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Academy 1/48 F-16C, Hellenic Air Force

Started by Spiros Pendedekas · 264 ≡ · ↻ 3 years ago · 1/48, Academy, F-16, Hellenic Air Force

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Michel Verschuere said 3 years, 1 month ago:

Great one Spiros @fiveten long live HAF !
Spiros Pendedekas said 3 years, 1 month ago:

Thanks my friend @michel-verschuere!
George R Blair Jr said 3 years, 1 month ago:

HAF has some really cool paint schemes for the F-16, Spiros (@fiveten). Looking forward to the paint and decals.
Spiros Pendedekas said 3 years, 1 month ago:

Thanks my friend @ gblair!
Good to hear from you!
Adrian Starling said 3 years, 1 month ago:

Really looking good Spiros! You have moved really quickly on the falcon and I am looking forward to seeing your spectacular detailing and off course the paint. Keep the updates coming...
Spiros Pendedekas said 3 years, 1 month ago:

Thanks my friend @adrianstarling! Onto the fin base mounted drag chute housing scratch build now!
Adrian Starling said 3 years, 1 month ago:

Looking forward to that Spiros, an elaborate bit of engineering. Nice element for scratch building and I only picked that up since you mentioned it! Was this specific to HAF as my F16 knowledge is not that detailed?
Spiros Pendedekas said 3 years, 1 month ago:

Hi my friend @adrianstarling!
Looks like RNoAF first used the chute, due to their icy runways. It seems it was offered as an option from Lockheed and some Air Forces, like HAF, took it.
Here's what I discovered in the amazing F-16.net site:

The extended base serves various functions;

RNoAF was the first to use it, because of icy runways we need it to shorten the landing run by parachute.
Later, RNLAF installed the same on their Vipers.
ROCAF and Thailand, aswell as Indonesia has it aswell. (NB! The Thai examples with breakchutes are Ex-Singaporean!)
Chile fly ex-RNLAF A/B Vipers with it aswell.
All fly A/B models

Greece, Turkey and Chile also has parachutes for their C/D's, so also Polish AF. I believe all the new Pakistani Vipers have it aswell, much like the Polish Vipers.

Belgium also installed the housing, but use if for ECM equipment - so also for the Israelis, although not on their A/B models, only the C/D's. Belgium never installed it on their B-models though. Those sold to Jordan still contain ECM equipment as they did while serving the BAF.
Cheers!
Spiros Pendedekas said 3 years, 1 month ago:
Chute housing

Academy provides a two fin bases, a short and a longer one. HAF F-16s sport the long one, so (! 🙂 ) the short one will be assembled and donate a part of her body, to be reincarnated as a chute housing...

Here is the assembled short fin base...

Then the utmost rear part of the plane's fin base was filed off...
1. cropped
...and the most suitably looking part of the long fin base was separated, sanded, hollowed with my Excel knife at its rear part, to look like in reality, attached at the rear and faired with liquefied styrene
1. Housing installed
1. Liqurfied styrene
Upon curing, the sides will be sanded smooth and tissue, doped with white glue, will be inserted into the housing, to represent the chute...

The HAF Falcon looks better now...

Even if this is supposed to be a "quick'n'simple" build, I just could not stand the wrong (for a HAF bird) unchuted (!) fin base looks...

By the way, the turbine is not located far enough in, but the AB duct is not ofensivelyshallow either; let's say i can live with it, after the exhaust nozzle installation...

Thanks for stopping by!
Marcus Vinicius Teixeira Borges said 3 years, 1 month ago:

Lovely!
George R Blair Jr said 3 years, 1 month ago:

Housing looks great, Spiros (@fiveten). I joined the Air Force back in the days when a lot of the fighters had braking chutes (1970's), so it is great to see your F-16 with a chute.
Eric Berg said 3 years, 1 month ago:

Now that’s plastic surgery done right! Nice.
Adrian Starling said 3 years, 1 month ago:

Great work Spiros, looking good and I am sure the end result will be a work of art. I agree, true authenticity makes you feel so much better! Look forward to your next update!
Spiros Pendedekas said 3 years, 1 month ago:

Thanks my friends @mvtb, @gblair, @eb801 and @adrianstarling!
John vd Biggelaar said 3 years, 1 month ago:

She got a nice face (chute) lift, Spiros.
Even "quick & simple" kits will eventualy be more work than expected.
All the small additions will make them look so much better.

Viewing 31 - 45 of 264 posts

Work in Progress – Aircraft

Academy 1/48 F-16C, Hellenic Air Force

Chute housing