Subject: Re: Article SUbmission
From: "Submissions for ARC" <[email-masked]>
To: "MaRiO FdZ" <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 30 Jul 2008 15:58:04 -0700

Hi,
I just wanted to let you know your article went on ARC today.  Thanks again for sending it in.

Steve Bamford
Aircraft Resource Center
http://www.aircraftresourcecenter.com

Live like there is no tomorrow;
Love like you've never been hurt.
Work like you don't need the money.
Dance like nobody's watching.
Sing like nobody's listening.
Live like it's Heaven on Earth.

  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: MaRiO FdZ 
  To: [email-masked] 
  Sent: Friday, July 04, 2008 12:25 PM
  Subject: Article SUbmission

  Steve

  I'm sending an article, the pictures ar in .ZIP as they are many of them. 

  Take Care

  Gallery Template #05

  'Piper Cheyenne 400LS'

  by 'Mario Fernandez'
  --------------------

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  Hi. This is my Piper Cheyenne 400LS. A what? Yeah, I know, this aircraft isn't very popular. In fact, if you'll be lucky if you ever see one in person. There were less than 200 produced, and, this particular variant - the 400LS - has less than 40 flying in the world - mostly in Europe. Here's a link to a picture of the actual Aircraft.

  The reason I built this bird goes way back, to when I was a kid. Trips to the ariport were frequente, since my Father flew an early version of this aircraft. Then, I met the Cheyenne III. Phantoms, Tomcats, Corsairs, Spitfires, you name it, you probably fell for your favorite bird the first time you saw it. This is exactly my case. The difference is that flying one of these is within my reach. So, I'll explain a little about the Aircraft and the build. I hope you enjoy it, I know I did.

  Take Care

  Mario A. Fernández

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  The Aircraft - Piper Cheyenne (PA-42)

  Back in 1967, Piper Aircraft began producing the PA-31 Navajo, a twin engine prop used mostly as a small-scale cargo and corporate transport. The aircraft became highly successful, and improvements came as the aircraft matured. Among these improvements were a pressurized cabin, as well as increased engine performance and power. When there were no more upgrades to be made in piston power plants, the next logical step was the TurboProp.

  When Piper fitted the PA-31 with PTA-28 Pratt & Whitney engines in 1972, the PA-31T was born, and was named 'Cheyenne'. Originally, the engine caused more woes than benefits to the aircraft, as the extra power caused longitudinal inestability that took several years to fix, until 1977. The problem was fixed with two different solutions: reduce power or tweak the airframe. Piper did both. The reduced power version was named 'Cheyenne I' (PA-31T-1-500), while the original and subsequent tweaked airframe versions were renamed 'Cheyenne II' (PA-31T-1-620). The Cheyenne I and II are visually identical.

  The delay with the PA-31T caused Piper to loose the lead in the twin engined GA community, as the Beechcraft King Air B200 became the leader in the TurboProp class. The King Air featured an extended cabin, as well as increased performance. In order to catch up, Piper decided not to tweak the PA-31T again, but came up with a completely new aircraft, launched in 1979.

  Introducing the Piper 'Cheyenne III' (PA-42). Compared to the Previous Cheyennes, the III had a T-tail and was 3 ft longer, as well as more powerfull engines. After 88 Cheyenne IIIs were built, the 'Cheyenne IIIA' (PA-42-720) was launched. Again with better engines and other minor improvements done to Cheyennes I and II. The III and the IIIA are also visually identical. 

  As they had done with the Navajo, the next logical step after TurboProps were Jets. However, Piper - as well as most of General Aviation in the 1980's - was in a slump, and didn't have the resources to enter such market. However, they noticed that the new airframe coud stand larger imputs of power, so before they experimented with jets they decided to put a much more powerfull engine on the Cheyenne III in 1984.

  The result was the Piper 'Cheyenne IV', later renamed 'Cheyenne 400LS' (PA-42-1000). Fitted with much more powerfull Garret TP331 engines, it is one of the fastest TurboProps ever built. Its performance could compete with that of small jets. The 400LS was the 'Hot Rod' of the line, and was regarded as a 'Fire Breather'. It is distinguishable from the III/IIIA by larger engines, propellers, and exhaust nozzle position. 

  In total, the Piper Cheyenne III/IIIA/400LS was produced until the collapse of Piper Aircraft, in 1993. Total production of the PA-42 was of 192, including 149 III/IIIAs and 43 400s.

          
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  The Kit - Gremlin Resin Kits, 1/72

  I have like this aircraft sine I was 3, and I had always been after it, but I had found none. Thanks to Mike Swinburne (Seiran01), I found it in Hannant's, so i ordered a couple. The kit is made out of Resin  and includes VacuForm parts. It was the first time I worked with both, so I took my time. They turned out to be much harder than the regular plastic kit.

  The fuselage and Wings were casted in a single piece each, there were two vacform fuselage tops, the tail section in a single block, and the rest of the aircraft pieces in another.

  Kit construction started with the passenger seats, each with safety belts added made out of tamiya tape. The couch and a coat hanger were added in the back, too. The cockpit was too simple, so I created a decal for the instrument panel and added a leftover PE from a Hasegawa Tomcat as an Engine Control Unit.

  Adding the top fuselage was very tough, and I actually had to do it twice, the first time pieces inside the fuselage came loose so I had to bust it open. I figured it was easier to replace the part than fixing it.

  The engine nacelles were ok, but I wanted to detail them more. I recieved some help from a friend, Hugo Alcocer, regarding the exhausts. The kit's props were not for a Cheyenne 400, so I got me acouple of P-51's and stole the props from them. Also, I aded the engine Intakes to the front of the nacelle, as the kit's were non-existant.

  The landing gear was built around brass tubes with styrene tubes, and the remaining pieces are thin winre, or styrene for realism. The kit's landing gear seemed a little too weak. 

  The long tail told me the bird would be a tail sitter, which eventually was. However, no matter how much weight I sanded out of the tail section, it never seemed to be enough. So, I glued the airplane to a display base and saved some time.

  The Next troublesome part was painting. Although I washed the kit previosly, apparently Tamiya White doesn't like the resin used in this kit, even with primer. I had to decant and add a couple of drops of future in order to get the Tamiya white to stick.

  After this was fixed, I ran into another issue: Decals. I used home printed decals for this build, but the clear papered ones produced more trouble than solutions - they got the colors wrong, even on white. That and a couple of bubbles. So, I decided to strip them and retouch the aircraft.

  After the decals were stripped, I sanded the front windshield to the correct size, and decals reprinted. This time, on white decal paper. They turned out Okay, but after a couple of days they also faded a bit. Bah, I can live with that.

  Final panel marking was done with a pencil, just to make them visible, but not too much.

  The result? My queen of the shelf. I like it VERY much, and I will build another one. This time a III, which I like even more. Yet, at first, I'll enjoy this one. 
  Thanks for taking a peek, and Take Care!!

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  Photos and text © by 'Mario Fernandez'

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