F.W.Corner Inc., MRCA (Multi Role Cargo Aircraft) "Yukon Queen", Scratch 1/48

(possible appearance at the first customer)

The F.W.Corner project:

When Sea King helicopters were replaced by modern types their remaining lifetime was considered unimportant. But if there is a worthwile rest left their fuselages devoid of helicopter parts they could be a basis for winged aircraft. Be it Alaska or otherwise piston engined - veteran - aircraft are very costly to operate if at all due to lack of spares. A cheap robust aircraft for cargo and passengers is dearly needed, an amphibium lending itself for firefighting or rescue operations in lakes.

As for the engine issue, although use of the previous ones would be conceivable, but you come across different maintenance intervals, which would be problematic in practice. Instead, low-maintenance "Unducted Fan" engines designed by General Electric should be used, with no need for the reduction gearbox. The propellers are driven directly by the exhaust gas jet.

The F.W. Corner Inc. thinks it's feasible to make and sell.

The Model:

Since corresponding publications are not available yet, I had to put myself into the role of chief engineer when building the model. What had to look like in order to meet all physical, aerodynamic and design requirements? - So think, think, think at first.

Because there were neither resin nor other parts during the construction, the question in detail was not only how the part should look like, but also how to do it. In example fixing the wings: Simply sticking it to the new fuselage section would have caused the thin sides of the fuselage to warp and the wing tips to lower. However, the necessary reinforcement was not allowed to obstruct access to the cargo area. Just like in the real case. So thinking before was required all the time.

The result was an unparalleled challenge in modeling. - Even the paint had to be found out first. Orange is by no means the predominant colour for machines used in Alaska. "Alaska Airways" uses green, and white was banned because of the exhaust jet passing by the fin.

In the outcome this all didn't have much to do with our usual model making (see link below).

Individual stages of construction see separate page