Featured Kit
Dornier Do 17 Z-10
The Dornier Do 17 Z-10 was the final evolution of this rejected-airliner-turned-fast light bomber into a nimble nightfighter. Although it was agile, well-armed and fast enough to pose a threat to British heavy night bombers, lack of resources and the success of the Junkers Ju 88 as a nightfighter, and the proliferation of other types including the Dornier Do 217, Junkers Ju 188, and Heinkel He 219, limited production of the Z-10 to less than 10 aircraft.
Kit Previews
Alouette III
The Alouette III is a single engine, light utility helicopter that since its introduction in 1961, has proved to be as popular as it is versatile, being license-built in India, Romania and Switzerland in addition to its service with the French military. It remains in service in many civilian and military applications over 60 years later.
Beechcraft TC-12 Huron
The Beechcraft C-12 Huron is the military designation for a twin-engine turboprop aircraft based on the Beechcraft Super King Air. C-12 variants were flown by the U.S. Air Force, Army, Navy and Marine Corps. The King Air is a highly successful aircraft, remaining in production continuously since its introduction in 1964.
Heinkel He 112B
The Heinkel He 112 was a fighter aircraft developed by Heinkel AG in the early 1930s and designed by brothers Siegfried and Walter Günter in response to an RLM specification for a single-seat fighter with a low-wing monoplane configuration. It saw combat in the Spanish Civil War but was obsolete by the time WWII broke out.
Messerschmitt Bf 109 G-4
The Messerschmitt Bf 109 G series first appeared in February 1943. It was powered by a Daimler Benz DB 605 engine. The G-4 featured improvements such as an armored fuel tank and an internal bullet-proof windscreen, to beef up the 109’s protection while defending Germany against the escalating Allied bomber offensive.
Mirage 4000
The Mirage 4000, first flown on March 4, 1979 with test pilot Jean-Marie Saget at the controls, was the result of a project by Dassault Aviation of France to build a larger, more capable twin engine version of the Mirage 2000. The Mirage 4000 with its fly-by-wire technology was to be equivalent to the formidable American F-15 Eagle, and was intended as an export product on the scale of the subsequent Mirage 5, but it never generated sufficient interest among foreign buyers.
Mirage M-5M Elkan
The Mirage M-5M Elkan was the Chilean Air Force version of a group of Mirage 5 fighters stripped of radar and modified for low-level ground attack, initially sold to Belgium by the French government. In Belgian hands, these aircraft became the subject of an upgrade program which the government undertook but never finished. SABCA, a Belgian aerospace company completed the upgrade at its own expense and the aircraft were sold to Chile.
Grumman TF-9J Cougar
The Grumman F9F/ F-9 Cougar was a swept wing version of Grumman’s straight winged F9F Panther, and entered service in December 1952, too late to see action in Korea. The U.S. Navy employed them for advanced training, weapons training, and carrier qualifications until 1974. A few of these trainers saw operational use in Vietnam with the Marines as a forward air controller.
Vickers Valiant Mk. I
The Vickers Valiant was the first of RAF Bomber Command’s V-class aircraft. It established Britain’s airborne nuclear deterrent force and pioneered RAF in-flight refuelling. Although later overshadowed by the Vulcan and Victor, the Valiant was the first V-bomber to drop a nuclear bomb, the first to see combat, and the RAF’s first operational tanker. Despite these successes, its career would be cut short by structural problems in 1965.
New in Articles
Aces & Aircraft of World War I
Aces and Aircraft of World War I by Christopher Campbell Copyright 1981, Blandford Press, Great Britain This is a highly informative volume on the early days of military aviation, with 160 illustrations. Aces and Aircraft of World War I chronicles the birth of...
Best Phantom Ejection Seats
The Best Phantom Ejection Seats For those modelers who want a truly detailed F-4 Phantom cockpit, if you are building in 1/72 scale, most out-of-the-box cockpits are not enough. The only truly detailed Phantom driver’s “office” I’ve seen in 1/72 was in the 1980's...
Blue Moon Over Cuba
Blue Moon Over Cuba: Aerial Reconnaissance during the Cuban Missile Crisis by Captain William B. Ecker USN (ret.) and Kenneth V. JackCopyright 2012 by Osprey Publishing; Oxford (United Kingdom) Blue Moon Over Cuba, based largely on the previously unpublished memoir of...
Ghosts of the Air
Ghosts of the Air by Martin Caidin Copyright 1997 by Barnes & Noble; New York Just in time for Halloween, this re-issued publication of true-life supernatural accounts in the aviation world will make those who don't believe in ghosts think twice. Well-documented...
This Day in Aviation History
October 6, 1983
First flight of the Bell Helicopter Company Model 406. subsequently designated the OH-58D Kiowa reconnaissance helicopter.