Rob Mignard

Tank, I forgot to add that there was a large black (very worn) “H” centered on the pad aligned with the takeoff lane. Rob

Tank, the pad was concrete, a real treat! Usually we fueled out of blivits lying on the ground. Ninh Hoa was the base for the 48th Assault Helicopter Company, hence the nice pads. I believe they were 15 x 15 feet. The barrel is used as a receptacle for the fuel nozzle and the fire extinguisher was also inside the barrel. No grounding wire, the skids took care of that (jungle rules). The black takeoff surface to the right of the helicopter is dirt covered with “penaprime, used to keep the dirt and dust down during helicopter operations. It was just sprayed on and wasn’t meant as a runway-type s

Getting Gas at Ninh Hoa, 1969. We typically never shut down until the day was over. Sometimes 10-12 hours!

At Fort Rucker, I flew out of Shell, Hanchey, Knox, and Lowe. Here's what I flew on my first tour with the 92nd Assault Helicopter Company:

When I was at Fort Wolters (June -November 1968) we still had OH-13’s, OH-23’s, and TH-55’s. I flew TH-55’s (no overspeed governors!)The TH-55’s were overall International Orange (not Dayglo). The 13’s and 23’s were a mixture of colors; overall orange, a mixture of OD and orange, or a mixture of OD and Dayglo orange. I flew TH-13T’s at Fort Rucker in late 68 and early 69. They were all international orange with blue tinted canopies. Contact phase was flown in A and B model Hueys. Most were glossy OD with dayglo orange panels. All later training was in D and H model Hueys in the later flat OD w

Actually, VMF-513 flew mostly (maybe exclusively) night interdiction missions (along with F7F-3N’s.)(see Ospreys “F4U Corsair Units of the Korean War”)They used the radar for ground mapping. Fully loaded with rockets, bombs, and fuel tanks was normal. So, yes, the Hasegawa loadout is usable. Mig

Bryan, I hadn’t seen the white cowlings before. When I went through Fort Wolters in 1968 they were overall orange with a few older birds with white tail booms (which were called “white pegs”). Thanks` for posting the photos. Mig

It’s been out for several months. Typical AMP. It’s kind of a melange of TH-55A and Hughes 300C. Mig

I just received this kit from LF. Having flown OH-23’s in the Army in the late 60’s and early 70’s I’ve been waiting for this kit for decades. The kit represents an OH-23C. This makes sense as other than the canopy, they can use the same sprues as their A and B kits. The kit is well molded with some minor flash. The canopy is thin and clear with no distortion. The detail is well represented if somewhat simplified. Super detailers will have a field day since literally everything on the helicopter is visible. The engine and transmission are well done. LF offers a resin a

Great job Curt! Rob

I thought I said that; but probably wasn't that clear. I flew missions with their customers out of CCS. Mig

The airplane you’re building was code named Heavy Hook, not Black Bat. They worked with MACV/SOG to do team insertions and other interesting things. The crews, from the taiwanese Black Bat squadron, flew in civilian clothing. The Heavy Hook aircraft were upgraded from the Duck Hook configuration (no jets and less capable avionics). I highly recommend Chris Pocock’s book “The Black Bats.” Mig

Here's some photos of Article 360 taken on September 24, 1959 after it dead-sticked into Fujisawa airport. Poor quality but they do provide some relevant information. The following are present: "Beanie cap" radome on the front of the nose The large square antenna just aft of the radome The circular antenna on the lower part of the Q-bay hatch (this is also visible in the wreckage displayed by the Russians immediately after the incident) Safety instructions under the cockpit The cockpit sun visor is white The is a small (unreadable) white number

A Shoestring racer would be nice. I like the Hot Canary as well. Mig

My AMP H-19 arrived today. If you have any of the other AMP kits this one will look familiar. Very nice molding but lots of small and very small parts on large sprues. The’ve finally broken the code on clear parts; these are the best I’ve seen from AMP. Very clear, reasonably thin, and minimal wavyness. You get the typical AMP multi-part fuselage; but only three main parts. The tail boom is separate (which leads to hope for a bent tailboom B model) The cockpit is made from several clear parts. There are several 3D printed parts (including the engine and rotor head). Both the cabin and the engi