ASTRA Hawk photos and detail

[NIREP reader]

Hi would anyone have photo’s of the converted front cockpit of the ETPS ASTRA Hawk?. Also outside of the cockpit what and where would be ASTRA specific equipment be around the aircraft.

[LOMCEVAK]

Hi would anyone have photo’s of the converted front cockpit of the ETPS ASTRA Hawk?. Also outside of the cockpit what and where would be ASTRA specific equipment be around the aircraft.
NIREP,
I may be able to help. Could I please ask what your interest is in the ASTRA Hawk? Are you interested in external or internal variations from a standard Hawk T1?

[NIREP reader]

NIREP,
I may be able to help. Could I please ask what your interest is in the ASTRA Hawk? Are you interested in external or internal variations from a standard Hawk T1?
Hi there, both if you can. I am a model maker and my next project is the ASTRA Hawk. I mainly build Boscombe aircraft in 1/32 scale (to date most of my stuff is in the display cabinets at the Museum) and I intend to this aircraft but in maintenance in the Hangar on jacks with panels removed and detailed up.

I'm ex-BD myself over 3 different periods!.

Steve.

[LOMCEVAK]

NIREP, I tried to PM you but your storage is full. I have cockpit pictures but we need to discuss how to transfer. Please PM me and we can sort it out. I was the project pilot for the development of the ASTRA Hawk so you may have contact details for me already.

Rgds

DS

[NIREP reader]

PM sent DS. I’ve cleared out my one message so should be able to receive communication now.

Steve.

[AndoniP]

PM sent DS. I’ve cleared out my one message so should be able to receive communication now.

Steve.

NIREP

Check the amount of emails in your sent items and any other folders.

[NIREP reader]

NIREP

Check the amount of emails in your sent items and any other folders.
yep thanks and done. My one outgoing PM made the box full. EVERYTHING is now empty:D

[longer ron]

Hopefully DS can organise some nice cockpit pics for you NIREP.
I don't know how detailed the model will be,the VSS Pack unit (interface) between the front cockpit controls (both centre and side stick) to the 'normal' control system was built onto the bottom of the front c/pit flying control unit pedestal,this made it a heavy item which was a pain (literally) to remove/refit as the electro/hydraulic unit etc protruded into the lower fuselage below the cockpit floor.It was a very clever design in such a small aircraft.
There were electronic trays/boxes which swung down from inside panel 113A and 121C under the cockpit,113A was the large hinge down panel,121C was the smaller panel between the intakes.
There were a couple of smaller electronic 'boxes' either side of the top/rear fuselage in the panels just fwd of the T/Plane (sorry cannot remember panel numbers)
As you probably know - the Flaps were normally left fully 'Down' on the ground.
Due to lack of space on the c/pit glare shields the SPFH (seat pan firing handle) and MDC Handle pins were stowed in the LH Canopy Frame as per the original Hawk layout.
There were some (5 ?) strain guage/transducers mounted around the airframe,2 under the Mainplanes,2 on the T/Plane and 1 for the fin,IIRC the wing and T/P ones had a little bit of external wiring faired onto the skin with PRC and with painted warning markings (not 100% sure about the transducer info as I worked on other a/c as well and might be mentally confusing them) - and it has been a while :) .

[NIREP reader]

Absolutely tremendous thanks everybody:ok:

[BEagle]

Hi LOMCEVAK I'd be intrigued to know how the variable stability was managed in the ASTRA Hawk. I recall seeing the vari-stab Basset in your TV series, with that bank of potentiometers to adjust stability characteristics, but how was it done in the Hawk with rather less cockpit space?

Before the vari-stab Basset, did BD operate a Twin Comanche? I vaguely remember seeing one at Cranfield in 1968 and being told that it was being modified for an RAF requirement - it had various additional tabs cut into the normal control surfaces. Or maybe it was for RAE Bedford?

[treadigraph]

The Twin Com was G-ATMT/XW938 - reverted to G-ATMT in '75, sadly lost in the fatal accident near Booker three years ago. I thought Cranfield operated it?

[LOMCEVAK]

Hi LOMCEVAK I'd be intrigued to know how the variable stability was managed in the ASTRA Hawk. I recall seeing the vari-stab Basset in your TV series, with that bank of potentiometers to adjust stability characteristics, but how was it done in the Hawk with rather less cockpit space?

Before the vari-stab Basset, did BD operate a Twin Comanche? I vaguely remember seeing one at Cranfield in 1968 and being told that it was being modified for an RAF requirement - it had various additional tabs cut into the normal control surfaces. Or maybe it was for RAE Bedford?

When XX341 was modified to become the ASTRA Hawk, the cockpits and avionics were extensively reconfigured and rebuilt. In each cockpit there was a central MFD to replace the AI and HSI and there was an up front control panel (with a HUD in the front cockpit only). Both units came from the Hawk 100 programme, albeit using pre-production items. These were used for changing the variable stability and flight control system parameters. The instructor occupied the rear cockpit and so items such as the LP cock, battery switches, fuel pump switch etc were all moved to the rear cockpit and it could be flown solo from the rear cockpit. The only item that was not moved was the parking brake which was then positioned at off before crewing in for a solo sortie. I did fly a couple of solo sorties but it was not common. One was a delivery to St Athan for its Major servicing and the arrival there was a pairs approach on the wing of another Hawk that was going to fly me back. Therefore, the lead aircraft was flown solo from the front and its wingman was flown solo from the rear! Sadly, no-one seemed to get a photograph of this.

I have no knowledge of the Twin Commanche to which you refer and it certainly was not a Boscombe Down aircraft and was not, to the best of my knowledge, used by ETPS.

[NIREP reader]

the Flaps were normally left fully 'Down' on the ground.
Why were they left down on shut down?.

Was the conversion done in house at Boscombe or did the aircraft fly away to a 3rd party to have the modification carried out?.

[longer ron]

Why were they left down on shut down?.

Was the conversion done in house at Boscombe or did the aircraft fly away to a 3rd party to have the modification carried out?.

Originally the Flaps were left 'up' on the ground,but then it was found that there was Hydraulic fluid getting into the 'Blow Down' lines (standby lowering system),we went through a stage of blowing nitrogen through the system to purge the lines and then it was decided to leave the flaps 'Down' as the norm (maybe about 1978 ish) even after the 'Blow Down' valves were modified.
We preferred them 'down' anyway because if somebody pulled the 'Blow Down' Handle whilst you were under the flaps - the flaps would take your head off.There were no restrictors in the hyd lines and if you pulled the handle there was a 'Crack' from the explosive start valve and the Flaps were instantly fully down with approx 3,000psi nitrogen pressure.It was always fun to ask apprentices to 'Time' the flap blow down during functional tests as it was so instantaneous :).

The Conversion work was carried out at Cranfield in the mid/late 80's.

[LOMCEVAK]

XX341 went to Cranfield Institute of Technology in, from memory, 1983 and made its first flight as ASTRA in August 1986. It transferred to Boscombe in June 1988 on Flight 7. It entered service with ETPS in 1991 although the students on the 1990 course did all fly it.

[safetypee]

BEagle, et al, don't remember any aircraft at Bedford other than the vari-stab capable 1-11 XX105.

For direct lift control the pitch response characteristics were modified to enabled a new stick-to-spoiler interconnect to quickly manoeuvre in heave. Elevator input followed-up so that the aircraft appeared to have conventional pitch stability, the spoiler input washed-out as elevator was adjusted automatically. Basically this gave a constant attitude approach with ability to flare much later.
The aircraft modifications - Cranfield, connected the stick to the roll spoilers to act symmetrically; also there was a programmable servo jack in the elevator control run. The computation was provided by an analogue computer.

The modified pitch control and computation were also used to simulate reduced pitch stability with developing 'fbw' control algorithms (early Airbus and Tornado thoughts). The real pitch stability margin was reduced by loading the aircraft to an extreme aft cg - beyond AFM limits and then adding a computed value when airborne. Approach and landing could be flown in the computed condition, resetting when in the ground.
Tech Log was annotated - 'only use forward door' !