SA air ace jumps from plunging plane.

A South African air ace kept his cool when his aircraft broke up at the start of a stunt flying sequence, parachuting to safety over France.

Nigel Hopkins, the reigning South African National and Unlimited Aerobatic Champion and a well known face at Durban air shows, had to bail out of his MX2 stunt plane in mid-air when he noticed something was wrong on Sunday.

The Pretoria resident, a South African Airways flight captain and SAA training captain, was in France for the 28th French Aeronautical Federation World Aerobatic championship.

The cream of the world’s aerobatic pilots gather in Châteauroux, in the central region of France, for the competition from August 20 to 29.

Hopkins, 42, posted a message on his Facebook page letting everyone know he was safe.

“Thanks so much for all the support, it’s overwhelming. Mixed emotions right now. Many asking questions, until we have more info basically my aircraft broke in flight at the start of an aerobatic sequence and I managed to bail out and parachute safely,” he wrote.

http://www.iol.co.za/dailynews/news/sa-air-ace-jumps-from-plunging-plane-1.1901743#.VdOGsLKqqkp

http://imgur.com/a/0YBXT

http://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/wiki.php?id=178764

Hobby Master releases October 2015.

Hobby Master are releasing a new tooling in the form of a 1/72 scale F-14A Tomcat, the first release is from the VF-211 "Fighting Checkmates" off the USS Enterprise.

Also of particular interest is the CF-18A "Battle of Britain" commemorative scheme as well as the Polish F-16D in the 2014 NATO Tiger Meet scheme. Other jets include an Israeli F-15B and a Japanese RF-4EJ with a LOROP pod.

In the prop department there are two E-2C Hawkeyes in Israeli and Singaporean liveries. From WWII there's a Beaufighter from Malta. 

There's only one 1/48 model, the Boeing P-12E, aircraft 10 from the Skylarks team.

Have Indian Su-30s really “dominated” RAF Typhoons in aerial combat?

As we have already reported, four Indian Air Force Su-30MKI Flankers from 2 Sqd have recently been deployed to RAF Coningsby, UK, to take part in Indradhanush 2015, a two-week training exercise with the Royal Air Force Typhoon FGR4s.

The exercise has ended and the Russian-built aircraft have returned to India but Exercise Indradhanush 2015 left an unexpected trail of controversy after Group Captain Srivastav, the Indian Contingent Commander in the drills, told the Indian NDTV that the performance of his pilots was “exceptional.”

According to Srivastav, India’s most experienced Su-30 pilot, the IAF pilots came away from the exercise with a resounding 12-0 victory against the RAF Typhoons in WVR (Within Visual Range) engagements conducted while in the UK.

The response to such claims was almost immediate, even though not too detailed. According to an RAF source quoted in an Independent piece the Indian claims were “clearly designed for a domestic audience“.

A UK MoD blog on this topic said: “As you would expect, advanced military capabilities are rarely operated to the limits of their potential, especially when exercising against other nations’ aircraft. This exercise was no exception for the Typhoon Force.”

To see the full article please follow the link.

http://theaviationist.com/2015/08/08/have-indian-su-30s-really-dominated-raf-typhoons-in-aerial-combat-with-a-12-0-scoreline-most-probably-not/

Final product photos HA8311 Spitfire Mk.IXb "Johnnie" Johnson.

Hobby Master 1/48 Air Power Series HA8311 Spitfire Mk.IXb EN398, Wing Cdr. J.E. "Johnnie" Johnson Kenley Wing , Summer 1943.

On February 13, 1943 Spitfire Mk. IX EN398 made its first flight. It was built by the Supermarine Chattis Hill factory and powered by a Merlin 63 engine. On February 18, 1943 the aircraft was delivered to No. 402 Squadron RCAF as part of Kenley Wing. 

Acting Wing Commander Johnnie Johnson took command of the four Canadian squadrons based at Kenley. Johnson’s first Kenley victory came on April 3, 1943 and during 1943 he accumulated 14 victories, 7 damaged and 6 shared. EN398 ended WWII as the most successful Spitfire.

Pre-production HA4308 Sabre Mk.6 JG 71 "Black Tulip".

Hobby Master 1/72 Air Power Series HA4308 Canadair Sabre Mk.6 JA-111, JG 71 "Black Tulip" Eric Hartmann.