Supermarine Speagle - REALLY done!

[NARSES2]

I was a bit over-effusive in my praise for the Hataka Dark Green, it actually did need a second coat as the first was a bit streaky.

Yup I find their Blue line tends to need one solid coat and then a second thin one to even out some of the brush streaks. The Red line needs a couple of solid coats if you use a brush.

[PR19_Kit]

It's got its colours on now, and starting to look as it should. Maybe some decals on later today? Who knows.



And no, it hasn't got any guns, it's an engine test bed, not a fighter.

[Vulcan7]

looking good  

[The Rat]

This is looking better all the time!
Just a silly question that popped into my head. If the jet engine had not come along when it did, how far could have the piston engine been developed before topping out? Just keep adding rows of cylinders? Kind of how the design of civilian airliners has apparently leveled off to the tube with wings and two fans. Does this make sense?

It's a question that has been asked a million times, but, as Kit said

JUST the sort of thing we here should be asking ourselves.

An idea rarely followed up on. I suppose it takes more tech knowledge than many of us have (looks in mirror) in order to make a justifiable whiff, but itr would be cool to see more.

There are also many ideas around engines that had promise unmet, like, what if the RR Peregrine or Vulture had performed as expected. Can you imagine a Manchester/Lancaster with 4 Vultures? Sling 2 Grand Slams under it and say "Hold my beer and watch THIS!"   

[Old Wombat]

The Peregrine was a successful engine, it just happened to be the best that an engine family developed from the Kestrel could reasonably get.

The Vulture, being a development of the Peregrine (despite RR's contrary opinions), was never going to be all that successful.

[PR19_Kit]

Wasn't the Vulture two Peregrines welded together, one on top of the other and inverted?

What could possibly go wrong? 

[Old Wombat]

Wasn't the Vulture two Peregrines welded together, one on top of the other and inverted?

What could possibly go wrong? 

Not quite that simple, but close enough.  

[Leading Observer]

Does anyone do a Vulture Engine in 1/72? Then in our world we could indeed have Vulture powered aircraft. Vulture powered Hampden anyone?

[Weaver]

Nice one Kit! 


Re the developed piston engines question, there was quite a bit more power to be had out of piston engines, but the problem, for fighters at least, was high-subsonic aerodynamics. As others have pointed out, you can't drive a prop plane to speeds where it's blade tips are supersonic without Bad Things happening. So that leaves the question, if you can't use the extra power for more speed, what can you use it for? More weight (which translates into more fuel and/or weapons)? If you're trying to get piston-powered props up to higher speeds, then it becomes desirable to reduce their diameter, which then gets you into contra-props. Continuing the same trend, you might get to the point where a ducted, multi-stage fan with alternate fan and stator rings offers more performance advantages than it does weight penalties, especially since you've got weight to spare. That, however, means the death of the tractor prop, since the pilot wouldn't be able to see over a fan duct, so pusher layouts such as twin-boom and rear-engine would come to the fore. Since the latter has a natural rearward weight bias, that in turn might lead to earlier and stronger interest in canard configurations. The air battles of 1949 might well be fought between evolved Saab J-21s and evolved Shindens with Optica-style ducted fans...

Also, if everyone's getting up to the same hard performance boundary, what happens to tactics and strategy? If the fighters can't catch the bombers or run away from each other, then we're back into early 1930s "the bomber will always get through" territory. That's unacceptable with atomic bombs now in the mix, so I suspect the response would be the more rapid development of rocket-powered weapons such as surface-to-air and air-to-air missiles and rocket-interceptors. Pure rocket aircraft are notoriously short-ranged, so If you've got rocket motors but no turbojets, then the only logical way to extend their range is to have them breath air by becoming ramjets.

Lastly, the need for fuel efficiency in airliners and bombers might see some of the more exotic compound piston engines like the Napier Nomad, or advanced diesel designs go into service.

[NARSES2]

Vulture ?

Hawker Tornado ?

You cannot view this attachment.

[The Wooksta!]

That the LF kit?  I've got one of those tucked away.

[Rick Lowe]

Lastly, the need for fuel efficiency in airliners and bombers might see some of the more exotic compound piston engines like the Napier Nomad, or advanced diesel designs go into service.

I saw the movie '8'* one time, and I'm sure the crashed aircraft had electric engines... there again, you'd still need a donkey engine to spin things up to generate the electricity, so perhaps I should sit back down again and not annoy those more knowledgeable than me (practically everyone, I understand...) 

* not sure of the title; it was the one with animated dolls, set after the eradication of Mankind.

[Old Wombat]

Lastly, the need for fuel efficiency in airliners and bombers might see some of the more exotic compound piston engines like the Napier Nomad, or advanced diesel designs go into service.

I saw the movie '8'* one time, and I'm sure the crashed aircraft had electric engines... there again, you'd still need a donkey engine to spin things up to generate the electricity, so perhaps I should sit back down again and not annoy those more knowledgeable than me (practically everyone, I understand...) 

* not sure of the title; it was the one with animated dolls, set after the eradication of Mankind.

One number short "9" (Click to link)

I think I saw the 2005 short film but not the 2009 movie.

[PR19_Kit]

Dragging this thread painfully back to its origins........... 

I wanted to put a pair of ringed 'P' markings on the Speagle as it was a prototype of course, but the only ones I had were the long gone Letraset ones. As they were produced in the 70s there was little likelihood of them working, and they didn't. They just wouldn't come off the backing sheet, so I scanned them and printed out some inkjet print versions.

Didn't work worth a LIGHT! 

The inkjet yellow is FAR to faint to be seen, I'd have needed 5-6 layers to get them anywhere near looking right, so I've had to order a sheet from Fantasy Printshop. I hope they get here in time or I'll not make the GB deadline.

[Gondor]

Probably take the same amount of time if I sent you a couple from my stash as well kit 

Gondor