - which became only apparent after I added the red around it. In order to hide this flaw I just laid out the window panels with Tamiya "Smoke".
Finally the model finally received an overall coat of gloss acrylic varnish from a rattle can.

1:144 Lockheed L300-1100 "StarLifter"; aircraft "OY-GRI", operated by Air Greenland; 2004 (Whif/modified Roden kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:144 Lockheed L300-1100 "StarLifter"; aircraft "OY-GRI", operated by Air Greenland; 2004 (Whif/modified Roden kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

A colorful result, even though the bright red C-141 looks unusual, if not odd. The different engines work well; with the shorter fuselage, the new, wider nacelles change the StarLifter's look considerably. It looks more modern (at least to me), like a juiced-up Bae 146 or a C-17 on a diet?

rickshaw · June 08, 2021, 05:10:58 AM

Interesting. Why the northern hemisphere?

Dizzyfugu · June 08, 2021, 05:17:31 AM

The Air Greenland livery looks so cool...

NARSES2 · June 08, 2021, 06:14:41 AM

Quote from: Dizzyfugu on June 08, 2021, 05:17:31 AM
The Air Greenland livery looks so cool...

Certainly does.

Tremendous work

Hope the allergic shock wasn't to bad.

PR19_Kit · June 08, 2021, 09:00:36 AM

SUPER job Thomas!

And so very logical too, hi-bypass turbofans would have made a sensible upgrade for the C-141, but I guess the advent of the C-17 rather overtook that idea.

And Air Greenland DO have a great scheme.

Tophe · June 08, 2021, 11:47:37 AM

I like this model, even if this 141 is not asymmetric $:-\$

TomZ · June 08, 2021, 12:33:56 PM

Looks fabulous in this scheme!

TomZ

The Rat · June 08, 2021, 02:57:56 PM

The 141 would have been awesome as a civvy aircraft.

comrade harps · June 08, 2021, 04:20:54 PM

Another fantastic job!

Captain Canada · June 08, 2021, 04:36:28 PM

Nice work ! I still like their Dash 7s better tho lol. I want to get that kit as well. Cheers !

Dizzyfugu · June 08, 2021, 11:32:15 PM

Quote from: NARSES2 on June 08, 2021, 06:14:41 AM
Hope the allergic shock wasn't to bad.

I am fine (now), it was not critical but rather self-inflicted, due to an experiment with food ingredients, or better: with their replacement. Did not work, but I only found that out the next night when I could not sleep, and this lasted for two days/nights... I am a little tired out.

BTW, for reference:

Dizzyfugu · June 08, 2021, 11:35:30 PM

Oh, thanks a lot for the Whiffies consideration!

Flyer · June 09, 2021, 03:08:42 AM

Nice

Especially like the look of the new engines.

zenrat · June 09, 2021, 03:39:48 AM

Quote from: Dizzyfugu on June 08, 2021, 11:32:15 PM
...I am fine (now), it was not critical but rather self-inflicted, due to an experiment with food ingredients, or better: with their replacement. Did not work, but I only found that out the next night when I could not sleep, and this lasted for two days/nights...

So replacing salt with amphetamines isn't a good idea?

Good build. Love the paint job.

NARSES2 · June 09, 2021, 06:26:49 AM

Glad your ok Thomas.