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Virtavia AJ-2 Savage is out!

I took the day and put together a fundamental set of bumps and a gloss Sea Blue skin. I don't have the data yet for accurate rivet placements, but even the basic set is a significant improvement for a great plane. I've got some other big projects on the fire, but I'll be picking away at a set of detailed bumps and specs for this one.

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Savage

Just thought I'd chime in here on the Savage. The Virtavia Model looks great. I did however have the opportunity to hear a lecture from a former Navy pilot about the peculiar aircraft. They have a static Savage on display at the National Museum of Naval Aviation in Pensacola, Florida. The fellow giving us the tour used to fly many Navy aircraft during his military career, to include the Skyraider during Vietnam. So, I'd assumed he had been in the "s**t" at least a few times. According to him the Savage was a piece of trash. He stated that it had been hastily designed, for reasons I can't remember, at the beginning of the nuclear age. He told us the story of his conversations with Savage pilots who simply stated to him that if they had gotten a bogie on their six, they would just push to full throttle and so many parts would come flying off of the Savage, that it would knock the bogie out of the sky!. We all laughed. It was a great tour and at the end my son and I thanked him for his service. :jump:

P.S. - I have been thinking of purchasing the Virtavia Savage. Would you great folks recommend it??
 
Just thought I'd chime in here on the Savage. The Virtavia Model looks great. I did however have the opportunity to hear a lecture from a former Navy pilot about the peculiar aircraft. They have a static Savage on display at the National Museum of Naval Aviation in Pensacola, Florida. The fellow giving us the tour used to fly many Navy aircraft during his military career, to include the Skyraider during Vietnam. So, I'd assumed he had been in the "s**t" at least a few times. According to him the Savage was a piece of trash. He stated that it had been hastily designed, for reasons I can't remember, at the beginning of the nuclear age. He told us the story of his conversations with Savage pilots who simply stated to him that if they had gotten a bogie on their six, they would just push to full throttle and so many parts would come flying off of the Savage, that it would knock the bogie out of the sky!. We all laughed. It was a great tour and at the end my son and I thanked him for his service. :jump:

P.S. - I have been thinking of purchasing the Virtavia Savage. Would you great folks recommend it??

I'm biased cause I'm having a lot of fun with this one repainting it, but it's a great plane to put on a deck.


Cees
 
I'm biased cause I'm having a lot of fun with this one repainting it, but it's a great plane to put on a deck.


Cees

Thanks Cees,
I may purchase it in the near future. Thanks for all the work you do on repaints. I have just about all the repaints you've done for the A2A 109....great work!!........cheers!!! :applause::applause:
 
There's no question that the Savage had significant issues, largely due to rushing it into service so quickly without getting all the bugs out. North American was/is known for their unrelenting craftsmanship but even the best companies can suffer low QC during any rushed projects (ie: the B-29 among many other types). It ended up becoming a good aircraft but by then, it was clearly outperformed by the incoming A-3.
 
According to him the Savage was a piece of trash.

In one of Bob Hoovers books he talks about a particular incident where a NAA flight test savage was covered in flies on the ramp from a near by fertilizer plant (I think) or such. Another test pilot remarked that the flies couldn't tell one piece of sh*t from the other.
 
I came across a site where someone built a model of the Savage. Got a better picture of how it should be!



Cees
 
Thanks Cees,
I may purchase it in the near future. Thanks for all the work you do on repaints. I have just about all the repaints you've done for the A2A 109....great work!!........cheers!!! :applause::applause:

I still fly that 109.

:wavey:

Cees
 
Cees, if you want a set of the preliminary bumps, PM me. I did the panel lines from some good line drawings, so those are relatively accurate. The rivets are an estimation, based on the panel lines, but I need some good drawings with structural placements to really dial in the correct placements.
 
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Cees, if you want a set of the preliminary bumps, PM me. I did the panel lines from some good line drawings, so those are relatively accurate. The rivets are an estimation, based on the panel lines, but I need some good drawings with structural placements to really dial in the correct placements.


I've got the Steve Ginter book on the AJ-2, but there's not a lot of detail in the drawings.

Cees
 
Many thanks to you gents for putting in the time and effort to bring the AJ up to pro status. It's very much appreciated. The paints are terrific and I love that deep gloss blue. It just screams 1950s NavAir.
 
I took the day and put together a fundamental set of bumps and a gloss Sea Blue skin. I don't have the data yet for accurate rivet placements, but even the basic set is a significant improvement for a great plane. I've got some other big projects on the fire, but I'll be picking away at a set of detailed bumps and specs for this one.



24845528225_97991fd640_h.jpg

looks great. Love the gloss.
 
I saw potential with this airplane, so I've been adding necessary layers that will be generic for all paints. These are bump and specular files that are, at this time, works in progress but as shown here the AJ-2 Savage is coming into focus.

I couldn't resist doing this skin...it sets off the lines so beautifully.

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Very nice, beautiful skin. This is a tough one as the transition between the wings and the fuselage is not an easy job, at least not for me.

:applause::applause::applause:
Looking forward to the bump maps!

Cees
 
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