Featured Kit
Hughes H-1B Racer
On September 13, 1935, flying his purpose-built H-1 racer, Howard Robard Hughes Jr. set a new world speed record of 352 mph (567 kph) at Santa Ana, California. The H-1, also known as the Hughes H-1B, was designed with two sets of wings. A short set was built with a span of 7.6 meters (25 feet), designed to achieve maximum speed for the record flight. A separate long set of wings with a span of 9.2 meters (31 feet, 9 inches) was built to provide maximum lift in addition to speed for tackling the transcontinental flight that Hughes would attempt and conquer just 16 months later on January 19, 1937. Flying from Los Angeles to Newark, New Jersey, in 7 hours, 28 minutes, and 25 seconds, Hughes set a new speed record for transcontinental flight.
Kit Previews
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.
Northrop-Grumman EA-18G Growler
The EA-18G Growler, an advanced airborne electronic attack (AEA) platform, is a variant of the combat-proven F/A-18F Super Hornet, providing tactical jamming and electronic protection to U.S. military forces and allies around the world. It provides critical electronic intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) data to other aircraft.
Fokker Dr. I
The Fokker Dr. I was Germany’s response to the impressive Sopwith tri-plane, which along with the S.E.5a, Bristol F.2B, Sopwith Camel, and Spad fighters, had by the Summer of 1917 outclassed the Albatros fighters which were the mainstay of the Imperial German Air Service. With its superb maneuverability, it became the “second Fokker scourge.”
Goppingen Go 9
The Göppingen Gö 9 was a one-off prototype commissioned by the Dornier-Werke and constructed by Schempp-Hirth, to test the idea of an airplane with a mid-fuselage engine driving a pusher propeller in the tail, and turned by a long driveshaft. This proof-of-concept development aircraft led directly to the Dornier Do 335 Pfeil (Arrow).
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 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.
Mitsubishi J2M3 Raiden & A6M5 Zero Combo
The Mitsubishi A6M Reisen (Zero) took part in every major action involving the Imperial Japanese Navy for the enitire Pacific War, from the December 1941 Pearl Harbor attack onwards. Although first ordered in 1938, the J2M3 Raiden evolved into a late war design, different in being both heavily armed and armored to destroy B-29’s.
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.