The
history of this plane goes back to the original crescent wing technology
developed in 1909 by Handley Page himself and expanded by Dr Leipsich in the
early 1940s in Germany. Handley Page developed the crescent wing technology over
the years from glider to the jet bomber. As part of the development for
the proposed HP80 Victor bomber, it was decided to build a 1/3 scale technology
demonstrator which was designated HP88. Construction was subcontracted from
Handley Page to Blackburn. Taking the easy option, an Attacker fuselage (Supermarine
521) was drawn from the production line and modified with the new wing. Other
modifications included a new fin and tail surface with large airbrakes on the
fuselage sides.
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One of
the striking features is the very small tail plane and infact this derives
from the original design of the Victor as a tailless flying wing. The tail
was added to the HP88 as an insurance and one of the things the HP88 was
planned to investigate was whether the Victor would need a tail. As it was,
the HP88 flew for only 14 hours before structural failure around the tail
lead to it cashing on its 12th flight. Presumably this is why the Victor
had a very substantial tail unit!
The
model was constructed almost according to the original. A standard Classic
Airframes Attacker was drawn from the stash and modified with a new wing. The
fin was removed along with the under wing fuselage section and areas ahead and
behind the original wing root, before the fuselage was assembled per the
standard kit. Clearly the big job was the new wing and this was made from a
plasticard and balsa ply. A layer of plastic was sandwiched between 2 layers of
balsa with one lot of grain running to the tip and the other layers running
chord wise for strength. An additional layer of balsa was fitted under the
fuselage to maintain the profile. These were then sanded and shaped to match the
drawings with several applications of Mr Surfacer 500 and 1000 grade to seal the
surface. Wheel wells were then cut in the lower piece of wing balsa with the
sandwiched plastic forming the roof of the wheel wells. Once complete, the wing
was faired into the fuselage and a blanking plate fitted inside to smooth the
areas at the bottom of the intakes. The huge aileron mass balances were made
from residue from a PE fret and buried in the wing where they have been bent
many times but always straightened out.
The
fin is a 1/72 A6 Intruder outer wing panel and the bullet fairing a 1/72 Mig 21
drop tank. (See I do build 1/72 as well). The airbrakes were made from
plasticard stuck to the fuselage and faired in with Milliput. I figured the
undercarriage would be based on the standard Attacker so I used the kit wheels
but with new retraction mechanisms and gear doors from wire and plastic card.
Finish
is Mr Colour Cobalt Blue with a darker shade around the panel lines. Decals from
the Spares box. The plane is pictured with the standard Attacker for comparison.
With
Classic Airframe now giving Attackers away there is lots of opportunity to
build this unique aircraft and its sister the swept wing Attacker, the
510.
Colin
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