Skis and Floats, anything but wheels.

Fellow blogger Bayou Renaissance Man brought my attention to an article by Vintage Wings of Canada that I found particularly interesting in that many combat aircraft we're familiar with were equipped with both skis and floats.

While the US and the UK tested the concept Germany, Japan, the Soviet Union used these aircraft in combat. The article contains numerous pictures with dates and details and is well worth the read. To wet your appetite I'll post some pics from the article. If you need to know what you're looking at, follow the link below.

http://www.vintagewings.ca/VintageNews/Stories/tabid/116/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/494/Anything-But-Wheels.aspx

Photo of the new Corgi Do 17 on Facebook.

Up on the Jumblies Facebook page is another Corgi upcoming release in the form of the 1/72 Dornier Do 17.

First photo of the upcoming 1/72 Corgi Sunderland.

A photo of the upcoming Corgi 1/72 Short Sunderland flying boat has made its appearance on the Jumblies Facebook page.

HH-60 Helicopter refuels from HC-130.

The image in this post was taken during a training Helicopter Air-to-Air Refueling (HAAR) mission over Alaska.

It was taken from a 210th Rescue Squadron HH-60 Pave Hawk as it refuels from a 211th Rescue Squadron HC-130N.

Both aircraft belong to the 176th Wing (176 WG), a unit of the Alaska Air National Guard, stationed at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson (JBER), Anchorage, Alaska, and they are tasked with combat search-and-rescue missions.

http://theaviationist.com/2015/01/19/hh-60-helicopter-refuels-from-hc-130-in-one-of-the-most-awesome-aerial-refueling-photos-ever/

U.S. Air Force C-17 caught fire at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.

On January 7, a C-17 Globemaster III with the 445th Airlift Wing caught fire upon engine start at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio.

The air crew shut down the engine and the fire was quickly extinguished by the base Fire Emergency Services. A base service member took the image which shows the plane’s right wing engulfed by flames.

The extent of the damage is unclear: according to the 445 AW spokesperson, the damage is estimated at 300,000 USD whereas a memo of the firefighters at WPAFB obtained by 2 NEWS says damage at the airlifter is estimated at 1.5M USD.

http://theaviationist.com/2015/01/21/c-17-caught-fire/