Superheat

Almost nothing in this is correct. I am working on an extensive illustrated reply to the original question, but I cannot let this pass as is. The A and B are quite easy to tell apart, just look at the radome. The A has only a gun-ranging radar at the very tip of the nose cone and has a gun camera window in the left side of that small radome. The B had a APS-67 radar and consequently had an actual fibreglass radome the same size and shape as the A nose cone, with the gun camera window in the bottom of the radome. In the cockpit, the A panel has no radar screen, the B does, a square box wit

Hi Andrew, Going through the photos I have, there is a lot of variability, but I think this is what you are talking about: HTH, Tom

OD anti-glare panel, not the usual black - and straight, not curved down to the base of the radome. Remember the date? I have a slide of that aircraft dated May 85 that has the anti-glare in black, but same shape. Cheers, Tom

Hello Omar, Yes they are different, because the kits are quite different. Fujimi's is far and away the better of the two. HobbyBoss' is based on the Trumpeter 32nd kit and is about 6 scale inches too wide in the fuselage from nose to tail and more than that in the cockpit/canopy area. A cockpit for the HobbyBoss kit is far too big to fit a Fujimi kit and one for the Fujimi kit far too small to fit a HobbyBoss, so order the appropriate set for whichever kit you have - hopefully Fujimi! Cheers, Tom

Gents, I have been trying to reply in this thread for several days, but my computer keeps crashing before I finish the reply, so this is going to be short and I will edit it to add more info. Testors liquid cement DOES work on the kit. When I got the kit, the first thing I did was brush Testors on the inside of a nose half and press my finger into it and presto! A fingerprint! That told me immediately that it should work. I then took some flat-sided sprue sections, brushed Testors on one and immediately stuck it to another piece. It stuck, but was easily "unstuck", because, I suspect, onl

I don't think that site is around anymore. He was posting other people's photos without permission or attribution. Here is a Vought photo schematic of the E cockpit which I have annotated and modified to show the wing up and wing down positions of the wing incidence and locking handles HTH, Tom

Both Eastern and Delta used the L1011 domestically. TWA also had them and used them on long haul high density domestic routes (eg, New York-LA) Cheers, Tom

Great, now if they would do a T-2A, I would get really excited. Anyone who thinks shoehorning the Pavla cockpit into the Matchbox kit, should try making something of the Esoteric "Body Job" solid fuselage A conversion. Don't even think about the Airmodel vac. Cheers, Tom, A trained

Sure, Tommy, my pleasure

Continuing on.... 5. There is something slightly off in the tail area but I can't tell exactly what until I have the plastic in hand (when I am sure, other warts will become apparent) 6. The nose strut is somewhat under extended, but keep in mind that, like most airplanes, the extension of the Cougar nose strut depends a great deal on aircraft weight and the main fuel cell, which holds about 4500 pounds, takes up most of fuselage from just behind the rear cockpit to the leading edge of the wing, well in front of the main wheels. Another thing to keep in mind is that the Cougar did not suffer

Well, Gents, Looking at the built-up, it looks pretty good. There are a number of small things I note, one of which was pointed out in the CAD phase, but overall I like it. Here are the things I see so far. 1. The intake opening is still not right, there is too much slope to the upper edge, the bottom is OK. Pointed out, not corrected 2. The shape of the center windscreen is not quite right. It should taper in a bit at the bottom, so as is it is a bit too wide there. This photo comparing one o the build photos to an aircraft demonstrates the first two items: 3. The wingfold angle is

There are photos of a built-up on Aeroscale: http://www.aeroscale.co.uk/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=17129&utm_source=AeroScale+Subscribers&utm_campaign=0ff429cb4c-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_4a50b75939-0ff429cb4c-305721965 All in all it looks pretty good. I'll post some comments after a little more study - and sleep! It's late. Cheers, Tom

Horsefeathers! The main tire pressure for the Crusader ashore was 300psi under 30K gross, 365psi over that weight. Aboard ship it was 400psi. The A-4 main tire pressures ashore varied from 200psi at 14K GW and below to 350psi at 22K and above. Aboard ship they were also 400psi. The nose wheel was less, but still high: 160psi ashore and 325psi aboard ship. What distortion of the nose tire there is in the photo I think 11Bee is referring to is because of the compression of the tensioned out bridle, and it isn't much. The Cat Officer is on his way to touching the deck, and when he does and th

Well, Les, Without a photo of the Eduard SB, it is hard to say, but if it is a simple fold, I suspect you are right. Here is a photo of the speed brake on the P'cola N. You tell us! Cheers, Tom

Here is one dated January 1975 ...and a thumbnail of the right side dated 1974 It looks like the Plane Captain's name is on the splitter plate, both sides, though they could be different names, impossible to say from these photos, unfortunately. HTH, Tom

Hi Jim, Other than the fins and rear of the body where they attach, the two look to be identical in size and shape, is that the case? If so it wouldn't be a big deal to scratch build new fins for the Hasegawa items. What say you? Cheers, Tom

Sure, Tommy. You might also add that one of the changes in the rebuild program was a new nose strut, dimensionally identical to the original, but with a two inch longer throw on the compression strut, plus the cable deflector horns (which seem to make it onto ALL newer F-8 kits but only apply to the G-L). It helped the accident rate I am sure, but an inflight engagement still pretty much always resulted in driving the nose strut through the intake. Incidentally, the F-8H trap in Mr. Govus' series id very close to an IFE. It occurs to me that I need to get back to that "homework" you assign

This is great stuff, I must comment on one photo, however, this one: In spite of Mr. Govus' comments, this is an absolutely normal F-8 rollout: mains in the air, nose gear fully compressed. Every landing I made in the Crusader looked - or at least felt - like this, as well as the hundreds I saw as an LSO. If you want a really dynamic scene for your F-8 model, pose it just like this. Cheers, Tom

Well, Martin, I'd buy one in 72nd, and a tractor or two, and a huffer and a power cart, too. As to your question, I can't answer it, and would like to know myself, but I got out of the Navy in 1973 and Yellow Gear - the generic term for Flight Deck and Ground Support Equipment - was still yellow then. Ironically, I still see reference to it as Yellow Gear even though it is now all white. I guess "White Gear" just doesn't have that catchy sound. Thanks for the photo link. Cheers, Tom

\ Damn, Jari, all these years and 100s of photos and I never noticed that! Thanks! Duh, missed that, too! OK, on to the NATOPS cockpit photos. Here's a shot that shows part of the left console in the Vought B restoration now at the Frontiers of Flight Museum at Dallas' Love Field. I include it more for the color information than the detail And the cockpit sidewalls. I never saw that padding in fleet aircraft, though. And that big round knob on the right sidewall (numbered 4) opened an emergency air vent, which would be covered buy the padding, kind of defeating the purpose.

Hi Chris, First off, I agree completely about the HobbyBoss kits poor shape, but the real problem with the it and the Trumpeter A-7 kits is not the canopy and/or the intake. These are mere symptoms, the disease is the fuselage which is slightly too wide to begin with - which accounts for the so-called "flattened" intake (and tail opening which no one ever mentions) - and completely wrong in cross-section from the wing forward. The fuselage of the A-7 tapers forward from the wing in three distinct sections: lower, ending at the intake, which tapers the least: mid, from the intake to the cano

Well, he does....sort of. The USAAC used the term in their manuals, eg. "P-51 Maintenance and Erection Manual" During WWII a lot of airframes got to the front in crates and had to be assembled, ie "erected". The Navy, though, has never used that term to my knowledge and the actual manual he cites is titled the "Handbook Structual Repair Instructions" and is available on line at: http://www.avialogs.com/index.php/en/aircraft/usa/grumman/f-9fpanther/an-01-85fg-3-handbook-structural-repair-instructions-f9f-2-4-5-5p-aircraft.html Tom

Hi Danny, Thanks for that info, it is bvery interesting, but I would strongly suggest that you post some photos of the parts and a finished missile. Pictures of the packaging, which has only a rendering of the items, does not have much selling power. Cheers, Tom

And hi Again, The deck material would be wood for sure. The Panther was used primarily on straight deck carriers and all USN straight decks had wooden decks. Even after SCB-125 converted the Essex's to angle decks they were wood, though the catapult area had steel plates to prevent fires ignited by afterburners. The deck configuration was pretty much exactly the same as it had been in WWII, so any WWII carrier deck section will suffice for your model. The first US all steel decks were the Forrestal class. HTH, Tom

Datsun 74 (260Z, perchance? - had a 71 240Z myself) Going through all my Panther photos, I find exactly one that has the speed brakes partially extended on the ground, so you are best advised to leave them up. Though its wings are unfolded, I am 99.99999% sure that wingfold position has no effect on the speed brakes - why should it? It certainly did not on the Cougar, though flap position did: when the flaps were lowered the speed brakes automatically retracted. There was an override switch which would allow you to extend them, or leave them extended, with the flaps down. On the Cougar tha