Final product photos HA8602 Hurricane Mk.I F.O. McKnight.

Hobby Master 1/48 Air Power Series, HA8602, Hawker Hurricane Mk.I Flying Officer W.L. McKnight No.242 (Canadian) Sqn., RAF Coltishall, December 1940.

F/O William L. “Willie” McKnight was born in Alberta Canada and on November 6, 1939 joined the No. 242 All Canadian Squadron. He was attached to the 607 & 615 Squadrons for the Battle of France. 

During the BoB he was again with the 242 Squadron as wingman for Douglas Bader. By the end of 1940, P/O McKnight had claimed 17 kills, plus 2 shared and three unconfirmed but some say 23 victories. 

January 12, 1941 Canada’s first Ace in WWII never returned from the Calais area. Willie McKnight was the recipient of the DFC (Distinguished Flying Cross) and Bar. 

Here is a link to another site so you can read a more in depth biography of F/O William L. “Willie” McKnight  LINK

Final product photos HA4407 F-35A 58th FS, 33rd FW.

Hobby Master 1/72 Air Power Series, HA4407, F-35A Lightning II AF 08-0747/EG, 58th FS, 33rd FW, July 2011.

Lockheed F-35A Lightning II 08-0747 (AF-9) was the 4th production model of the F-35 making its first flight on May 13, 2011 and on July 14, 2011 was the first F-35 received by the 33rd FW/58th FS at Eglin AFB, Florida. 

08-0747 was flown to Eglin by the first USAF qualified F-35 line pilot, Lt. Col. Eric Smith of the 58th FS. The 33rd FW is an F-35 training unit equipped with a new Integrated Training Center and will be used to train pilots and maintenance crews.

Pre-production photos HA4406 F-35A RAAF.

Hobby Master 1/72 Air Power Series, HA4406, Lockheed F-35A A35-001, RAAF, 2014.

An RAF Typhoon gets a Battle of Britain camo scheme.

Based in Nicholson's VC Hurricane the Typhoon cuts an impressive figure with its GN-A squadron markings. It is thought that it will display with a Hurricane in similar marking this airshow season.

Pre-production photos HA4701 RA-5C Vigilante USS Kitty Hawk

Hobby Master 1/72 Air Power Series, HA4701, North American RA-5C Vigilante 156624, RVAH-6, USS Kitty Hawk, 1971.

Pre-production photos, Corgi AA37609 Wessex XV733, Queen’s Flight.

SniperUK on DAF has received the pre-production model of the next Corgi Wessex release to review and shared his initial insights.

Not bad but around a dozen corrections needed, the main one being the colour, though it doesn't show in the pics as it is so bright at the minute it is painted in Post Office Red when it should be Signal Red. Others are missing pitots, steps etc. and the blue should extend beyond the kink where the tailboom joins the fuselage.

MAM Fieseler V1 Flying Bomb engine run.

The Military Aviation Museum in Pungo, Virginia has just test run a modern replica of the Argus As 014 pulse-jet engine used on a WWII-era Fiesler Fi-103 guided missile, perhaps better known as the V-1 ‘Doodlebug’ or ‘Buzz Bomb’. The V-1, as most of you will know, was one of Hitler’s “Vengeance Weapons” with which the Third Reich attempted to exact revenge upon Allied civilians. 

The distinctive sound of the engine did indeed cause serious alarm to anyone who heard it during the war, but it was the sudden silence that followed the engine shutting down that was worthy of true terror, as it meant that the weapon, with its 850 kilogram, high explosive Amatol warhead, was about to strike in the immediate area. It didn’t care who, or what, was in its path. This was the dawn of the drones…

http://www.warbirdsnews.com/warbirds-news/v-1-pulse-jet-engine-runs-military-aviation-museum.html

Pre-production photos HA8602 Hurricane Mk. I F.O. W. McKnight.

Hobby Master 1/48 Air Power Series HA8602 Hawker Hurricane Mk.I Flying Officer W.L. McKnight No. 242 (Canadian) Sqn., RAF Coltishall, December 1940.

Pre-production photos, HA8601 Hurricane Mk.I No. 303 Polish Sqn., RAF Northolt.

New tooling, Hobby Master 1/48 Air Power Series HA8601 Hawker Hurricane Mk.I R4175, Sgt. J. Frantisek No. 303 Sqn., RAF Northolt, September 1940.

Hobby Master releases for June 2015.

Some interesting releases for June, the first 1/72 scale E-2C Hawkeye release uppermost among them along with a Giora Epstein F-16A Netz. 

There's also an F-15C from Langley AFB, Captains John Madden and Chuck DeBellevue F-4D 555th TFS, two Luftwaffe F-104s, single and two seaters from the 1980's, as well as two MiG 21 PFMs, one Soviet AF, the other Monogolian AF all in 1/72 scale.

In 1/48 scale there is a Johnny Johnson Spitfire Mk. IXb and a PLAAF P-51D. In 1/200 scale only one military release, the Vietnam era EC-121R Constellation "Da Nang Glider".

Final product photos HA3855 F-16A Dreyden Flight Research Center, NASA 2006.

Hobby Master 1/72 Air Power Series HA3855 F-16A Block 15 #816, Dryden Flight Research Center, NASA 2006. The actual aircraft is unique, it is an "A" variant with a "C/D" tail.

In 1991 General Dynamics F-16A 82-0976 c/n 61-569 was transferred from the 3246th Test Wing, Eglin AFB, Florida to NASA located at Langley AFB. Here it was registered as N516NA #516 where its primary NASA mission was a chase plane for the two F-16XLs. 

On January 10, 1993 the aircraft was re-registered as N816NA and #816 and transferred to the Dryden Flight Research Center and used for engine testing. In 2004 the aircraft was withdrawn from service and is now on display in front of the Lockheed Skunk Works in Palmdale, California.

Final product photos HA2009 B5N1 "Kate" "Ryujo" Flying Group.

Hobby Master 1/72 Air Power Series HA2009 B5N1 Type 97 Attack Bomber "Kate" Aircraft Carrier "Ryujo" Flying Group, 1942.

This Kate belonged to the 1st Koku Kantai (Daiichi Air Fleet), 4th Koku Sentai (Naval Carrier Division) assigned to the carrier Ryujo. The Ryujo (Prancing Dragon) was launched in April 1933 and commissioned in May 1933. 

It didn’t have a superstructure and since it was a flush-decked carrier all of the normal equipment and duties were housed and operated from the front lip under the flight deck. 

On August 24, 1942 during the Battle of the Eastern Solomons the Ryujo was struck by three 1,000 pound bombs and a torpedo eventually sending it to the bottom.

Shuttle's Report - Duxford 10 April 2015

The F-15 is now complete and is due to go into the AAM. However, there is a lot of work to do including taking down the glass front to allow all of the airframes to come out for the refurbishment.

In the Fighter Collection Hanger (2) work progresses on getting several aircraft ready for the airshow season plus the Blenheim is being worked upon in Hanger 3.

There is a new AFV in Hanger 5 - I think it is a Jackal???

 

 Shuttle

(The AFV looks like a Husky)