NOTE: Information in brackets [ ] has been copied from a previous thread into this post without responses and comments, so some disconnects in the dialog may be apparent.
Hi, All,
I just added the strike camera window and rain deflector to the undersides, just aft of where the ECM antennas will go. For the window, I used clear styrene covered with a layer of Future floor wax.
[I finally got the 47-section hatch cut out. It was a tough job because the plastic is really thick here. This hatch was important to the ECM shop because it gained access to the "ovens" - fiberglass boxes that held our high-power jamming transmitters. Through this hatch, we removed and replaced transmitters and their cooling units, some weighing over 50 lbs each. It also provided access to our chaff dispensers. Each loaded magazine of chaff weighed about 40 lbs (they weighed about 25 lbs empty) and there were 16 of these magazines in a full load, one for each slot in the side of the aircraft. They all had to be handed up through the hatch.
The only clear picture of the 47 Section hatch I could find was on a G (or H?) model, shown below.
Below is a single chaff magazine. Each was about 4 feet long and was made of cast aluminum and steel. It had two channels for chaff bundles. The magazines were loaded vertically into the dispensers. The dispensers had motor-driven pawls that ejected the chaff bundles. The chaff bundles came in small cardboard packets that were torn open by a small "tooth" when the bundle was ejected.
[
Son Of Medicine Man
So back to the chaff dispensers, this chaff then was like the chaff they used in WWII, aluminum, to confuse radar?
Ken
Yup, although much more sophisticated. Instead of plain aluminimum strips, the chaff now is mylar strips coated with alluminum. Much thinner and stronger. It is cut to different lengths depending on the frequency of the signals you want to jam - longer for lower frequences and shorter for higher frequencies. Some of the lower frequency chaff is 8-10 ft long and actually can cause power outages if they get across high power lines. The very high frequency chaff is around an inch long and very narrow - like what you get from a shredder.]
The next step will be to prime the fuselage and wings. After that, I will assemble the aircraft. But before I can do that, I need to build the diorama base so I have someplace to park this monster 
.
Cheers,
Russ