This week we turn the spotlight on the Cessna 421 custom model ordered by Evelyn, wife of hobbyist Gary. She was pleased after we showed her the custom model we made just for her:
It looks really nice. This is a Christmas gift and I don’t want to chance that my husband will
see it before I get home. Thanks for all your work and coordination.
Ma’am, we hope your husband likes your Christmas gift! Happy Holidays from us here at TMC Pacific Modelworks!
Want to order a custom model as well? Let us know! You might see your custom model in this spot next time.
The Panavia Tornado is a jet engine fighter-bomber jointly developed as the Multi-role combat aircraft – or MRCA – by Italy, Germany and the United Kingdom. It first flew on August 14th, 1974. International co-operation continued after its entry into service within a tri-nation training and evaluation unit operating from RAF Cottesmore in Rutland in the English Midlands.
The Panavia Tornado has three variants namely the fighter-bomber strike/reconnaissance Interdictor/Strike (IDS), the suppression of enemy air defenses IDS-based Electronic Combat/Reconnaissance (ECR), and the interceptor Air Defense Variant (ADV). Tornado IDS was operated by Germany, Saudi Arabia, Italy, and United Kingdom. It is said to be the world’s most sophisticated, capable interdiction and attack aircraft. It has a large payload, long range, and high survivability. Tornado ADV was operated by Saudi Arabia and United Kingdom. The difference between the IDS and ADV was the fuselage. The ECR was operated by Germany and Italy. On the 21st of May 1990, the ECR was delivered for the first time. It has an emitter locator system designed to locate enemy radar sites.
The Tornado worked with different countries and associations. On the 14th of August 1974 with Luftwaffe, it flew for the first time from Manching to West Germany. On the 27th of July 1979, the first service delivery was made. The Tornado with Italian Air Force took part in the first Gulf War in 1991. They lost one plane to AAA. In 1999, during the Kosovo war, Aeronautica Militare used IDS for bombing and ECR for the suppression of enemy. Royal Air Force used Tornado GR1s on Gulf war. GR4 was used in 2003 invasion of Iraq and in help with UK and coalition forces in Iraq. On the 26th of March 1986 was the first flight of the Royal Saudi Arabia Tornado IDS. On the 9th of February 1989 the first Saudi ADV was delivered.
The four-seat single-engine high-wing Cessna 172 Skyhawk is the most successful mass produced light aircraft in history. It is also possibly the most popular flight trainer in the world. Over 40,000 172s have been built, more than any other Western aircraft. First delivered in 1956, it is still in production as of 2007. The Skyhawk’s main competitors include the Beechcraft Musketeer, the Grumman AA-5 series, the Piper Cherokee, and the Diamond DA40. The prototype first flew in November 1955.
The 172 was an overnight sales success, with over 1,400 built during its first full year of production in 1965. The 172 began as a relatively simple tricycle landing gear upgrade from the taildragger Cessna 170, with a fairly basic level of standard equipment. Early models looked almost identical to the 170, with the same straight aft fuselage and tall gear legs, although the 172 sported a straight vertical tail while the 170 had a rounded fin and rudder. Later versions incorporated revised landing gear and a lowered rear deck that allowed an aft window, marketed as “Omni-Vision”. The final aesthetic development in the mid-1960s was the sweptback tail which is still in use today.
A variant of the 172, the T-41 is used as a trainer with the United States Air Force and Army. Because of its high-wing design, stability at low airspeeds, and relatively low stall speed, the aircraft is an excellent platform for search and rescue operations and is the primary platform for the Civil Air Patrol’s operations. The US Border Patrol also uses a fleet of Cessna 172 Skyhawks for aerial surveillance along the Mexican-American border.
In 1969, the Military Aircraft Command and the Military Airlift Wing received the first C-5 aircraft.
Lockheed produced an American military transport aircraft designed to provide strategic heavy airlift over intercontinental distances and to carry outsize and oversize cargo. The C-5 also known as the Galaxy has been operated by the United States Air Force and known to be one of the largest military aircraft in the world and one of the most reliable in carrying combat equipments to any destination around the globe.
During the first years in service, a number of Galaxy were stationed at Altus AFB, Oklahoma, Dover AFB, Delaware, and Travis AFB, California serving as cargo planes at high altitude traveling at long hauls. Eventually, these aircrafts were transferred to the Air Force Reserve, Stewart Air National Guard Base and Westover Air Reserve Base.
KANSAS, USA – Cessna announced the new SkyCatcher is to be made in China under Shenyang Aircraft Corporation.
Cessna had tied partnership with the China Aviation Industry Corp and Shenyang Aircraft Corporation (SAC) while the American company, Cessna, had emphasized that the SkyCatcher will be designed, tested, constructed, and serviced to the same Cessna quality standards.
“The benefit is it enables us to provide the SkyCatcher at a lower price,” Cessna spokeswoman Pia Bergqvist. “We looked at several different facilities in several different countries. This was the one that seemed to make the most sense.”
Cessna officials believes that producing the SkyCatcher in China will save on costs which will keep competitors in the growing light sport aircraft market and aims at pilot training and light recreation flyers.
The company unveiled the single-engine two-seat plane in July saying it expects to begin testing in the first half of 2008 and begin delivering these aircrafts in the second half of 2009. Cessna said that it already has 900 SkyCatchers ordered.
The MQ-1 Predator is a medium-altitude; long-endurance, remotely piloted aircraft built by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems and entered service with United States Air Force in 1995. The MQ-1’s primary mission is conducting armed reconnaissance against targets and interdiction.
The MQ-1 Predator is a fully operational system that consists of four aircraft with censors, a ground control station, and a Predator Primary Satellite Link (PPSL). This UAV can carry two AGM-114 Hellfire missile targeting capability and integrates electro-optical, infrared, laser designator and laser illuminator into a single sensor package. The aircraft can employ two laser-guided Hellfire anti-tank missiles with the MTS ball. Powered by a 115-horsepower Rotax 914F piston engine, the Predator can operate from 5,000-by-75-foot hard-surface runways. It needs line-of-sight communications for takeoff and landing, though the PPSL provides over-the-horizon control and communications.
The MQ-1 Predator had been in successful combat since 1995 over Afghanistan, Serbia, Yemen, Pakistan, Iraq and is known as the Top 1 Unmanned Aerial Vehicle for its advance technology performance and advantageous operations.
YOKOTA AIR BASE, JAPAN, December 17, 2007 – U.S. Force Japan and 5th Air Force commander Lt. Gen. Bruce Wright will retire in February after a 35-year career, according to a press release Sunday.
A career fighter pilot with the call sign “Orville,” Wright’s effective retirement date will be April 1.
Lt. Gen. Edward A. Rice, Pacific Air Forces vice commander at Hickam Air Force Base in Hawaii, has been confirmed by the Senate to take command of USFJ and 5th Air Force as Wright’s successor.
Wright assumed the dual-hat command in February 2005. During his tenure he has focused on strengthening the U.S.–Japan Security Alliance and cross-training of the two militaries. He also oversees execution of the U.S. Defense and State departments plus Japanese Defense and Foreign ministries to establish common strategic objectives for the bilateral military alliance.
Among those tasks has been to improve ballistic missile defense capability for Japan.
Beginning with his first tour of duty in Japan in 1978 as an F-4C “Wild Weasel” instructor pilot at Kadena Air Base on Okinawa through his current command, Wright has more than eight years collective military service over four assignments in Japan.
“It has been an honor to serve, primarily in overseas units and combat wings,” Wright said in the release.
Rice’s Air Force flying experience has been mainly in B-52, B-1 and B-2 bombers. He was awarded the Air Combat Command 2002 Moller Trophy for outstanding wing commander after a two-year assignment as commander of the 28th Bomb Wing at Ellsworth Air Force Base, S.D.
A date for the change of command and Wright’s retirement ceremony, expected to be held at Yokota, has yet to be announced.
Turkish warplanes as seen bombarding Iraqi villages
Istanbul, Turkey, December 16, 2007 – “Turkish warplanes and long-range missiles attacked Kurdish rebel positions in the mountains of northern Iraq near the Turkish border early Sunday”, according to Turkish military officials.
It was said that, “the air attack began at around 1 a.m. and lasted for more than three hours, targeted Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) outposts in the Qandil mountain. It was also said that, Turkish ground troops launched long-range missiles at the PKK positions after the air attack.”
The military stated that, “all warplanes returned safely to their bases in Turkey.”
“The targets of the attack appeared to be PKK fighters in the border area, but there are reports of civilian casualties in nearby villages” explains Jamal Abdullah, spokesman for Iraq’s autonomous Kurdish regional Government.
A top Iraqi official said Turkish warplanes bombarded 10 Kurdish villages, killing one woman and injuring two others.
Tensions have been high along the Iraqi-Turkish border, with Turkey threatening to launch a full-scale cross-border offensive against separatist guerillas from the PKK.
Those militants have launched actions against Turkish troops from northern Iraq and have been fighting the Turkish government forces in southeastern Turkey, where violence has been steady.
The Turkish military government received approval from the parliament in October to take military action “at any time.” There are tens of thousands of Turkish troops near the border area.
The United States, the Iraqi government and the Kurdish Regional government had pursued diplomatic efforts over the past two months to keep Turkey from launching an offensive against the PKK.
Though it’s not clearly stated what specific type of aircraft was used, the aircrafts that were shown resembled somewhat to an aircraft of the Fighting Falcons.
Boeing designed and built these big bombers with the single purpose of destroying the Japanese Empire. The B-29 entered service in October 1944.
The B-29 Superfortress is a strategic bomber type of aircraft. Its maiden flight was on the 21st of September 1942. Its primary users are the United States Army Air Force, Royal Air Force, and Royal Australian Air Force.
It is a four-engine bomber propeller aircraft flown by the US Army Air Forces in World War II and later by other military organizations. Its name Superfortress came from the well-known predecessor, the B-17 Flying Fortress. It is said to be one of the largest aircrafts in service during World War II.
The B29 Superfortress was also the most advanced bomber during that time. It has a pressurized cabin, a central fire-control system, and remote controlled machine gun turrets.
The Boeing B 29 Superfortress has many variants; each has a specific unique element. The first variant is the XB-29 which is the prototype model that was delivered to the Army Air Corps. The aircraft’s testing continued until February 18, 1943 when the second prototype crashed, causing a lot of peoples lives including a number of Boeing personnel that was involved in the aircraft’s design. After the incident, the US Army Air Forces and some congressional committee investigated the B-29 programme and later assigned the Army Air Force to take charged over its programme. The B-29 is another variant and is the original production version of the Superfortress.
The P-40B Warhawk was one of the planes used by an American Volunteer Group known as the “Flying Tigers”. The group consisted of United States Army Forces, United States Navy and Unites States Marine Corps. Under a secret presidential sanction, the pilots of the said group were recruited by Claire Chennault. They formed a fighter group with three squadrons that were trained in China. The said group defended Burma supply line to China. This happened before the American entered World War II to fight against Japan.The P-40B Warhawk was managed and obtain by Chennault as it was in production for British and Americans. The major difference between the P-40B Warhawk and Tomahawk –IIB is the P-40B had an exterior fuel tank membrane while the Tomahawk had an interior membrane which is more effective for fuel tanks leaks. The P-40B was purchased without gun sights, radios and wing guns. As a result, there was a continual difficulty for the AVG in Burma and China. On the other hand, the good qualities of the Warhawk included the pilot armor, self sealing fuel tanks, sturdy construction, heavy armament and a diving speed that’s faster than most Japanese planes.
In the year 1941, one hundred P40B aircrafts were sent to Burma on third country freighters packed in crates. At Ragoon, the Warhawk was assembled and test flown by a personnel of the Central Aircraft Manufacturing Company before they delivered it to the AVG training unit. The P-40B was the first fighter flown in action against the Japanese forces in Burma on March 13, 1941 before the US entered World War II. The Warhawk also played a vital role in the middle stages of World War II.
Get the P-40B model today with free shipping! Enter promo code TFPH1. Promo ends on December 15, 2007.
RSS
The MQ-1 Predator is a medium-altitude; long-endurance, remotely piloted aircraft built by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems and entered service with United States Air Force in 1995. The MQ-1’s primary mission is conducting armed reconnaissance against targets and interdiction.
