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Old 5th Mar 2013, 23:57
  #620 (permalink)  
dragartist
 
Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: UK East Anglia
Age: 66
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Nice model, I think I may save up for one. Just one point about the colour of the RWR radome on the nose. I designed it in 1981/82 Chinook was first use in Falklands then SeaKing before Puma. the first ones were ABS and blueish/grey. they sufferded bad fatigue cracking. I was a young man with hair at the time and bowed down to my boss who insisted on using that "aircraft approved" interia trim material. the later ones were the UHMWHDPE green that did weather to wash out some of the rutile organic pigments that turned greyish. they were made on a shelly vac forming machine at Special Signals Unit (SSU) at Woolwich arsenal. following some advice from Dr's Davies and Simms at RARDE Waltham Abbey and RAPRA at Shawbury (Not RAF Shawbury)

Like feastdrivers yellow blade tip I still have one of the first green ones hanging in my garage.

After extensive UV exposure trials in Cloncurry Nr cairns in Queensland (No I never went) and testing at DGDQA part of the Arsenal I established a safe life of 10 years. (they could have gone longer but this was very safe) I did not imagine that some 30 years later they would still be in service and even carried forward onto the new Puma rebuild and Chinooks.

The one under the boom looks about Ok. I think someone lost the jig I made to trim them and they got bigger over the years.

Nice model anyway but don't forget the black tape around the nose door!
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