Fiat G.91YP in the PoAF - "Big Butt Gina" - Finished PAG.8

[DogfighterZen]

I think I prefer the original nose but, yeah, I agree with Dizzy!  

Well, sorry to have ruined it for you but i do prefer the sleeker look of the radome, reminds me of the F-86D and also the F-8's design. It was one thing i never really liked about the G.91 and when i was s kid, i used to think that the designer must've had a very poor taste to design it like that...

[NARSES2]

Ok, so this one has been moving well lately, might even be able to finish it sometime soon...

Do you know how many times I've typed that ? 

Looking good 

[DogfighterZen]

Ok, so this one has been moving well lately, might even be able to finish it sometime soon...

Do you know how many times I've typed that ? 

Looking good 

And we'll both type it many more times, i'm sure... and yet, do we learn?   
Thanks, mate! I'm pleased with the outcome so far, all the work is paying off, i'm looking forward to finishing it.

[DogfighterZen]

Bumping this one cause i've finally picked it again...
Yesterday it got a gloss coat to seal the markings and as the weather was fairly warm, the varnish cured quickly and it got a panel line wash.
Today i'm gonna clean off excesses and decide if there'll be any oils before a flat coat and final assembly...

[DogfighterZen]

BB Gina is on her wheels...

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All that's left to do is to attach external tanks and weapons, cannons, flight data probe and pitot tube, spray a flat clear coat, paint the navigation lights and AIM-9 seeker lens and finally, remove the canopy masks! 
Hoping to get this finished and photographed tomorrow but we all know how it goes...

 

[NARSES2]

Hoping to get this finished and photographed tomorrow but we all know how it goes...

 

We certainly do 

[Dizzyfugu]

 

[Old Wombat]

Hoping to get this finished and photographed tomorrow but we all know how it goes...

 

We certainly do 

Yeah.

Usually pefectly to plan ... Until I need it to go perfectly to plan!    

[DogfighterZen]

Well, again, plans didn't work out and i didn't finish it yet...
Last minute decisions and much procrastination also helped delaying things but it's stuff i think is important so i don't mind if it takes a bit longer to get done.

Anyway, i still got something done, cannon barrels, air data probe and stuff under the wings are attached so, it's almost done.
Started the afternoon by looking at a few pics of an Italian AM G.91Y landing and noticed i forgot some details so, i scrounged the spare decal bag and added a couple of decals under the intake. One for a round antenna and the other for a black square, which i believe are antennas or at least, the area where they're located.
Another detail i wanted to do but was forgetting was to drill out the exhausts of the missiles so did that today before attaching them to pylons.
After that, i came to the dilemma of the pitot tube... or tubes... This was caused by the fact that the G.91YS prototype had two pitot tubes, one on each wingtip. The regular production G.91Y only had one on the left wing but the kit provides two. The ones in the kit are simple round styrene rods, same diameter the whole length, no detail at all... After too much time spent wondering and testing what would make more sense, i decided to go with my initial idea of having one pitot tube on the nose. The backstory will mention this detail.
So, this means that tomorrow i'll try to spray a flat clear coat and get this one finished.

[DogfighterZen]

Well, as always, plans didn't work out but after a couple of setbacks, it's finally finished.
The pitot tube was made out of a stainless steel pin cut to size and sprayed with a mix of clear colors to represent the heat discoloration normally present towards the tip. I think i've glued it on and snapped it off around 5 times so there's a lesson to learn, nect time i'll drill the nose part and take care of the pitot tube much sooner during the build.
After spraying some X-1 gloss black on the radome to even out the pitot/nose transition, a good coat of Mr. color GX114 super smooth clear flat and left it to dry overnight.
Today, i've just finished painting the navigation lights with some Tamiya clear red and green, a drop of X-22 clear gloss for the landing/taxi lights, a drop of X-19 smoke on each of the Sidewinder seeker lenses and removed the canopy masks...

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Now, time for some lunch and after that, a photo session will take place to post this with the backstory and call it done.

[NARSES2]

Looking forward to the photos 

[DogfighterZen]

Well, after almost 6 hoursm i have the backstory ready as it's ever going to be... it's a long one cause it just didn't make sense if i kept cutting corners to shorten it so, if you're not interested in reading, scroll down to the pics...

"In 1974, Portugal is in the 13th year of war in its colonies in Africa. With the recent introduction of portable Soviet SA-7 Grail air defense missiles by rebel forces, it became evident that the Portuguese Air Force (PoAF) urgently needed to be renewed, as the aircraft it had were worn out not only by war effort as they were obsolete in the current military context in Europe and colonies. Starting with fighter aviation, the PoAF had long needed a modern fighter capable of ensuring the air defense needs of the country's territory, delivered at the time to the old F-86F Saber, from the 201 Falcões Squadron, in Monte Real. The failure was evident as the war effort in Africa had not generated any replacement solution. Few F-86s were operational (in 1975, 12 aircraft were reported to be in flying condition) and the Air Force plans presented at NATO level pointed to their replacement by the end of 1976 with "16 fighter-bomber aircraft of a non-standard model" specified.
In addition to the Sabre, Portuguese combat aviation also had the Fiat G.91 R/4 purchased in Germany to be used in Africa in COIN (counter-insurgency) operations. Although it was very useful in this role, the Fiat was also a completely outdated aircraft for the European theater of operations, which would need to be replaced quickly due to the high wear and tear resulting from combat operations in Africa.
Shortly before the Carnation revolution of April 1974, which led to the change of the regime in Portugal, the then ruling government had tried to acquire new combat aircraft in France, having made several contacts to purchase Mirage aircraft. The famous French combat aircraft had been seriously considered by the Air Force and the sale of the plane was even authorized by French Prime Minister Pierre Messmer, but the French proposal did not please the Portuguese Government, because of the restrictions that France imposed on to parking planes in Guinea and Cape Verde.
In addition to the French hypothesis, an offer had also appeared from a German company to purchase F-5E aircraft, but due to the arms embargo against Portugal, the proposal would be withdrawn. The possibility of purchasing Fiat G.91 Y aircraft in Italy was also being studied to reinforce the air system in Africa. Interest in this version of the Fiat was significant in 1974, after the Air Force found that it was impossible to acquire the R/3 version of German origin. The Air Force's plans pointed to the purchase of 18 G.91Y aircraft with spare parts, reserve engines and auxiliary equipment for 58.14 million dollars or 1.541 million contos at the exchange rate at the time. The planes would all be delivered by the end of 1975 with the first plane being delivered in February.
In May 1974, the first meeting with Aeritalia delegates took place in Lisbon to request technical information about the plane. A month later, a second meeting took place to outline the acquisition program, with General Diogo Neto, member of the Junta de Salvação Nacional (JSN), which was the committee formed by the heads of the Portuguese Army, Air Force and Navy to run the country after the revolution took place until a temporary government could be installed.
The deal had been in question due to the new regime not wanting to spend money in military equipment until the political scenario had settled down and the priorities of the future were decided but Gen. Neto managed to prove the lack of capability and the need to regain said capability to be able to fulfill it's role within NATO requirements, convincing the rest of the committee that the planes were really needed.
Gen. Neto knew that the Yankee Gina was the best they could get at the time and chose not to push his luck and kept the order down to the original 18 airframes but, these aircraft would be a new version, derived from the G.91YS program created for the Swiss AF in the late 1960s and cancelled in 1971.
Designated the G.91YP, the first 3 aircraft arrived at OTA airbase in June, 1975. The "Gino" as some PoAF ground crews soon started calling the YP, in contrast to the female "Gina" by which, the original single engine G.91 models were known, was indeed a more robust aircraft and although not by much, it had superior performance compared to the single engine variant.
Although it inherited the work done for the YS proposal, the G.91YP would all be regular Y airframes to which, only some of the modifications originally intended for the YS were made, specifically at the structural level to strengthen the wings for higher load capacity and integration of another hardpoint for air-to-air missiles on the outermost section of the wing, raising the total number of weapon stations from four to six.
The 30mm cannons would be kept and most avionics would be the same as on regular Y variants, except for the new systems required to fire AIM-9B Sidewinder missiles, which the PoAF already had in use with their "soon to be retired" F-86 fleet.
During it's first years of service, the YP established a good reputation within the pilot community but not so much with the ground crews, who complained that the extra engine and the added complexity required much more work to keep flying that the old Gina did. This would become a more serious issue when, in 1979, after just 2 years of service, one of the engines of aircraft 5509 suffered a critical failure and a subsequent fire during flight. The pilot had to eject when an explosion separated the aircraft in two and couple of seconds later hit the ocean just a few miles off the coast of Figueira da Foz.
This led to the grounding of all YPs until the origin of the problem was found.
A couple of weeks later, with the help of a team of American engineers from General Electrics, it was found that several compressor fan blades had fatigue cracks that went undetected because of less than adequate inspection procedures within the PoAF's maintenance depot workshops.
After the problem was identified, several changes were implemented and, although the engines kept having problems, these were normally detected long before they became a hazard. This would lead to a gradual change of name from "Gino" to "Big butt Gina" because, according to most ground crews, working on the engines was "more work than carrying a very drunk, heavy-weight woman home on your back, all the way up to the 6th floor... with no elevator!"
When in 1980, the PoAF bought 30 A-7P proposed by the US government for the renewal of the PoAF's combat fleet, they were left without a platform dedicated to air defense when they had to retire the old Sabres. The A-7 would be capable of performing what NATO wanted of the PoAF better than the G.91's both variants but, the PoAF's Generals were determined to find a solution for the lack of an interceptor fighter. These roles had already been assigned to the YP almost since they were introduced into service because, although it was heavier than the F-86F, the G.91YP had better overall flying characteristics and engine performance. With a higher rate of climb and service ceiling, the YP was an improvement over the Sabre, although a small one. The engines were always be the most limiting aspect of this aircraft and this led some pilots to begin lobbying for new engines for the YP fleet.
When the PoAF tested the A-7P against the YP, the latter came out winning in almost every situation although the A-7s were equipped with the more modern AIM-9P.
This led to the decision to try to get the most out of the small fighter and in 1985, after several agreements were made, the PoAF's G.91YP began a modernization program to upgrade their air combat capabilities with technology being developed in Italy for the Aeronautica Militare's F-104S interceptors.
The program known as ASA, standing for Armament Systems Update, was to provide a BVR interception capability with the integration of medium to long range AAMs, as well as a selection of modern avionics systems.
The PoAF became very interested in what the Italians were doing and decided to present a study and  proposal to join the program, contributing with funding for development costs and staff to create a similar upgrade for the G.91YP.
The engineers at Aeritalia were already heavily involved and very busy with the development of the Eurofighter program and could only offer limited assistance so, the bulk of the work would have to be done by Portuguese industries in association with the PoAF, with the help of a small team composed of Aeritalia and Thomsom-CSF engineers.
The Fiar R21G Setter radar was installed in the new conical nose section, taillor-made for the size of the Fiar radar dish and respective boxes.
This radar would give the YP the ability to fire the medium range AIM-7 Sparrow missiles, claiming another first in the PoAF's air combat capability history.
The radar and systems upgrade would also give the YP the ability to fire AIM-9L missiles and a Thomsom-CSF ECM countermeasures suite with RWR antennas on the fuselage, wings and vertical fin, and also a new UHF antenna behind the canopy. Flare and chaff dispensers were also added in between the ventral fins, as part of the new ECM suite.
These were all welcome upgrades but what really made the difference was the engine upgrade. The original J85-GE-13A to the F-5E's -21A. The added thrust of the new engines gave the YP a generous boost in most flight regimes and even made it possible for the G.91YP to become a supersonic fighter with a maximum speed of mach 1.32 at 35.000 feet attained in October of 1986 during the test flights of the new engines, another first for the PoAF.
The installation of the engines went surprisingly well, with only minor structural changes to adjust for new internal attachment points. What ended up being more troublesome would be the AIM-7 missiles, which had disappointing performance when guided by the Fiar radar. The limited air-to-air range of the radar would not allow for a reliable engagement at distances greater than 30 km, under half of the range advertised by Thomsom-CSF engineers.
The issue would be partially solved when in 1992, the PoAF began receiving the Italian made Selenia Aspide Mk.1A missiles. There was better compatibility of software between the new missile and the radar, which was also upgraded to the M1 version, with better air-to-ground modes but also to enable the YP to engage airborne targets at slightly greater distances, giving it a somewhat limited look-down/shoot-down and BVR capability, especially when compared to modern fighters.
This was still good news but with the introduction of the F-16A in the PoAF later that year, the G.91YP was quickly reassigned to ground attack/close air support roles, relinquishing the Aspide and Sidewinder missiles for use in the air defense duty by the far more capable Viper.
The YP would continue to serve in the PoAF without major incidents until the PoAF began retiring them in the end of 2004, when most of the airframes had reached the limit of their useful service life.
Only 3 YP examples were saved in museums, two in Portugal and one in Italy."

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[DogfighterZen]

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[DogfighterZen]

Bonus pic of the YP preserved in an Italian museum...

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[Old Wombat]

Not sure about the nose but, otherwise, a very pretty build!