Chris Kethan

Karl, Did you get promoted to hinge yet? If you haven't, you sure have the O-4 speak nailed! :) Chris

I haven't done the Honduras approach, but I did do the "Hong Kong curve" into Kai Tek about 12 years ago.. It was interesting, but not as interesting as the one in Honduras! Chris

Jorge, Try this site. It is a wealth of information. A-1E HTH, Chris

MM "Aircraft Interior Black" works well, also. Chris

Greg, Outstanding build! Your attention to detail on that strike Eagle is amazing. I really like the burner cans! Can't wait to read the detailed article on this build! Chris

Holy Moly! I just found this thread. This aardvark looks GREAT! Chris

Andy, Read the build review over at Modelling Madness. It has a complete buildup of the Kingfisher, with the corrected floats added. The inaccuracies are covered very well there. OS2U build-up Hope this helps, Chris

I hear this set is hard to find. I just got sniped on EBAY today on my bid for one. The winning bid was $32.89, which bested my max bid of $32.00. I don't care about losing the auction, I just want to know what this set should sell for, so I don't bid more than I should the next time I find one..... Chris

George, AeroMaster made a sheet (#48-235) titled "Flying Cats Part II - US". It includes markings for 3 PBY-5's. A NAS Jacksonville plane in the 3 tone scheme, a VP-34 Black Cat, and an Atlantic tri-color scheme bird of VP-63. If you have trouble locating a sheet, you can have mine. I used the VP-34 markings, but the other two are intact. Maybe we can work a out a trade.....if not, you can have it anyway. Chris

Saltydog, That Dauntless is phenomenal! I really love the patchy effect you got with that painting method. I WILL be trying it out soon. That's the best looking finish I've ever seen on a WWII USN aircraft. Thanks for sharing your technique. Chris

We all know a helo isn't actually supposed to fly, but........... I'd have to say the coolest configuration is a USN H-3 loaded with a B-57 Nuclear Depth Charge. That's some big-*** balls......chucking a nuke out of a helicopter! Here's a toast to my rotary-winged, ASW USN comrades. Chris

VP-45 VP-94 Chris

Great looking build of one of my favorite subjects! I built the Iteleri boxing of this kit last year for the Defense of the Reich group build, and your kit looks alot better than my effort! Chris

Dave, Looking Sweet! I built that kit a few years ago, and it builds up nice. Just a thought.....If you want to simplify your build, leave the dive brakes in the down position. I found during my research that those dive brakes were actually wired closed most of the time in the field squadrons. They seemed to be ineffective and caused unwanted buffeting. Nice build....Keep us posted. Chris

<double post> Sorry Chris

Those look really good, Mike! It's a shame you didn't complete them in time for the GB. Great work.....I really like the G-10. The finish is superb. Chris

Superhornet, Here's the solution to my F-8 intake problem.. Apply this.... Then use this.... Repeat as neccesary. :huh: :o Just kidding.... Seriously, that's what I used. It takes a little while, but it can be done. I don't have a shot of my F-8 intake, but here's one of my A-7E, which shows it CAN be done. HTH, Chris

Only if we start a discussion about super hornet flaps. Or the merits of the Tamiya F-16 vs. the Academy..... Chris

Andrew, I would paint the white rudder & spinner first. While you were spraying the white, I would shoot a white coat under where the yellow is to be painted. This will really make the yellow stand out. When the white is dry, spray the yellow. After the yellow dries, mask the yellow and white areas, then spray the 76 on the undersides and fuselage. Follow with the 75 and finally the 74. After everything has had a chance to sure for a few days, go back with very diluted paint, sparayed at a low PSI and do the mottling. This isn't necessarily the best way, just the way I would do

Perfect! Thanks, gentlemen. Chris

That was the single school in the NAVY that I learned the most and would LEAST like to repeat. Upstate Maine in December, no food for 5 days, below zero temps, 2 feet of snow on the ground with no snow shoes (it's not like a east Texas cracker like me knows how to walk in them anyway)....It sucked, pure and simple. Good luck, we're all counting on you. Chris USN Sere 1989

I've determined that I HATE sanding intakes! I've built a 1/48 Hasegawa A-7E and F-8E and I didn't really like sanding them, but at least I could get sanding sticks in there. These intakes on my Revell super hornet are a beotch. It seems like I have been working on them for a week, and they still aren't done. Numerous coats of tamiya putty and Mr. Surfacer and hours of sanding......I don't really want to use intake covers. My question is this... does anyone have a picture of where the demarcation line between the white and grey is inside the intake? I have been unable to find one onlin

Pig, I don't know if you know about it, but a Delta management weenie was actually quoted as saying "there's no money in freight". Wonder where we would be now without that "forward vision"....... I've flown with Captains who were qualifed on the DAL herc. They were also checked out on another aircraft. Chris

Willie, I just started my 1/48 Revell F-18E and it looks like a pretty sweet kit. It comes with 2xAIM9X, centerline tank, 2xAIM-120C, LAU-127 AMRAAM launch rails, and AN/ASQ-228 FLIR. I think I paid about $15 for it at the LHS. Definately cheaper than the hasegawa. HTH. Chris

Don hit the nail on the head. We didn't have a specific shutdown sequence in the NATOPS, but 99% of the time, we would shutdown the outboard engines on the taxi back to the ramp. The only time we left the outboards turning on the taxi in was if we needed them to help us maintain directional control - i.e. taxiing on an ice-covered taxiway. Also, at night we started the engines with the cockpit lights off. The NAV lights were on anytime the aircraft had had power applied.....APU, or external power. Hope this helps. Chris