Classic kits vol.5: Revell 1/144 World War II minikits

Subject: Revell 1/144 scale World War II Minikits

Comments: These series were produced in the early 1970's. The kits were released in several different collections from different Revell manufacturers around the world. These are very simple kits, with a single sprue and very limited decal selection. You can also find these kits under the Revell logo "Squadron 144".

Aircraft walkaround vol.41: Focke Achgelis Fa330 - Updated

Subject: Focke Achgelis Fa330

Location; USAF Museum, Dayton, Ohio, USA, 2014, Deutches Museum, Munich, Germany, 2012.

Comments:The Focke-Achgelis FA 330 Bachstelze (English: Wagtail) was a type of rotary-wing kite, known as a gyroglider or rotor kite. They were towed behind German U-boats during World War II to allow a lookout to see farther. Because of their low profile in the water, submarines could not see more than a few miles over the ocean. To solve this, the German admiralty considered a number of different options, including a folding seaplane(Arado Ar 231). In the end, they chose the FA 330, a simple, single-seater, autogyro kite with a three-bladed rotor. The FA 330 could be deployed to the deck of the submarine by two people and was tethered to the U-boat by a 150 m (500 ft) cable. The airflow on the rotors as the boat motored along on the surface would spin them up. The kite would then be deployed behind the U-boat with its observer-pilot aboard, raising him approximately 120 meters above the surface and allowing him to see much farther — about 25 nautical miles (46 km), compared to the 5 nautical miles (9 km) visible from the conning tower of the U-boat. If the U-boat captain were forced to abandon it on the surface, the tether would be released and the FA 330 descend slowly to the water. When not in use, the FA 330 was stowed in two watertight compartments aft of the conning tower. Recovering, dismantling, and stowing the FA 330 took approximately 20 minutes and was a difficult operation. (ref. Wikipedia)

Aircraft walkaround vol.37: Fieseler FI103 "V1" UPDATED

Subject: Fieseler Fi103 V1

Location: Musée de L'Air et de L'Espace, Le Bourget, Paris, France, 2015; Deutches Museum Munich, Germany 2012; Fantasy of Flight Museum, Orlando, Florida, 2013; National Air and Space Museum, Washington DC, 2011 (V2 Loon, american missile).

Comments: The V-1 was developed at Peenemünde Army Research Centre by the German Luftwaffe during the Second World War. During initial development it was known by the codename "Cherry Stone". The first of the so-calledVergeltungswaffen series designed for terror bombing of London, the V-1 was fired from launch sites along the French (Pas-de-Calais) and Dutch coasts. The first V-1 was launched at London on 13 June 1944, one week after (and prompted by) the successful Allied landing in Europe. At its peak, more than one hundred V-1s a day were fired at south-east England, 9,521 in total, decreasing in number as sites were overrun until October 1944, when the last V-1 site in range of Britain was overrun by Allied forces. This caused the remaining V-1s to be directed at the port of Antwerp and other targets in Belgium, with 2,448 V-1s being launched. The attacks stopped when the last site was overrun on 29 March 1945.

Kit review vol.24: General Dynamics F16A Fighting Falcon

Subject:	General Dynamics F16A Fighting Falcon
Scale:	1/72
Manufacturer:	Italeri
Price	US$ 30,00
Description	Injected plastic model with  waterslide decals.
Comments	This is Italeri's 1/72 scale F16A Fighting Falcon with a "super decals sheet". You got several possible variants of the F16, but certainly the nicest are the ones with the tail art from Netherlands and Venezuela Air Forces. The kit has also two options included: the single or the two seats versions. The panel lines are recessed and detail is ok. There is no option to leave the canopy open, but the cockpit has almost no extra details except for the ejection seat. My sample is already on my workbench. I intend to build the Venezuelan version. I found some references on the internet that i posted with this review.

Aircraft walkaround vol.61: Grumman F11F Tiger

Subject: Grumman F11F Tiger

Location: Intrepid Air and Sea Museum, New York, USA, 2014

Comments:The Grumman F11F/F-11 Tiger was a supersonic, single-seat carrier-based United States Navy fighter aircraft in operation during the 1950s and 1960s. Originally designated the F11F Tiger in April 1955 under the pre-1962 Navy designation system, it was redesignated as F-11 Tiger under the 1962 United States Tri-Service aircraft designation system. The F11F/F-11 was used by the Blue Angels flight team from 1957–1969. Grumman Aircraft Corporation made 200 Tigers, with the last aircraft being delivered to the U.S. Navy on 23 January 1959. The F11F (F-11) Tiger origins can be traced back to a privately funded 1952 Grumman concept to modernize the F9F-6/7 Cougar by implementing the area rule and other advances. This Grumman company project was known as the G-98, and when it was concluded it was a complete design departure from the Cougar. The U.S. Navy Bureau of Aeronautics was sufficiently impressed to order two prototypes, designated XF9F-8 even though the new fighter was clearly a new design. To add to the confusion, the prototypes were then redesignated XF9F-9 with the XF9F-8 designation going to another more straightforward Cougar derivative. Since the afterburningversion of the J65 was not ready, the first prototype flew on 30 July 1954 with a non-afterburning engine. In spite of this, the aircraft nearly reached Mach 1 in its maiden flight. The second prototype, equipped with the afterburning engine, became the second supersonic U.S. Navy aircraft, the first being the Douglas F4D Skyray. In April 1955, the aircraft received the new designation F11F-1 (F-11A after adoption of the unified Tri-Service naming system in 1962). Carrier trials started on 4 April 1956 when an F11F-1 Tiger landed on and launched from USS Forrestal. The F-11 Tiger is noted for being the first jet aircraft to shoot itself down. On 21 September 1956, during a test-firing of its 20 mm (.79 in) cannons, pilot Tom Attridge fired two bursts midway through a shallow dive. As the velocity and trajectory of the cannon rounds decayed, they ultimately crossed paths with the Tiger as it continued its descent, disabling it and forcing Attridge to crash-land the aircraft; he survived.The design's potential for supersonic performance and reduced transonic drag stirred interest in the U.S. Navy. By 1953, redesigns led to a completely new aircraft bearing no more than a familial resemblance to the Cougar. The new wing had full-span leading edge slats and trailing edge flaps with roll control achieved using spoilers rather than traditional ailerons. For storage on aircraft carriers, the F-11 Tiger's wings manually folded downwards. Anticipating supersonic performance, the tailplane was all-moving. The aircraft was designed for the Wright J65 turbojet, a license-built version of the Armstrong Siddeley Sapphire.