Aviation Classic Issue 1

Lincolnshire's Lancaster Association is a registered charity supporting the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight. It was formed from the Lincolnshire Lancaster Committee; a small group of people who came together when the Lancaster was moved from RAF Waddington to RAF Coltishall in 1973. The committee's original aims were to ensure that PA474 would return to Lincolnshire and that the Lancaster would remain in the county as a memorial to the thousands of aircrew who lost their lives during World War Two. Following a request from the RAF to help produce the hardware that made the fitting of the mid-upper turret to the Lancaster possible, it was decided to change the name of the committee and invite public membership. LLA currently has almost 6500 members worldwide and continues to give invaluable support to the Flight. Many projects have been funded over the years by LLA, and this support can only be financed only by the generosity of members, by bequests, donations and money raised from the sale of souvenirs. A donation from the sale of each copy of this issue of Aviation Classics will be donated to LLA.

download

Airfix Modelling 2010 - The Battle of Britain 70th Anniversary

The Vickers-Armstrongs Valiant was a British four-jet bomber, once part of the Royal Air Force's V bomber force. As the Valiant was an entirely new class of aircraft for the RAF, 232 Operational Conversion Unit was established at RAF Gaydon. The first operational RAF unit to be equipped with the Valiant was 138 Squadron, also at RAF Gaydon, though it later moved to RAF Wittering. At its peak, the Valiant equipped at least seven RAF squadrons. A Valiant B.1 (WZ366) of No 49 Squadron (captained by Squadron Leader E.J.G. Flavell AFC) was the first RAF aircraft to drop a British operational atomic bomb when it performed a test drop of a down-rated Blue Danube weapon on Maralinga, South Australia, on 11 October 1956. It was the last time the V-bombers flew a war mission until Avro Vulcans bombed Port Stanley airfield in the Falkland Islands during the Falklands War in 1982.

download

Flight Journal 10/2012

THE U.S. AIR FORCE "isn't even remotely considering" replacing the A-10 Thunderbolt II, alias the Warthog, with a newer-generation, single-mission ground attack aircraft. "It isn't going to happen," said outgoing Air Force chief of staff Gen. Norton Schwartz on the 40th anniversary of the A-10's first flight on May 10. Gen. Mark Welsh, named to replace Schwartz on August 1, is not expected to change that decision. "The A-10 is a high-precision close air support weapon," Lt. Col. Brian "B.T." Burger told Flight Journal. He is the Arkansas Air National Guard officer slated to command the 184th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron in Afghanistan this summer. "When we upgraded the A-10 fleet to the current A-10C configuration, we did a great thing." On January 26, in a surprise to observers in Washington, the administration announced that as part of its plan for fiscal year 2013 it would retire 102 A-10Cs out of the 356 currently in service (and 715 built altogether).

download

Electric Flight 01/2013

Learning to fly for me was really all about taking off and landing. My biggest issue was taking off from the asphalt or grass, ground-looping, and taking out the propeller. Where was the Firebird Stratos six years ago? This twin-engine airplane, equipped with tricycle landing gear and reinforced tail skid, was engineered with the beginner in mind. I can't imagine how you could break a propeller on this airplane! It can also slow down to a crawl, so landing is a piece of cake. It's even equipped with virtual instructor technology, so a first-time flier can be successful without a flight instructor on hand!

download

Basic And Advanced Tips And Techniques for Styrene Modelling

This book is a workbench manual to help you get the most out of modeling with styrene plastic. In its pages you'll find basic techniques for achieving advanced results — plus hundreds of tricks of the trade from top-notch builders. Those builders have a lot to do with making this volume truly useful. Instead of relying on the modeling knowledge and experience of just one person, in compiling Styrene Modeling we asked for modeling techniques, tips, and photos from accomplished hobbyists and professional model builders across North America. Their contributions provided the all-important variety in subject matter that makes this book relevant to every hobbyist who uses styrene. More important, they've provided alternative ways to solve common modeling problems — the same modeling problems that you're likely to encounter in your projects!

download