Oxford Diecast New Aviation Releases 1st Quarter 2015.

regtheveg on DHP posted some details of the upcoming Oxford range which includes a new tooling.

Announced at the Current London Toyfair today :-

Blue box - History of Flight Range - 1/72 - Usually with stand and re moveable U/C

72DR009 DH Dragon Rapide RAC Aerial Patrol

New Tooling - 72DV001 DH Dove Dan Air

1/72 Budget Range - Fixed U/C up - Display on stand only - Excepting Gladiator where u/c is fixed down.

AC056 Gloster Gladiator with Skis Fl 19 Fanrik Karlsson, Rovaniemi 1940

AC057 Focke Wulf 190D 12./JG54, Germany 1944

AC058 Boulton Paul Defiant RAF 277 Sqn. 1942

AC059 Hawker Hurricane Mk1 Naval Air Service 880 Sqn. 1941

First half 2015 Corgi announcements.

It would seem that people have lost interest in the Corgi Catalogue that was supposed to be released in September. It appears that it was released mid December without fanfare or much interest. 

That said, the first 1/72 scale Sunderland is in this catalogue so lets hope that Corgi don't drop the ball like they with the 1/72 Vulcan. Also interesting are the WWII twins in the form of the Luftwaffe Dornier Do17 and Blenheim Mk IV.

AA27402 Gloster Meteor F3, YQ-Q, 616 Squadron

AA27501 Short Sunderland MkIII, EJ134, 461 Squadron RAAF, 1943

AA27601 Hawker Hurricane MkI, V7434 DZ-R, flown by Pilot Officer Irving Smith, No.151 Squadron, Digby, October 1940

AA27701 P51-D Mustang, Lt. Julian H Bertram, 362nd Fighter Squadron, 44-14798 G4-V ‘Butch Baby’

AA32517 Junkers JU87 B2, 9/StG 51, Norrent-Fontes, France, August 1940

AA37609 Westland Wessex, Queen's Flight, Hendon

AA37906 SPAD XIII, S15123, First Lt Lansing Colton Holden Jr, 95th Aero Squadron, July 1918

AA38407 Bristol Blenheim MkIV, Hughie Idwal Edwards VC

AA38806 Dornier Do17, 5K+AR, August 1940

AA39305 Boulton Paul Defiant, No.264 Squadron, August 1940

http://www.corgi.co.uk/shop/new-for-2015/aviation-archive-1.html

C-130s & C-295s evacuate people with Polish descent from Eastern Ukraine.

The air bridge involved the backbone of the Polish transport aviation: CASA C295M and C-130E Hercules.

The Polish Air Force has completed the evacuation of Ukrainians with Polish descent living in eastern Ukraine and extracted them to refugee camps in Poland on Jan. 13.

The operation was conducted by C-130E Hercules and C295M cargo planes which flew to Kharkiv to board 178 persons belonging to a large ethnic minority in Ukraine which is set apart from the main body of population.

The operation, consisting of five flights and coordinate with the Ukrainian authorities, was kept confidential until its completion, even though, as highlighted by the Polish Dziennik Zbrojny website, C-130 aircraft flying to Ukraine could be tracked on Flightradar24.com website on Jan. 13., at. 12.00 CET.

http://theaviationist.com/2015/01/17/polish-air-bridge-ukraine/

FGFA fighter is an upgraded T50 to be deployed by 2022.

The Sukhoi/HAL Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA) or Perspective Multi-role Fighter (PMF) is a fifth-generation fighter being developed by India and Russia. It is a derivative project from the PAK FA (T-50 is the prototype) being developed for the Indian Air Force. FGFA was the earlier designation for the Indian version, while the combined project is now called the Perspective Multi-Role Fighter (PMF).

The completed PMF will include a total of 43 improvements over the T-50, including stealth, supercruise, advanced sensors, networking and combat avionics. Two separate prototypes will be developed, one by Russia and a separate one by India. The aircraft is expected began testing in India in 2014, with introduction into service expected by 2022.

The Russian and Indian air forces each plan to purchase about 250 FGFAs, at an estimated $100 million per fighter for an $25 billion total, in addition to the development costs. By October 2012, India had cut its total purchase size from 200 to 144 aircraft. India's initial investment had grown from $5 billion to $6 billion, and the estimated total program cost had grown to $30 billion.

http://nextbigfuture.com/2015/01/fgfa-fighter-is-upgraded-t50-and-should.html

Japan's ATD-X Stealth fighter software glitch & 5th Gen Fighters comparison.

Japan's Advanced Technology Demonstrator-X (ATD-X) fighter test platform will not fly until at least late 2015 due to issues with the software that controls automatic engine restarts, according to officials at the country's Ministry of Defence (MoD).

The first test flight was scheduled to take place before the end of the current financial year in March, but the problems affecting the engine control unit (ECU) will require several months to resolve, the officials said.

The ECU is a critical safety and power management system that automatically reactivates an engine if it shuts down in flight.

http://nextbigfuture.com/2015/01/japans-atd-x-stealth-fighter-software.html