Experimental aircraft walkaround vol.7: Dassault Rafale A

Subject: Dassault Rafale A

Location:Musée d'lair et de l'espace, Le Bourget, Paris, 2015.

Comments:The Dassault Rafale (French pronunciation: ​[ʁafal], literally meaning "gust of wind", and "burst of fire" in a more military sense) is a French twin-engine, canard delta wing, multirole fighter aircraft designed and built by Dassault Aviation. Equipped with a wide range of weapons, the Rafale is intended to perform air supremacy, interdiction, aerial reconnaissance, ground support, in-depth strike, anti-ship strike and nuclear deterrence missions. The Rafale is referred to as an "omnirole" aircraft by Dassault.In the late 1970s, the French Air Force and Navy were seeking to replace and consolidate their current fleets of aircraft. In order to reduce development costs and boost prospective sales, France entered into an arrangement with UK, Germany, Italy and Spain to produce an agile multi-purpose fighter, the Eurofighter Typhoon. Subsequent disagreements over workshare and differing requirements led to France's pursuit of its own development program. Dassault built a technology demonstrator which first flew in July 1986 as part of an eight-year flight-test programme, paving the way for the go-ahead of the project. The Rafale is distinct from other European fighters of its era in that it is almost entirely built by one country, involving most of France's major defence contractors, such as Dassault, Thales and Safran.Many of the aircraft's avionics and features, such as direct voice input, the RBE2 AA active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar and the optronique secteur frontal infra-red search and track (IRST) sensor, were domestically developed and produced for the Rafale programme. Originally scheduled to enter service in 1996, the Rafale suffered significant delays due to post-Cold War budget cuts and changes in priorities. The aircraft is available in three main variants: Rafale C single-seat land-based version, Rafale B twin-seat land-based version, and Rafale M single-seat carrier-based version. Introduced in 2001, the Rafale is being produced for both the French Air Force and for carrier-based operations in the French Navy. The Rafale has been marketed for export to several countries, and was selected for purchase by the Indian Air Force, the Egyptian Air Force, and the Qatar Air Force. The Rafale has been used in combat over Afghanistan, Libya, Mali, Iraq and Syria. Several upgrades to the weapons and avionics of the Rafale are planned to be introduced by 2018. The Rafale A technology demonstrator was a large-delta winged fighter, with all-moving canards, embodying fly-by-wire (FBW) flight control system. Construction of the demonstrator commenced in March 1984, even before a contract was signed with the DGA, France's defence procurement agency. The technology demonstrator was rolled out in December 1985 in Saint-Cloud, and took its maiden flight on 4 July 1986 from Istres-Le Tubé Air Base in southern France. During the one-hour flight, the project's chief test pilot Guy Mitaux-Maurouard took the aircraft to an altitude of 11,000 metres (36,000 ft) and a speed of Mach 1.3. The 9.5-tonne (21,000 lb) demonstrator stopped in 300 metres (980 ft) upon landing

Aircraft walkaround vol.92 : C160 Transall

Subject: C160 Transall

Location:Musée d'lair et de l'espace, Le Bourget, Paris, 2015.

Comments:The Transall C-160 is a military transport aircraft, produced as a joint venture between France and Germany. "Transall" is an abbreviation of the manufacturing consortium Transporter Allianz, comprising the companies of MBB, Aerospatiale and VFW-Fokker. It was initially developed to meet the requirements for a modern transport aircraft for the French and German Air Forces; export sales were also made to South Africa and to Turkey, as well as a small number to civilian operators.The C-160 remained in service more than 50 years after the type's first flight in 1963. It has provided logistical support to overseas operations and has served in specialist roles such as an aerial refueling tanker, electronic intelligence gathering and as a communications platform.The C-160 is expected to be replaced in French and German service by the Airbus A400M Atlas. The Transall C-160 is a twin-engine tactical transport featuring a cargo hold, a rear-access ramp beneath an upswept tail, a high-mounted wing and turboprop engines. The C-160 is designed to perform cargo and troop transport duties, aerial delivery of supplies and equis designed to be compatible with international railway loading gauges to simplify cargo logistics and loading. In flight the cargo area is pressurised and kept at a constant temperature by integrated air conditioning systems. The C-160 is powered by a pair of two Rolls-Royce Tyne turboprop engines, which drives a pair of four-bladed Dowty Rotol propellers. Advantages of the twin-engine configuration over four include reduced unit and production cost, lower weight and fuel consumption, simplified design and reliability. Each engine is equipped with an auxiliary generator system, providing the aircraft with both electricity and hydraulic pressure. An auxiliary power unit is used to power the aircraft while on the ground, and for rare use in mid-air emergencies.One aspect of the C-160 that made the type well suited to tactical operations was the type's short airfield performance; including the ability to perform steep descents of up to 20 degrees and perform landings on airstrips as short as 400 meters. In the airlift role, a later production C-160 could carry up to 8.5 tons across a distance of 5,000 kilometers, and take off from airstrips as short as 700 meters. Dependent upon aircraft configuration, a single aircraft could airdrop as many as 88 paratroopers or transport up to 93 equipped troops.

Military Aircraft vol.90: Grumman EA6-A Wild Weasel

Subject:	Grumman EA6-A Wild Weasel
Scale:	1/48
Manufacturer:	Revell
Price(December2013):	US$25,00
Construction:	Out-of-the box construction.
Extras:	None
Comments:	This is my Grumman EA6-A Wild Weasel version of the venerable Intruder. The kit is old, but, considering the price tag, it is a bargain. Overall detail is very good. Panel lines are raised, but very well done. Wheel wells are very nice, and the cockpit looks decent enough to be left open. There are decals for two different squadrons, one from the marines and another one from the navy. All the markings are in perfect register and react nicely to setting solutions. I painted it with tamiya acrylics. The details were hand painted with Vallejo Acrylics. Everything was covered with a coat of future, but not enough to let it too shinny. Weathering was limited to highlighting the raised panel lines with a fine pencil and some discoloration of the basic grey color on the upper surfaces. Now, lets have a Prowler from Revell-Monogram to make a pair!