aircommando130

Tomorrow is the 73rd anniversary of the atomic bomb detonation at Trinity Site. Been down there a couple of times when it's open. An eerie place knowing what happened there.

Tomorrow is the 49th anniversary of the launch of Apollo 11 to the moon landing! My how time goes by. I was standing on the beach and watched it go. My dad worked on LM-5...the decent stage is still sitting there! Need to get going on my 72nd scale Saturn V now that there are aftermarket parts to make it better!

I thought that was it but was thinking someone would say..."the BUFF has 2 engines shut down" LOL!

Glad to see some new MC/HC-130J out as well!

OK....somebody do a "what if" former Thunderbirds F-16 to a target drone...all the orange on the old Thunderbird paint.

Yep...have seen lots of ANG F-4's at airshows. Showed the pride those squadrons had taking a beat up Vietnam veteran F-4 and repainting them and cleaning them up to be really nice looking airplanes. That line up of Hi Vis Guard jets is cool. I remember when Texas converted from the F-101 to the F-4C. Michigan would send a pair of their F-4's to airshows and they had cool nose art on them as well! Great job Shawn! Lots of memories in plastic! Cheers...Ron

I built the B-29 when it first came out! (I still had hair) I built it as a WWII bomber so I didn't have to grind the turret fairings. I have an old issue and a new one with the HS props...I bought the Cutting Edge Silverplate mod kit but haven't used it yet. Saw an article where a guy ground off the fairings and then put sprue pieces across the openings so the disc he cut wouldn't fall inside. Want to build my HS prop B-29 as "Top of the Mark" from the Korean War...stationed at Kadena...and my Silverplate 29 as "Dave's Dream" the Atomic Bomb dropper for Operation Crossroads. I spent 4 years on Kadena flying the MC-130 and have been to Kwajalein Atoll many times where the Crossroads airplanes flew from. And I live North of Trinity site here in NM so there's lots of connections. Cheers...Ron

I watched the metals and weathering video...pretty good techniques that I hadn't thought to use. Very nice IAF F-4E too! Will watch the other videos probably this afternoon. Cheers...Ron

My dad was stationed at Edwards AFB in the late 50's early 60's when the X-15 was flying. Saw it many times take off under the wing of the B-52 and later slide back home on the Dry Lake Bed. Went to school with Greg and Pam White...General White, the X-15 pilot was their dad. Very good job on your X-15 and adding the pilot as well. Brings back memories of the black rocket plane and the F-104 chase planes escorting it home. Those were the days of going higher and faster every day that they could.

Looks good! I like that SEA camouflage paint too. I have the Trumpeter F-100F to build. Want to make it a Edwards AFB chase plane.

Wow! 3 grand???? I have a paper copy...have to put it in my safe deposit box! LOL! Also have a B-24D "Erection and Maintenance Manual".....

I think the A model is the same as the B,E model. Never flew an A model but you could probably look up C-130A and find a picture of one on the ground.

Even the NF-104 with the wing extensions and the rocket in the tail had white painted wings. Saw the NF-104 and the F-104A/D models fly at Edwards AFB when my dad was stationed there 1958-1964.

The Credible Sport MC-130H's were built from 3 C-130H's from Dyess AFB. ( 74-2065, 74-1683, 74-1686) Lockheed modified them adding the C-141B air refueling slipway to the roof and the Combat Talon 1 TF radar behind a drone nose radome. An extended tail, split flaps and extended ailerons. Had 8 ASROC rockets in a pop out fairing that fired forward, 8 Shrike rocket motors above the landing gear, 8 MK-56 rockets aft to get it off the ground, 2 more Shrike rockets on wing pylons to correct yaw on takeoff, 2 more ASROC rockets under the tail behind the cargo door to help pitch it over after takeoff. They had configured the inside of the cargo compartment to brace it up for all those rockets and a double deck to haul out 150 total passengers (hostages and assault team) My old commander...Col Jerry Uttaro who flew the Desert 1 raid was the co-pilot on 74-1683 when it crashed when the forward firing deceleration rockets fired with the aircraft still in the air. Hope that gives you a better picture of the modifications. Cheers...Ron

That is actually a GTC (Gas Turbine Compressor)...the forward door that's open is the intake...the square hole above the oval is the GTC compartment cooling exhaust and the oval below it is the GTC exhaust. Don't walk anywhere near there when it's running! GTC can only be run on the ground. Later H model's with an APU it could be started inflight for emergency power.