Saturday, May 21, 2011

BIN LADEN STEALTH AGAIN - THIS TIME A SCIMITAR-BLADE MH-47 CHINOOK


SMN report
The expert Italian aviation team of David Cenciotti and Ugo Crisponi have got together again to visualise a type of helicopter that Cenciotti thinks could also have taken part in the bin Laden raid in Pakistan.

Modifications to the Chinook
Like Crisponi’s visual of the MH-60, this Stealth-Chinook depicts many similar features of such a machine, including smoothed and faceted nose and air intakes, but the Chinook's signature fuselage sponsons are shown here modified with a similar treatment. The rotor heads have discs to cover the complex connection assemblies, and the blades themselves are spectacular hooked scimitars. 


Good starting point for a stealthy build.
 

Boarding a standard-issue Chinook.

Refuelling options
Once again, Cenciotti and Crisponi have included a retractable landing gear and cleaned-up fuselage surfaces, free of all the usual humps and bumps that increase the radar cross-section. A notable omission is the in-flight refuelling probe sported by Special Ops Chinooks - maybe this Stealth-Chinook could carry fuel in an underbelly drop-tank for the first part of a mission, before ejecting the empty tank to go into full-stealth mode for target approach. 


Final approach to a US Navy carrier.


Note the refuelling probe and fuselage antenna on this kit build.

Model choices
For kit-bashing purposes there’s a wealth of choice available, from 1:72 scale, through 1:48 to Trumpeter’s gorgeously humongous 1:35 scale beast. Take your pic!


Attention to detail and good finish mark this build out.

Graphics courtesy David Cenciotti here and Ugo Crisponi here.

SMN’s EuroStealth helo ‘Gaddafi Grabber’, based on the NH Industries NH-90 here.

Model pix courtesy Scale Rotors here.

A selection of MH-47 kits here, though if a Woodcraft version appears on your screen, it’s definitely an interloper!