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Sikorsky SH-3 Sea King. This is a UH-3H 152700, converted to the transport role by removing the ASW gear. Pics thanks to Ken, taken at The Pacific Aviation Museum, Honolulu, Hawaii.

Afternoon all, With 848 NAS standing down today, bringing an end to 37 years of service for the mighty Sea King HC4, I thought I'd share a few images by way of a personal tribute to one of my favourite aircraft of all time. Having lived relatively local to Yeovilton all my life, the Junglie has played a huge part in my interest in aviation, and I'll miss it greatly. All the shots posted have been taken at various locations across the South West, with the final four taken as the aircraft set off on the Monday's farewell tour, the last time I'll see this wonderful machine fly... Westland Sea King HC4 ZD627/WO Royal Navy RNAS Merryfield 08/06/11 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr Westland Sea King HC4 ZD627/WO Royal Navy RNAS Merryfield 08/06/11 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr Westland Sea King HC4 ZD625/P Royal Navy RNAS Yeovilton 09/07/11 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr Westland Sea King HC4 ZF115/WV Royal Navy Okehampton Camp 13/05/12 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr Westland Sea King HC4 ZF119/WY Royal Navy Okehampton Camp 13/05/12 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr Westland Sea King HC4 ZF115/WV Royal Navy Okehampton Camp 13/05/12 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr Westland Sea King HC4 ZF119/WY Royal Navy Okehampton Camp 13/05/12 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr Westland Sea King HC4 ZE426/WX Royal Navy RNAS Yeovilton 22/06/12 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr Westland Sea King HC4 ZE426/WX Royal Navy RNAS Yeovilton 22/06/12 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr Westland Sea King HC4 ZF115/R Royal Navy RNAS Yeovilton 22/06/12 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr Westland Sea King HC4 ZE426/WX Royal Navy RNAS Yeovilton 22/06/12 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr Westland Sea King HC4 ZG820/I Royal Navy RNAS Yeovilton 12/07/13 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr Westland Sea King HC4 ZF214/L Royal Navy RNAS Yeovilton 12/07/13 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr Westland Sea King HC4 ZF214/L Royal Navy RNAS Yeovilton 12/07/13 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr Westland Sea King HC4 ZF117/X Royal Navy RNAS Yeovilton 13/07/13 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr Westland Sea King HC4 ZA310/B Royal Navy RNAS Yeovilton 13/07/13 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr Westland Sea King HC4 ZF117/X Royal Navy RNAS Yeovilton 13/07/13 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr Westland Sea King HC4 ZF117/X Royal Navy Merryfield 25/06/14 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr Westland Sea King HC4 ZE427/K Royal Navy Okehampton Camp 10/05/15 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr Westland Sea King HC4 ZE427/K Royal Navy Okehampton Camp 10/05/15 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr Westland Sea King HC4 ZF116/WP Royal Navy Okehampton Camp 10/05/15 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr Westland Sea King HC4 ZE427/K Royal Navy Merryfield 10/06/15 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr Westland Sea King HC4 ZE427/K Royal Navy Merryfield 10/06/15 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr Westland Sea King HC4 ZF116/WP Royal Navy RNAS Yeovilton 09/07/15 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr Westland Sea King HC4 ZF116/WP Royal Navy RNAS Yeovilton 11/07/15 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr Westland Sea King HC4 ZG821/G Royal Navy SPTA 12/11/15 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr Westland Sea King HC4 ZG821/G Royal Navy SPTA 12/11/15 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr Westland Sea King HC4 ZA298/Y Royal Navy RNAS Yeovilton 21/03/16 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr Westland Sea King HC4 ZA298/Y Royal Navy RNAS Yeovilton 21/03/16 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr Westland Sea King HC4 ZA295/U Royal Navy RNAS Yeovilton 21/03/16 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr Westland Seaking HC4 ZA298/Y Royal Navy RNAS Yeovilton 21/03/16 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr Farewell, old friend...

The following images have been taken at various locations around Cornwall since Jan 2016. Unfortunately the few remaining 771 Squadron Sea Kings have been rather elusive. Locations here include Bodmin Moor, Davidstow airfield, Godrevy etc:

We've got three great new Airfix Aircraft Model Kits including one great Starter Set that's ideal for those new to scale model building! First up we have the Newly Tooled 1/48 Scale Gloster Meteor F8 Kit, next the 1/72 RAF Red Arrows Hawk Kit and last but not least, the 1/72 Westland Sea King HAR.3 Starter Set! Stocks of these kits may be limited, so order soon to avoid disappointment! For full details, please see our newsletter.

Sea King HC.4 Sets - For Airfix Kit 1:72 Eduard These sets are intended for the new Airfix kit. Interior Set This set contains one colour nickel fret, and one plain brass fret. The plain fret contains parts for the main internal bulkheads with their integral equipment racks and cable runs, also the flooring areas at the pilots feet. The nickel fret has another bulkhead part, the instrument panel, overhead panel, rudder pedals, and seatbelts for the pilot seats plus all the troop seats in the back. Exterior This set is on one traditional brass fret, it contains parts for the exterior. It has the external plates for the air filter box assembly, the main door external step, the interior for the main cabin door/steps, external tail rotor part, both external racks for the mounted jamming system, windscreen wipers, and a plethora of external hatches/inspection covers, and aerial mounting plates. Masks The die cut masks are for all of the helicopters glazing and the wheels. Review samples courtesy of

Hey all I happened across a rather striking paint scheme on a CH-124 Sea King.... This dates from 1999 when the RCAF was celebrating its 75th Anniversary. This seems to be the only picture available of this particular Sea King. Does anyone know if there's ever been a decal sheet for these markings? Likewise, does anyone know of any other pictures? Regards ANS

So my first question on the forum...... Now that I have the new Airfix Sea King HC.4, I have been looking at the other Sea King kits I have in the stash..... I am looking at doing a building the Revel Sea King MK41 as a RAF HAR3 of 78 SQN in 86/87, so the question is when were the composite rotor blades introduced to the RAF Sea King fleet? Having looked at many photos - it is not very clear if in the early years of 78 SQN which type of rotor blades were installed. I am fairly certain that when 202 SQN c flight was at Stanley, they still had the original rotor blades. A second question relates to the introduction of the air flow stake on the rear port fuselage. When were these introduced? Thanks James

At 0900 Hrs on New Years Day, 771 Squadron at RNAS Culdrose stood down from its Search and Rescue commitment and handed over to Bristows. Three days earlier on the 29th December three local lifeboats (Penlee, Lizard and Falmouth) gathered at Kilcobben Cove on the Lizard for one final joint exercise with 771 Squadron. The event was publicised on the local radio and via social media and a small crowd turned out to witness the exercise. The Squadron is due to stand down at the end of March 2016. And finally here is 'Coastguard 924' working up at Newquay earlier in December.

On Tuesday I went to the Lizard Lifeboat Station in Kilcobben Cove to watch the Lizard, Falmouth and Penlee All-weather lifeboats take part in a joint exercise with a search & rescue helicopter from RNAS Culdrose 771 squadron. This is expected to be the last time for lifeboats and helicopters to operate together. The weather was really good, and we were treated to a very good display. I've posted a few photos which I took on a compact camera. Launching. Being recovered The Lifeboat Station The three lifeboats, 16-20 Rose (Lizard) 17-36 Ivan Ellen (Penlee) 17-29 Richard Cox Scott (Falmouth) Lifeboat on tow The lifeboats and Sea King approaching Kilcobben Cove. Sea King with Falmouth lifeboat. Thanks for looking, Joe

This will be my build for the KUTA VIII Group Build. I first started building this seven years ago! I was making it for my Son's friend who was at the time, a serving member of the Fleet Air Arm. Since then, he has done his 22 years and left the Royal Navy. I feel this man has waited long enough for his model. So I intend to get my bottom in gear and try my hardest to finish it in the given time span. This will be my third group build. I finished the other two in time, so I think this will keep me motivated to finish this one as well. The photo shows how far I've got. The fuselage is just taped together with the other required parts bagged up. The first job will be to get the interior finished so I can glue the fuselage together. There are a few other bits and pieces that I can still attach before doing that, which I will do if it helps progress the build. The last helicopter I made was the Matchbox Chinook. That was a few years ago. I made it for a model airfield layout that I made for my Son. (I've just looked on line, and that kit was released in 1986!). So helicopters are not my strong point, but I'll make the best job I can of it. Thanks for looking, Joe.

Have had great fun following Andrew's gorgeous Sea King build, so I thought I'd throw mine in as well. Fell in love with photos of Qatar Emiri Air Force's Exocet-armed Sea King/Commandos in the old World Air Power Journal during the Gulf War, and it's only taken me 2+ decades to get around to it as a project. Kit is Revell Germany's lovely Sea King Mk. 41 w/Skua missiles. Some of the bits I need (like the six-blade tail rotor) are included in the kit as unused parts, much is being scratch-built. Exocets are coming from the Italeri 1/72 NATO ordinance set. This is what I'm going for, courtesy of Planespotters.net: http://www.planespotters.net/Aviation_Photos/photo.show?id=212004 Been hacking away at this one for a few weeks now, but the only photos so far are of the interior. Cockpit is stock kit with "spares" Eduard color harnesses added; aft cabin (which will not be highly visible) has generic frame, stringer and wiring detail added from styrene strip and rod, thread, wire, stretched sprue and assorted leftovers. All questions, comments, or accusations of diminished capacity cheerfully received. I'll try to get some photos of more recent work up this weekend.

Here is a compilation taken around Cornwall during July and August. I've avoided posting any from Culdrose Air Day as the show has already been covered here.

On August 21st, 2015, the Belgian Air Component NH90 NFH Caimans have reached their Initial Operation Capability (IOC) and were declared "being able to participate in the SAR (SATER & SAMAR) role". From Monday August 24th they will partly replace the ageing Sea King Mk.48 in the SAR H24 alert role at Koksijde airbase (EBFN). The 40 Sqn HELI currently operates 3x NH90 NHF (RN-01, RN-02 & RN-03), 3x Sea King Mk.48 (RS-02, RS-04 & RS-05) as well as 3x Alouette III (M-1, M-2 & M-3). A fourth - and last - NH90 NFH (RN-04) will be delivered in April 2016. It's planned to fully replace the Sea King by late 2018 and the Alouette III by 2021. V.P.

A number of the folks commenting on my QEAF Sea King build have lamented the lack of available aftermarket decals for Qatar's Air Force. Since I ended up making and printing my own decals on my PC, I thought I'd share the bit that was hardest to come by, the inscription (in Arabic) on the tail boom/fuselage of the oft-photographed QEAF Sea Kings and Gazelles. Below is a link to the downloadable file (on Dropbox) of the "stencil" version of the inscription which I created in MS Paint. It's a TIF file, so it can be opened in Paint or any other graphics program and manipulated if necessary. (I paste the final image into a Word document and resize it there as required, then print out onto clear decal paper from there.) The link: https://www.dropbox.com/s/2f5vlnoc6ut8mdm/Qatar%20Emiri%20Air%20Force%20inscription.tif?dl=0 Hope it proves useful.

Not long to go now before these are retired so it was indeed a pleasure to see 4 x Sea Kings arrive at Newquay on Tuesday afternoon. They had been working on Bodmin Moor and came into Newquay for some fuel before returning to Yeovilton. For the number crunchers they are ZA299/D; ZA296/Q; ZF116/WP and ZF117/X.

Hello, I was reading earlier that the Fleet Air Arm used Sea King helicopters in the SAR role alongside the Wessex since the 1960s, and that both participated in rescues during the tragic 1979 Fastnet yacht race. I know Wessexes at the time were painted in Dayglo Red/Extra Dark Sea Grey, would the Sea Kings have been the same? Many thanks, Conor

Westland Seaking HAR.3 SAR ZA105 pics from Bootneck (Mike) taken at RAF Mount Pleasant in the Falklands.

First the obligatory picture of the boxes I think we all know what the insides look like! I haven't yet decided what aircraft to build other than a MK 4 in delivery condition with the white lettering. I was thinking of doing either a Pakistan aircraft with the Exocets (Old bobcat kit of the super puma has them I can rob) or an Indian navy one both decals on the way to me if eBay is to be believed. If not as you can see I have 2 set of C Scale conversion for the Mk 4 and decals for 8 different aircraft so may do a winter one or SFOR aircraft Anyway here we go....... Cockpits can be done with out choosing the 2nd aircraft yet. Rodders

Had a great time last night... tiring, but good! The Tracker was a highlight, but I loved the Cessna from the Belgium Police! Anyway, onto the photos. Tracker F-ZBEY at the Northolt Nightshoot. by Totallyrad.co.uk, on Flickr Tracker F-ZBEY at the Northolt Nightshoot. by Totallyrad.co.uk, on Flickr Tracker F-ZBEY at the Northolt Nightshoot. by Totallyrad.co.uk, on Flickr Tracker F-ZBEY at the Northolt Nightshoot. by Totallyrad.co.uk, on Flickr Cessna 182Q Skylane G-01 Belgium Federal Police by Totallyrad.co.uk, on Flickr Cessna 182Q Skylane G-01 Belgium Federal Police by Totallyrad.co.uk, on Flickr Cessna 182Q Skylane G-01 Belgium Federal Police by Totallyrad.co.uk, on Flickr Cessna 182Q Skylane G-01 Belgium Federal Police by Totallyrad.co.uk, on Flickr ZD621 Royal Air Force British Aerospace HS-125 CC3 by Totallyrad.co.uk, on Flickr ZD621 Royal Air Force British Aerospace HS-125 CC3 by Totallyrad.co.uk, on Flickr ZE700 British Aerospace BAe-146 CC2 by Totallyrad.co.uk, on Flickr ZE700 British Aerospace BAe-146 CC2 by Totallyrad.co.uk, on Flickr RAF BAe 146 ZE707 by Totallyrad.co.uk, on Flickr RAF BAe 146 ZE707 by Totallyrad.co.uk, on Flickr Irish Air Corp PC-9 - 260 by Totallyrad.co.uk, on Flickr Irish Air Corp PC-9 - 260 by Totallyrad.co.uk, on Flickr XX337 by Totallyrad.co.uk, on Flickr Royal Navy ZA166 Westland Sea King HU.5 by Totallyrad.co.uk, on Flickr Royal Navy ZA166 Westland Sea King HU.5 by Totallyrad.co.uk, on Flickr

It's been a while since I have been able to show something that's worth showing. But now after a few weeks I have some work that I am quite pleased with. During my time in the Fleet Air Arm I cut my engineering teeth on this airframe: ZF121 from 772 Squadron then I met her up again on 846 Squadron. Where I worked with it in NI (where these old images come from) Here's all the kit that will be creating my masterpiece The donor kit I have just incase I get something wrong. More to follow... Thanks for looking

This year I've been making a bit of an effort to get out and catch some Sea Kings before they are retired in a couple of years time. Fortunately I haven't had to travel far. ZA166 seen here during a flypast over Bodmin Airfield last Sunday (7th Sep) I didn't know this was coming and nearly missed it: ZA166 again, this time at St Agnes Lifeboat Day on the 4th August: And at Padstow Lifeboat Day three days later: XV661 at Newquay Lifeboat Day, August Bank Holiday Weekend: ZH545 at Bude the following day: XV673 dropping off some rescue volunteers outside Classic Air Force at Newquay Airport this week: XV666 at Culdrose Air Day in July: And a couple from across the border in Devon at Okehampton Camp: ZA296/Q

Folks, A little elf told me that Santa is bringing me the 1:48 Hasegawa Mk5 limited edition Sea King for Christmas. This kit comes with the barn door FOD shield and larger radome but not sure about the starboard extended sponson. I intend to make it a long term build and build it is a HAS6, airframe number XV711, callsign 09, as shown below. I will be sourcing the various after market PE etc as well as some scratch building.. but I am wondering what's the best way to go, in order to obtain the decals ?? It must be the aircraft shown below, as it was the last Sea King I crewed back in 96 and the picture below shows us at Old Warden back in July 1996 Is it best to TRY and make my own decals in order to supplement what's in the kit, for example the serial numbers and the claymore etc.. or are there companies/experts who can make 1:48 scale decals to order ?? Any advice would be appreciated. Thank You

Westland Sea King HC4 ZA293 WO Pics from Richard E Westland Sea King HC6 XZ580 Pics from Richard E

Final version of the 1:72 scale Sea King for me, unless I decide to turn my Airfix Seaking Asac 7 into a hanger queen and replace it with another Revell kit. In my opinion the Revell kit is the best 1:72 scale kit out there at the moment. I purchased this one at Wonderland ( on offer at £11.99) and via ebay I bought the Eduard canopy mask and the cracking little SAR crew produced by PJ productions but bought from Models R Go. The Revell kit contains the extra spru for the Mk 5/6 conversion. I will need to source some decals for the kit though. My aim is to have it looking something like this ... picture by me a couple of months back whilst at the top of Ben Lomond Made a start and test fitted all the various small parts before fitting. I was going to cut open the front access door but decided against this at this scale... so early days with all the cockpit parts glued in ready for primer / paint. I've left off the instrument cowling as its easier to paint and apply decals before fitting. Wanted to fill up the rear cabin with some details so out with the cutting tools and dispensed with the sonar operators station , leaving only the observers radar and then scratch build some storage shelves and broom cupboard with the left over parts from previous builds and some plastic packaging that I found lying about. I then began work on a rescue stretcher using some paper clips, brass wire and some plasticard. I also chose to give the impression of soundproofing on the interior roof and on the inside of the cabin walls, again using plasticard. There will be some seats fitted so no point in covering the whole of the rear with the soundproofing. Will try to find some time over the weekend to finish off the stretcher and get some primer down. Will practice some patience this time and allow the primer to dry before applying decals and weathering. Some great tips on the forums regarding the grey and red paint scheme... never thought about applying yellow as a base coat for the red, which then apparently gives at some warmth and pop We shall see ... loads still to do in the meantime. Best wishes and happy modelling

Westland Sea King HAS.5 XZ574 in the FAA Museum, pics thanks to Merlin101