Scout712

I have a pic on my hard drive showing a Tomcat with wings spread , slats flaps deployed and canopy open while receiving a treatment by the maintenance crew on the carrier. B/r Michael

That is a Vers interesting point I've never heard before. That would place severe limitations on an BVR fighter. Michael

Pavel, over the years I found one or two pics of Tumbleweed. They show the jet only from the left side. Write me a PN with your email address and I'll pass along what I have. B/r Michael

The Revell 1/72 (R)F-4 kits have a lot of detail compared to the Hase kits but still, I'd only use them for spare parts to upgrade Hasegawa kits. Why? Because Revell copied its 1/32 scale kit with all its errors. The canopy parts are wayyyy to flat and small, the intake trunks are way to square, the horizontal stabs are to large in regards to the chord line, the nose gear strut is way to skinny, the aft section is too squared resulting in a square chute door and the vertical stab is too thin. On the other hand the panel lines have more detail (some are too pronounced), the inboard pylons have a better shape and provide both Chaff and Flare adapters of the ALE-40 (Hase only has the chaff cartridge adapters), the cockpit is reasonably well detailed (the F has dials which come out nicely with dry brushing, the RF-4E is more simple), the cameras in the RF kits actually look like them and not just like some rods as with Hasegawa and the centerline tank has rivets at the aft section just as the real one had. Even though the nose cap is too blunt. The wing tanks are horrible on the other hand. Best regards Michael

Reviving the old thread, I have a question about the nose art carried. I have the decals for ZA790 "Debbi" and want to put the 8x1000# with TSC fit on my model. When did GR-1s start to carry the nose art? All pics I found on the net show nose art and clear pics of the armament only for either the GBU , or 5x1000# or ALARM loads. But in that link Debbi has only 4 mission symbols. Would it be correct to assume it was loaded at that stage still with 8x1000 ers? Thanks Michael

Its an old thread but do you guys know eBay seller kosmo3d ? She is?a great modeller and prints required accessories herself. She printed the CBLS with and without the little blue death bombs. I provided her the measurements for the BDU-33 and she printed them for me about 1 1/ years ago. Great stuff an around. Check her store on eBay. Best regards Michael

Splendid Falgon! In my view the Su-15 is the best looking Soviet Era Cold War jet of the Eastern Bloc. B/r Michael

Yes that lip.is there on all version's tailplanes. I don't know the reason for it though. Prevention of sraping of the tailplane during landings with too high of Alpha? B/r Michael

The Tailplane assembly was a one unit assembly. Back in my flying days I saw them many a time in their wooden racks next to the maintenance hangar. They were changed between jets on a regular basis but always as a whole unit. BUT, there is also one picture I know off which shows the re-enforcement plates assymetrically on a German F-4F . These triangular plates should be either both missing or both be in place. But to answer your question. Chances that both stabilators would be painted in a different scheme to the rest of the airplane is very much more likely than just one stabi having it. B/r Michael

Biggest issue with the Fujimi kits is the way oversized diameter forward fuselage resulting in a wayyyyyy too wide intake. B/r Michael

The Aux Air doors below the fuselage did not drop due to missing hydraulic pressure. They operated as a function of the gear handle. When placed downwards the doors opened and vice versa.They were operated by the utility hydraulic system and controlled electrically. During the ground checks after start up when generators were cycled the doors slammed closed momentarily with the respective generators. Therefore it was of utmost importance to not thumble with the generator switches with groundcrew below the jet. The Aux Air doors could easily snap off an arm of a human being. Speedbrakes were operated with utility hydraulic as well and held closed by a relay. Hence, upon shutdown with electricity missing the speedbrakes opened immediately about one inch. Gravity would creep them down as well, but in the about 2,000 times I preflighted the jet I almost never saw the wide open. Ailerons crept down quicker. Actually without hydraulics you could move the easily with one hand. Btw. the rudder moved with the wind quite easily as well. Therefore, Phantoms parked in the open never had a fully streamlined rudder. B/r Michael

All DMAS birds were jets which came with Slats off the production line. Hence, they featured the internally re-enforced wingbox which made the belly strap obsolete. What you refer as LORAN antenna is the SST-181X beacon antenna which was indeed present on ARNI jets. But, MENG missed to put it into the right place. It should be moved more forward next to the forward edge of the upper IFF antenna. B/r Michael

Hello Antti, thanks for the insight. One more thing. Usually, life A2A missiles in the Swedish Air Force were overall green. What would inert rounds look like? The reason I ask is that I found pics of Drakens with green or white RB27 missiles. Cheers Michael

This thread got me hyped up with the Draken. The GDR Plasticart 1/100 J35F was one of the first models I ever built ages ago. Searching the net for Swedish Drakens, I noticed that the white numbers on the upper wings of the green/blueish camo'd jets were at a certain point in time not there, but huge white rectangles instead. Here is one pic showing a line up of J35Fs on a snowy ramp, armed with RB27 and those white rectangles, another shows four of Drakens marked like that in flight ) Does anybody know at whixch timeframe th<t pic might have been taken? When did the white number came along? Thank you Michael

I cannot post pics on the forum since it requires to use a hosting provider which aren't for free anymore maybe someone could prove me wrong?). Send me a PM with your email. I'tryto dig ' an out and send them to you. Best Michael

Yes, I have it. It is more or less equal to their EF-111A kit and F-111A kit It came with the decals of the 495th Boss Bird, which was on of the two 495th jets to deploy to DS and one of the two which dropped the GBU-28. The kit comes with an extra spruce with the GBU-28 and semi merged AVQ-26. I only bought it because it had the crew names for the nose gear doors as well, something I am yet to find for any other DS F-111 kit/decal. Best Michael

The QRC-160/ALQ-71 was a bit smaller in size and the body more circular than the ALQ-87. I took two pics of it when visiting the USAF Museum in Dayton a few years ago. In 72 scale it can be found in the Monogram F-111F kit. I guess it's a leftover from an F-111A kit which I do not have though. The F-111F kit came with two of those pods. Which, although not aftermarket quality, are a very good starting point. B/r Michael

I have the Finemolds 1/72 scale F-4J kit. It is very nice. However it doesn't come with weapons just like with the Hasegawa Phantom kits. FM produces a separate AA missiles set. I have that one too. Well that one is hit and miss. The AIM-9Bs are very nice. The E version is horribly wrong, the G (which is needed for the F-4J) is a fantasy form and the P/J has wrong rear fins. I made a comparison with Hasegawa , Academy and Revell AIM-9s on the German site Flugzeugforum. It's in German but the pictures tell a lot already: FM AIM-9 comparison The AIM-7s are not bad and the inner and outer F-4 weapons pylons (both NAVY and USAF versions of both) which come with it are utmost excellent. Cheers Michael

In my time flying Phantoms with the Luftwaffe, green Aim-9's were load training rounds only. Not being flown. And of course they would carry seaker head covers.Ground crews need procedural training too. AIM-120 load training missile bodies were grey with blue bands and also not flown but that is off topic. Regards Michael

Outstanding! Thanks B/r Michael

What happned to that release? Can it still be bought? B/r Michael

The RSAF shot already several Have already before. Its the first shoot down for a RAF Typhoon but not for a Typhoon. B/r Michael

The J Siderwinders are not correct for the F. Early on, the F carried AIM-9 B (although improved ones produced by the German company Bodensee Gerätetechnik) with Aero-3 launchers as USAF F-4 (except C models and late E/G). With the Peace Rhine modification in the early 80s, LAU-7 rails as carried by NAVY F-4 (and USAF C'c) were introduced , together with the AIM-9L. Again this missile was produced and updated by BGT and evolved stage by stage into the AIM-9Li-2 (i for improved) in the 2000 years. With ICE the APG-65 came along with Laser INS , different shaped stone and AIM-120B. Back to the topic. The J's are identical in shape to the P version of the sidewinder which was carried by the USAF E models through the bigger parts of the 70s and 80s. Michael

It can be done. Hypersonic models provides some very nice slotted stabs. And the AN/ARN-101 mods can be done with some scratch building skills. I did it about six years ago. http://www.zone-five.net/showthread.php?t=16391 B/r Michael

The spoilers could be pulled up when hydraulic pumps were inop (I.e. engines shut down / no external hydraulic test dolley connected). Our (Luftwaffe) maintenance crews did postflight checks on the inside of the spoilers where for instance the actuator for the aileron could be seen. Quite some force was required to pull them up though. The spoilers crept close due to gravity or could be pushed down again. Speedbrales crept open only about five fingers as soon as electrical power was lost and no airflow pressure kept them close. You could pull the open but I rarely saw completely opened speedbrakes. BTW, Luftwaffe Phantoms had red colored inner speedbrakes with red actuaturs but the well itself was a dark zinc chromate green. B/r Michael