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Deke

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Posts posted by Deke

  1. The F-15B and F-15D are combat capable; that's why they changed the original designation from TF-15 to F-15B. They do not carry internal ECM though, that was replaced by the second seat. If a particular mission required it, they would carry an ECM pod on the fuselage centerline station. The typical load for F-15s now are two external wing tanks.

    Deke

  2. Deke,

    The civil Bell 205A is essentially a UH-1H with a tractor (right side) tail rotor. The standard US Army UH-1H has a pusher tail rotor. AS far as a good 1/72 kit goes, that's a different story. the best solution I have thus far seen is to use a Hasegawa UH-1H and graft the nose from an Italeri short bodied Huey kit (UH-1B, C, F) onto it. You would also need to modify the main rotor as bit as the Hasegawa kit has the stab bar fused to the rotorhead. Anyway, that's how I plan to build mine. Good luck and post some pics! HTH

    Ray

    Ray,

    Thank you for the info; I assume the front of the Hasegawa kit has some major issues? If so, at what point would you bash the two kits? I thought I had seen somewhere a year or so ago a bash of the front end of a 1/72 Huey, which I assume is because of the issue you brought up.

    Most of Air America's 205s were early types equivalent to the UH-1D. Air America also received a substantial number of UH-1Hs bailed from the US Army later as well. I would recommend consulting Dr. Joe Leeker's excellent resources on Air America aircraft for information on the particular subject you're looking to model: http://www.utdallas.edu/library/specialcollections/hac/cataam/Leeker/aircraft/index.html

    Thank you, I have seen that reference before, it's excellent. I was looking at one of the helos listed there as a subject: XW-PFG. Here are a couple of photos of it.

    CIABell205XW-PFG2.jpg

    CIABell205XW-PFG1.jpg

    The website listed above identifies it as "Bell UH-1D (205D) XW-PFG". Looking at the photos, there are two things I find confusing. First, the tail rotor is on the left side, so I assume it's actually a UH-1, not a Bell 205. Second, the website says it is a UH-1D, but the pitot tube is mounted on the roof, not the nose, which I thought distinguished the UH-1H from the earlier UH-1D. Finally any idea on the main blade color for Air America Hueys? It's tough to tell from the photos, so I was going to use olive drab. Again, thank you for the help and any comments.

    Deke

  3. With this kind of loadout, would the SDB's always be loaded into one bay or the other, or does it matter? Does the rack attach to one of the AMRAAM trapezes?

    It can go in either weapons bay, but it is mounted on the inboard station with the AMRAAM on the outboard station. The BRU-61 rack is not attached to an AVEL, it is attached to the same BRU-46 that the JDAM uses.

    Deke

  4. Deke,you are right ,but Wolfpak ( great sheets!!!) produced principally F-model decals and those for the D are for bird not in SEA or in NMF ( Don Kylgus probable MiG-killer).

    Gianni,

    Sheet 72-025 ("In Country") had an F-100D in SEA camo and operating in Vietnam. The sheet is sold out, but you may have some luck in the trade/sell section here on ARC or on ebay.

    Deke

  5. Andre's shot is of SUU-30B/Bs, which seem to have been introduced in about 1968, after tail codes started appearing on the jets, but before the bombing halt that began that October. There is, as of yet, no kit of this in any scale...

    Wolfpak Decals offers them through their resin line. Link

  6. the first issue is travel alone! I don't like spending half the day driving in traffic. Hotel rooms are over priced for what you get and use them for. I could have gone to St. Louis for half the money involved.

    You're confusing Hampton with Virginia Beach. Have they said they're going to hold it in VA Beach yet again or on the penninsula?

    Deke

  7. Negative. The AIM-4 was formally withdrawn from the SEA theatre in 1969, and since Col. Olds, who led the Ubon-based 8th Tactical Fighter Wing, really hated the Falcon, it was dropped there probably earlier.

    (Fighter Pilot: The Memoirs of Legendary Ace Robin Olds)

    HTH,

    Andre

    Ritchie & DeBellvue (Udorn based) carried AIM-4Ds for their first kill on 10 May 72.

    Deke

  8. Haven't been able to find any aftermarket decals for a 1/72 -F model Thud, so I'm considering converting it to a -G which I already have decals for.

    Wolfpak Decals Check here has decals for an F-105G without the side blisters on sheet 72-045 and 72-031 has the F-105F that Thorsness flew on his Medal of Honor mission. They also had an F-105G without the pods on 72-009, but that shows as sold out.

    Deke

  9. My link

    Lockheed F-35 Fighter Has ‘Design Flaw’ in Wing Part, Pentagon Tester Says

    QBy Tony Capaccio - Sep 1, 2011 2:49 PM ET

    Two of three models of Lockheed Martin Corp. (LMT)’s F-35 jet have a “design flaw†that reduces the expected life of a wing structure to 1,200 hours, which is “significantly less than†the expected 8,000 hours, according to the U.S. Defense Department’s testing office.

    The “defective†aluminum beam was detected in November on Air Force and Marine Corps test aircraft after an unrelated bulkhead crack surfaced in the Marine Corps model, the office said. The Air Force plans to buy 1,763 of the 2,443 total in the $382 billion U.S. program, the Marines 371.

    The flawed part is the forward root rib, an aluminum beam at the forward-inboard corner of the wing that supports a fuselage fairing panel on the Joint Strike Fighter’s leading edge flap, according to Lockheed.

    “Structural analysis predicted†that the root rib will have “less than the desired fatigue life,†Pentagon Director of Operational Test and Evaluation Michael Gilmore said in an e- mail statement. “Its short predicted life relative to the stated requirement is a design flaw,†he said.

    The heretofore undisclosed flaw underscores the potential for additional cost growth and schedule delays on the Pentagon’s largest weapons program. Previous problems caused former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates to put the jet into an extended development phase not scheduled to end until 2016, four years later than the original schedule.

    Wing Won’t Fail

    The issue is one of long-term durability that, were the part not fixed, would add to maintenance and support cost. A preliminary Pentagon estimate already pegs F-35 operating costs at as much as $1 trillion, based on a model used by 107 squadrons at 50 sites through 2065, according to Lockheed.

    The F-35 program office and Lockheed Martin have conducted a safety assessment and concluded that a root rib failure would not lead to wing failure, F-35 program spokesman Joseph DellaVedova said in an e-mail.

    “This is not considered a serious issue,†DellaVedova said. The program office and Lockheed have developed retrofits and new production improvements designed to extend the beam’s life and correct “durability deficiencies,†he said.

    “Resolving durability test findings is a well understood process,†he said. Durability testing is conducted early “to avoid costly sustainment later,†he said.

    The Air Force’s principle military deputy for acquisition, Lieutenant General Mark Shackelford, said in an interview today the “unanticipated bill†for the fixes will likely come from program funding.

    Retrofits Planned

    The root rib must be redesigned for future production aircraft, Gilmore said. Inspection and repair procedures are being created for the existing test and production aircraft, Gilmore said.

    DellaVedova said in an e-mail statement that about 30 Air Force and 30 Marine Corps versions will be retrofitted. A new design will be incorporated on the assembly line in the upcoming fifth low-rate production contract. The Navy aircraft carrier version does not have this durability issue, he said.

    Lockheed Martin spokeswoman Laurie Quincy said the F-35 program office statement speaks for the company.

    Shackelford said “while you don’t want to have that type of discovery, it’s a fact of life when you are building new aircraft.â€

    The defect “is not serious enough to be a danger of a loss of a wing -- not a catastrophic failure,†said Shackelford, a former F-22 test pilot. “But there will be some flying-hour limit,†on current jets and “inspections to monitor that structural member. That has some implication in terms of our maintenance work on the aircraft.â€

    ‘Difficult’ Fix

    Gilmore said “it remains to be seen how disruptive†retrofitting aircraft will be to the ongoing flight test and field operations. “The needed modification is understood to be a difficult and complex process,†Gilmore said.

    “Little durability testing has actually been completed; therefore, more discovery is possible,†Gilmore said.

    Aircraft produced with the original root rib “must be inspected periodically†and have required repair before approximately 1,000 flight hours, Gilmore said.

    Durability testing of the wing area was resumed in May but halted last month for about a week when a crack was discovered in a predicted area of the root rib after about 2,800 hours of testing, DellaVedova said. The test was resumed a week later and is ongoing for completion of 3,000 hours, he said. The crack is being monitored.

  10. Mark,

    How did you handle the snake's head markings on the A-10? Is it a one piece decal or multi-piece? Looking up that jet on the internet it's been fitted with the AN/AAR-47 MAWS sensors on the wing tips and tail.

    Deke

  11. I would think chocolate bar wrappers would be a great source for this - most are silver, but some are gold colored. And it gives you an excuse for buying chocolate. One thing to watch for is paper-backed foil, which is stiffer and probably won't make those nice crinkles you are looking for.

    That's what I've always used. I think the trick is not to wrinkle it too much; the real thing just had the normal wrinkles you would expect on a sheet of foil that was not stretched taut over a surface.

    Deke

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