Looking for
versatility in their response to maritime threats, the Royal Air Force of the
1960s proposed a jet powered flying boat to complement the upcoming introduction
of the Hawker Siddeley Nimrod. The rationale was that the aircraft could be
refuelled by Royal Navy vessels rather than returning to land bases thereby
increasing the effective range. An airframe was modified to a high-wing
configuration and initial testing revealed only one flaw – the jet efflux over
the elevators caused extremely sensitive pitch control. It was decided to reduce
elevator travel rather than further modify it with a T-tail, and this was found
to be an effective solution. The layout of the aircraft was so different that it
was given a new name; Nodens, after a Celtic god of hunting and the sea.
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The soundness of the
philosophy was proven in 1971 when a Nodens from RAF Kinloss completed a
four day circumnavigation of the world without the use of any shore-based
facilities, all fueling and resupply being done from Royal Navy ships.
Following the initial procurement of three examples a further three were
ordered, and at least two can be found far from home at all times as they
accompany the Navy on exercises and deployments.
Thanks to Todd
"Captain Canada" Pomerleau for both the model and the roundels. The
fin flashes were made by printing out a flash on paper, cutting out tiny
rectangles where the blue met the pink, and affixing them with a tiny dab of
white glue. The wings were modified quite simply – the fuselage was cut ahead
of the wing and behind and rotated 180°. The dihedral was so overstated that
once this was done there was no need to provide large supports for the floats.
They were carved from bombs that came with the very old and very atrocious
Spitfire turned out by Aurora back in the sixties. The bulb on top of the fin
was another old bomb, this time from the Hawk Lysander. The fin fillet was made
from a bread bag tie, and the hull carved from good old balsa. Windows were
drilled out and filled with Micro Kristal Klear, and the paint was Gunze 336
Hemp acrylic. The flight deck windows were painted black and a blade was
back-dragged along the window frames to expose the plastic underneath and make
them stand out
The model itself was made by an obscure company called Dubena, one of those
manufacturers who seem to be intent on helping out us whiffers by making
products that are good for nothing else but hacking at with wild abandon!
Dave "The
Rat" Bailey
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