Whirlaway
Anigrand Craftworks McDonnell XHJD-1 in 1/72 scale
prototype, modelling report by Meindert de Vreeze
The first helicopter to bear the McDonnell name was designed with the help of the Platt LePage Aircraft Company. The US Navy set out a competition and McDonnell invested in Platt LePage to learn techniques of the helicopter. After lost of the competition, work continued, resulting in the parallel development of a twin-engined, twin-rotor test prototype and it was designed to fit specifications for an anti-submarine role. The resulting XHJD-1 made its first hover flight at Lambert Field, St Louis, on 27 April 1946.
Using a twin
rotor concept fitted on a wing with two Wasp Junior engines of 450 hp in
two nacelles, it was quite a remarkable concept. The outher "wings" were
first frames, later on covered looking like a wingtip to reduce drag .
Flight testing
was done up till mid 1951 with considerable success using different rotors
and tail layouts. The prototype reached a max speed of about 193 km/h and
normal cruising speed was 145 km/h.
The so called "Whirlaway" was however not ordered and not put into production.
The Anigrand
resin kit #AA2024 from HongKong is a very fine model, although the resin
is not of the highest quality, really being short-limited run kits. Despite
being in 1/72 scale, the overall span is large because of the two rotors.
The resin flash and stubs were sawed
off with a razorsaw from the model parts. The fuselage with its 2 halves
is quite heavy, but nothing the undercarriage struts can not handle
I hope.
The rotor hub stubs were added but
reinforced using metal pins, with holes drilled in the flat edge of the
wing stub ends.
The vacuformed glass is OK, but needs
careful cutting. It think it was a little bit oversize at the mating area
of the fuselage, but this can be fixed with some plastic strip en putty.
I detailed the cockpit area with some stretched sprue and painted in interior
green.
The rotor blades are fine, but their
mounted on the central ub is tricky as they are very breakable. I drilled
holes to fit metal pins for the rotor aixles.
The model was given a light grey base
coat and then the USN Dark sea blue colour of FS 15042 using enamel Xtracolor.
The exhaust pipes and rotor parts were painted dark metal and the markings
are very simple and provided by kit decals.
The model was finished with painting some details metal like the engine faces and wheel hubs.
The overall result is a very special
model of this first McDonnell helicopter. Nostalgia!
Note also the "pitot tube" at the
front.
The span of this model in 1/72 scale is about 15 inch / 37 cm!
Have a look at another McDonnell helicopter
type..... the XV-1 Convertiplane.
References
http://avia.russian.ee/helicopters_eng/mcdonnel_whirlaway.php
https://www.nasm.si.edu/research/aero/aircraft/mcdonnel_xhjd.htm
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