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How do you know which rail is required for the ordnance?


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Many of the posters here are former ordnance loaders, or various other roles around the aircraft.  So I understand their expertise. But how is a layman like myself to find which rail goes with which weapon?  If the kit instructions don’t tell me, or contain an error, then I am in modelling no mans land. I have tried searching for lists and have found nothing, usually just links to online discussions here or other modeling sites. I always read posts saying you need the BOL rail for the tomcat, or the LAU 117 for a maverick. Does every maverick hang from a LAU-117 or just harriers?  Is there a specific book or reference resource that can help me?  I don’t have any questions at the moment but I will soon if I don’t find my own material. 

 

Ron

Edited by is it windy yet?
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The best way, is to just ask, there's enough knowledgeable folks on this site that you will get an answer within a few hours usually.

 

Sometimes ordnance suspension can be confusing because different aircraft use different launchers for the same missile. For example, for the F-18E, the AIM-9 Sidewinder is carried on LAU-127's on the wing tips while on the F-18 Hornet the AIM-9 is carried on LAU-7's out on the wing tips. Your best bet is to just ask and take the guess work out of model building.

 

Also, it's an ordies pet peeve, it's ordnance, not ordinance. Ordinance is a law or regulation, ordnance is something that goes boom. ;-)

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Luckily,  we have the internet for this now. Back in the 80s I just relied on the model companies and whatever was in the box (which explains the AIM-9 inaccuracy on my Tamiya F-14). It is best to assume that every type of ordinance requires a specific launcher and research from there. A Maverick would always be on a LAU-117 for any airframe, except when loaded as 2 or 3 on a LAU-88.  It's probably easiest to see what launchers are carried by the particular airframe type you are working on (while noting what kinds of ordnance they are cleared to carry). 

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