aim9xray

"Horns" instead of loops on the ejection seat headbox.

Going by the book... NJ is (was) the tailcode for Air Wing 12. The modex (nose number) of 1xx indicates assignment to the first squadron of the wing. In this case we can probably say that this jet is assigned to VF-121, the Pacemakers, based at NAS Miramar. Primary mission equipment was probably the F3H or F4H; the TV-2s being used for instrument training, squadron hacks etc. EDIT: I think I can see "21A" on the fuselage under the trailing edge of the tip tank. This would be consistent with "VF-121A" or VF-121 Det. A. The detachment would explain their being based at North Island.

To amplify on Joe's post, here's the gouge on the West Coast test activities. There are two threads that didn't intertwine - Developmental Test and Operational Test, both at Pt. Mugu. (Testing at Pax was also considered developmental test). After DT, improvements had to (by law) be run through OT before they actually went to the fleet. OT also developed and polished the tactics for later fleet implementation. Developmental Test F-14 DT started at Pt. Mugu when the command was called the NMC (Naval Missile Center). The command was reorganized around 1974 and was renamed PMTC (Pacific Miss

You'd think so; I did for a long time. It turns out that "Vandy" was short for the squadron's 1950's radio callsign - "Vanderbilt".

Jennings, are you compensating for the foreshortening effect of the wing on your base art caused by the 10 degree anhedral of the wing? Please crosscheck against the Wikipedia image of the 83rd FIS F-104A in Taiwan...

For what it's worth, here is an image of the port weapons bay of the first Boeing X-45A. This may give you some ideas about the structure that could be in the X-47B weapons bay. The X-45 was for the Air Force; note the zinc chromate primers and multiple resin colors on the unpainted door, as well as incidental use of silver speed tape. The Navy, well, they like these areas to be painted white. My other firm guess is that equipment racks and instrumentation boxes will be International Orange. HTH!

A "RU" tailcoded F-105D and recently retired EA-6B are on display at The American Airpower Museum on Republic Airport, Lawn Giland.

Ah, I understand now. I just measured the "Ryan" model - it comes out to about 1/30th. Could you please contact me off board? Thanks, Craig

Hi Jon - I'm not aware of any 1/32nd kits of the Firebees; there are several smaller scales (in 1/72nd and 1/48th as companions to their Italeri DC-130s). Are you thinking of the Fermo or Ryan BQM desk models which are about 1/32nd (give or take)?

Correct. Altair was a one-off, derived from the early Pred B with the original fuselage. While at one time leased to NASA, the Altair has been used as a testbed/demo aircraft by ASI, even appearing in Canada Forces markings. Ikhana is a production Reaper airframe with the deeper fuselage.

The "special dark blue" is a commercial automotive paint, Ditzler "Dark Blue" number DDL 12908. This information from "McDonnell-Douglas Aircraft Colors F-18, AV-8, F-15, F-4" Third Printing, published by Gateway Chapter IPMS, originally for Multicon '80. It looks like Ford has used DDL 12908 consistently over the years. Take a look at Ditzler paint codes; the color is available from multiple manufacturers. HTH.

Ah yes. I believe that system is incomplete without the complementary Hornet Operational Logistics Equipment. (I should point out that I was a member of the elite On Location Deployed, Fast Action Response Team.)

Very nice coverage, James. I'm rather ticked that I missed this one. Is there any hint that there will be an Open House at Vandyland in the future? I've been up for three or four of the shows in the past; they've been small but a lot of fun with some unusual visitors.

Well, to be painfully accurate, all new-build F-14Ds and F-14D( R )s were delivered from Grumman and/or NADEP with the old TID (round display). The square PTIDs were migrated over to the F-14D fleet community as F-14Bs were retired in the 2000's. On the other hand, all new-build and converted F-14Ds were delivered with the Digital Display (DD) used with the APG-71 which replaced the Detail Data Display (DDD or triple-D) used with the AWG-9. This is the display that is just below the RIO's eyelevel; visually, the DD had a much larger CRT and had pushtiles surrounding it, compared to the lat

The aft fuselage and tailcone look like that of a Piper Aztec (at least to me!). The Aztec is a 5/6 seat general aviation twin-engine design and has a distinctive "kink" in the upper fuselage under the vertical stabilizer. It looks like the center wing/engine section was removed and the outer wing panels attached directly to the fuselage. Well, that's my guess!