Vidar_710

No cockpit sets for the F and G? If you know of some, please guide me in the right direction.

That looks great! Now the hard one is done... the starboard one should be easier. ;-) Let me know when I can have them printed. I'll mold the parts and share the images here. Tracy

Yes. Two extended pins and two hole for the port mount, and a extended tongue-in-groove for the starboard side will make great glueing points. It’ll also make it easier to mold and cast them in stronger material. Tracy

Hey CJ, When you get a chance, could you look into separating the lateral stanchions from the main vertical mount? The aft mounts as they are do not survive in tact during shipping. Could you come up with a peg-n-whole gluing joint. They do not do well just gluing surface to surface with such a small contact point. Tracy

I think blocking off as you suggested would work for me. Being solid, they'll act as re-enforced points for glueing the mount to the fuselage. Tracy

Well, I guess I'll be you Huckleberry folks. I bought them and we'll see how they fit the Trumpeter kit... when I get to the project. Trac y

Um... for the 1/100 Tamiya kit please! ;-)

Oddly enough, I received nothing from ESCAPAC, but I did get something from SEAWARS - a patch I believe. (mechanism that auto releases the parachute from the torso harness after being submerged in salt water). I was also inducted into SOS... (Society of Survivors) with a gold SOS tie clip, a Blue silk tie with gold embroidered SOS’s, and a patch. The significance of SOS is you are a soul survivor. My squadron, VS-22 Checkmates, presented my with a plaque mounted D-ring and Catapillar.

ECAPAC seats have a stabilizing gyro only... meaning they go where they are aimed. Low and rolling upside down is not a good thing in that seat. Ejection seats in Tomcats, Hornets, and A-6’s and late A-7’s redirect upwards during an inverted ejections. As far as S-3 accidents, we had our fair share.

Oct 7 '89 We had a complete hydraulic failure followed by a failure of the aileron AFCS channel. This happened during Case 1 operations (VFR) while in the clearing turn right off the cat. So, right off cat 1, the plane became unrecoverable immediately after the pilot initiated a right clearing turn, and continued to roll over on its back. I could see the CoTac's stick deflected all the way back to the left. We were all out of the envelope, but some how I made it anyway. I left the aircraft at about 110deg of roll 150ft over the water. Broke my back, 3 ribs, lacerated my left kidney, and a nasty shade of black and deep purple over the entire left side of my body. For about a month, I had flashes in my left eye due to impact trauma shifting the fluid around. The fluid was slowly trying to get back the way it was. As it moved over my optic nerve, I got these flashes that seemed like someone was taking flash photography just out side my peripheral view... drove me nuts. :-)

Yes we did... However, we usually flew using boom mics. The O2 mask was primarily for emergencies since we had a fully pressurized cabin environment. I ejected from an S-3B in October '89. Soul survivor - hence my name "Vidar 710". My helmet was ripped from my head, split up the back side, and my chin strap was still snapped in place but ripped in half from water impact. For some time after that accident, O2 masks were worn during take-offs and landings while operating from the ship to secure the helmet. Tracy

Anyone try to fit the Aires 1/32 scale F-14A nozzles (TF-30's) made for the Tamiya kit, and try to fit them to the Trumpeter kit? They do not have a set made for the Trumpy kit - yet. Tracy

Awesome!

I was a SENSO with VS-22 during Desert Shield/Storm. The wingtip pods are the same... it was the 4 antenna that were swapped out. There is an aftermarket kit out there, or just sand the kit parts smooth, then add 8 pieces of thin sheet styrene squares with a half dome in the middle. Another addition is the 3 chaff n flair buckets behind the wheel wells, and belly forward of the sonobouy chutes. Don't go too far with the B update. We were still an ASW platform at that time, so leave all 60 chutes in the belly. Good luck finding VS-22 decals for Desert Storm markings in 1/48 scale. They discontinued them. 😕 Tracy

FYI, White Landing Area lights shine aft only. The Red Foul Line lights shine forward only. They are all recessed into the deck with flush deck plates grooved to allow the light to emit in one direction. BTW... Nice model! Tracy