Once the nose cone was all filled and sanded, it was time for the first coat of primer. We sprayed the whole cockpit with just normal tinned car primer, but it wasn’t long before we realized that this will take an age, and a lot of money!
We managed to borrow a compressor and a spray gun from dads work. The boys in the paint shop also sorted us out with some primer that was needed. So we waited for a sunny weekend and set about priming her up.
From the beginning I decided that I wanted my harrier to be in the RAF colour scheme, which by luck, my Tornado MK10 seat is painted in. We took a small part off the seat to a company not far from away from us and got the grey colour made up.
We started to prime her, and the sandy colour primer looked quiet smart as the Gulf war livery! But once we started shooting the grey, it was clear that, that was the obvious choice!
It didn’t take long before she was completely covered in her first coat, and I must admit she was looking pretty cool!
After a long day, she was finally all done in her final coat, all we need now was some decals!...
At the front of our nose cone there is some sort of camera, these are very expensive to buy (when they come up) so we improvised…… we fitted a swivel CCTV camera on the inside and used the clear Perspex dome that came with it, as the glass lens at the front……
This cockpit looks great and brings back memories! I use to work on AV8B Harriers while I was in the Marine Corps. You may already know but thought I would share a fun fact. The glass in the nose houses the lens for the ARBS (Angle Rate Bombing System) this was used for target acquisition and release of the munition. We use to fondly call this variant a Day Attack Bird because the ARBS was virtually useless at night. In the early 2000's this variant was discontinued and eventually phased out of the training squadron as well. Good luck with your project it seems to be coming together nicely. What are your plans for the intake cowlings?
ReplyDeleteHi Jonathan, firstly thank you for your kind words,it makes a difference when somebody appreciates what i am doing.
DeleteThank you for you information regarding the ARBS as you might have picked up,this is my first attempt and first time i have had a cockpit, after building my MK10 seat i asked dad could we make one,and the rest is history. Sadly we had to cut the intakes off for storage as our garage wouldn't accommodate the width, plus it will be easier to transport when we do some shows,as for the cowlings, they were taken in part exchange for the head up display unit from Jetart Aviation (Chris Wilson) who has help me and dad through out.
Again thank you for kind comments
Jordan