Airforces Monthly Special - Eurofighter Typhoon

ASTEST pilot Peter Weber said during recent celebrations to mark the 20th anniversary of his first flight in the jet, "Eurofighter is an amazing story". This special souvenir publication, timed to coincide with the 20th anniversary of the Eurofighters first flight — although if you include the Experimental Aircraft Programme (EAP) technology demonstrator it's closer to a 30th birthday — aims to tell that amazing story, with more detail than has ever been attempted before. One wonders if any aircraft has ever been developed under such public scrutiny. This unique military project, forged from the political will of European nations (and, of course, former enemies) to work together on common defence, has also had to come through the choppy waters of national and international economic constraints and priorities. Its position at the forefront of European defence in the second decade of the 21st century will be a surprise to many who doubted it could last the course. In a bid to provide more valuefor money to British, German, Italian and Spanish taxpayers, the fourth generation jet has transitioned from air defence to multi-role. Industry has transformed Eurofighter by consistent and relentless software updates, Dropsand Phased Enhancements. At the same time there has been continual co-ordination of effort between the four Eurofighter Partner Companies(EPCs)and the six — soon to be seven — air forces operating it.

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AIR International 05/2014

The first of 15 Italian Air Force HH-101A CAESAR (AW101 Mk611) helicopters completed its maiden flight at AgustaWestland's manufacturing facility in Yeovil, Somerset, on March 19. Registered with UK military serial number ZR352/,15-01 the first aircraft was presented in full Italian Air Force markings, which included Aeronautica Militare titles and the badge of 15° Stormo 'Stafano Cagna' (Cervia-San Giorgio air base) on the tail. The first two HH-101A aircraft produced (c/n CSAR01 and CSAR02) are scheduled for delivery during the final quarter of 2014, configured for personnel recovery and special forces missions. This latest variant of the multi-mission AVV101 extends the type's operational capability. With a proven track record and offering long-range, large capacity and advanced technology, more than 220 AW101 helicopters have been ordered for a variety of roles which include personnel recovery, special forces operations, SAR, combat SAR, utility, troop transport, anti-surface warfare, anti-submarine warfare, airborne early warning, mine sweeping and WIP transport. Personal recovery and combat search aid rescue mission-specific systems include three M134 7.62mm Gatling guns are pintle-mounted on the sides of the rear ramp; armoured cockpit seats and ballistic protection for machine gun operators and critical systems; an integrated electronic warfare system offering self-protection against radar, laser and infrared threats (note the nose-mounted electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR) turret); and an air-refuelling kit for extended range operations.

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Aeroplane Magazine Summer 2014

During the production of this special D-Day70th anniversary issue, I could have had no better inspiration than to fly over the invasion beaches on the coast of Normandy and visit the site of the first action of June 6, 1944, at Pegasus Bridge. That came courtesy of an invite from Rob Wildeboer, the Aviation General Manager at Goodwood, and Conciair Flight Charter Ltd. This was on one of Conciair's Normandy Remembrance Tours, which fly from Goodwood and back in a day and offer a choice of itineraries. It was a special pleasure to meet Madame Ariette Gondrée, who was just four when troops from the British 6th Airborne Division landed by Horsa assault gliders just after midnight on D-Day and captured Pegasus Bridge as it is now known. Next to the bridge was a café run by Madame Gondrée's parents, and they became the first French family to be liberated. The Pegasus Bridge Café Gondrée has been hugely popular with veterans ever since, and as it is remarkable that it is still owned by a member of the family who were liberated on that day 70 years ago. That made it a very thought-provoking place where our group enjoyed some lovely home cooking for lunch. I hope that you enjoy the selection of articles we have put together to mark this important anniversary, and should anyone be interested in going on one of the Conciair tours please see page 41 for more about them.

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Model Airplane International 05/2014

T-50 No.1 or 51 Blue' is one of five development aircraft currently participating in the PAK FA programme, and a total fleet of fifteen development aircraft are planned by the end of 2015. The T-50 is Sukhoi s response to a requirement for a fifth-generation multi-role fighter that will form the core of the future Russian fighter fleet. Whilst a fifth-generation platform would imply stealth design it is clear that some compromises have been made in favour of enhanced manoeuvrability; a good example of this being the leading edge vortex controllers (vorcons) above the engine inlets. It will be interesting to see what blend of stealth and performance the production variant will deliver compared to its stealth centric' counterpart, the F-22 Raptor. Inside the box, the kit itself is very uncomplicated consisting of three grey-coloured styrene sprues and one clear. The kit is dominated by the two fuselage/wing assemblies that come pre-moulded and fit together like a clamshell. I was pleased to note a small photo-etched sprue, which furnishes the cockpit consoles and details for the air data sensors. Eduard now do a nice aftermarket photo-etched set for this kit, which I believe will enhance it greatly. The T-50 reportedly uses a K36D-5 seat and whilst this is new to me, the supplied seat parts looked to be a fair representation of something in the K36DM series, with one exception: scale. The supplied seat if extrapolated to 1:1 would resemble a comfy sofa. It simply isn't realistic.

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Model Airplane News 06/2014

Getting into jets is easy if you start with a good-flying model. If you'd like to join the jet set, the HobbyKing Cobra is a great first jet. Here are a few tips to get started. First, let's talk about takeoff. Many of us have become spoiled with our overpowered sport models. We get used to hitting the throttle and taking to the skies in 10 feet. With an electric ducted-fan model, it takes a little more to get in the air. First, make sure to taxi to the end of the runway; having a little extra room can really help. Next, don't stand behind the model. A lot of people like to do this, but the challenge is that you have no perception of speed. I recommend standing about half field so that you have a good idea of the speed of your model when it passes the halfway point on the runway. Finally, don't rush the takeoff. Make sure you have plenty of airspeed and pull back gently until your model becomes airborne. Now let's talk about what to do when you get into the air. You want to make sure not to hold too much elevator or it will rob your plane of airspeed. Make sure to relax the elevator and let the plane fly.

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Model Airplane News 05/2014

THE P-47 WAS DEFINITELY THE BIGGEST, heaviest, and most expensive single-engine fighter airplane used during WW II. It had a Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp engine and a huge bomb capacity. Great range was also an attribute and the airplane was able to do major damage to any ground insurgencies. P-47s were also used as escorts and did quite well when employed in air-to-air combat. A bubble top canopy appeared on later versions, which appealed to pilots because it helped with visibility and made it easier to shoot those green planes out of the sky. Hobby People embraces history's dogfights and has brought both the P-47 and Zero to life as park flyers. The P-47 is our subject today, however, and word on the street is that the Zero will soon be reviewed in our pages. The P-47 is available ready to fly (RTF) with a 2.4GHz guidance system or as a receiver-ready (RR) model to which you just need to add your own radio gear and battery. The latter was reviewed as I already have an Airtronics Aquila-6 and a receiver ready to go. A 1650mAh LiPo battery is intended for the P-47, which is on the Hobby People site (hobbypeople.net) and is very affordable. This is pretty much an "open-the-box-and-fly" model with very few final assembly steps required. Very few parts are included separately and this low parts count is aimed at folks like me who have little time to build and just want to fly.

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Classic Military Vehicle 05/2014

Now you'd have every right to ask, and quite justifiably too, why I couldn't write just one article about the Medium Tanks in general, instead of dealing with the Mk I and the Mk II separately. Well apart from the obvious fact that I need to write more articles rather than fewer, there is another reason. You see the two tanks are distinctly different - in the layout of the hull, the transmission systems they used and even the gun they mounted, and since I wanted to make that point I thought it would be better to deal with them individually, starting with the Mk I. It should also help to clarify matters from a reader's point of view. But first I need to say a word or two about Vickers Ltd. No matter what you might read elsewhere, the company did not build tanks during WW1. A number of firms it took over later did, which is the basis for most of the claims, and one of its subsidiaries, Wolseley Motors Ltd. was involved in the Medium D tank programme in 1919, but apart from that, Vickers' first experience of building tanks came with the construction of two experimental medium tanks in 1921 which I covered in a CMV article in May 2012.

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Britain At War Magazine 05/2014

D-DAY, as is well-known, represented one of the largest military enterprises ever undertaken. So, to mark its seventieth anniversary we decided to investigate some of the reminders of that momentous summer when Britain and her allies stormed the Normandy coast, sending a clear message to the Third Reich that its days were numbered. Our only proviso was that each of the sites or objects had to be located in the United Kingdom or its waters. Firstly, we looked at the remaining evidence of the enormous construction and training programmes which took place in preparation for D-Day. In Scotland we discovered a mock section of Hitler's Atlantic Wall which had been repeatedly assailed by troops that would have to breach the Normandy defences. We found that there were artificial landing craft made of concrete in North Devon from which the troops practised those first few, frightening moments of landing on the enemy's shore. Actual relics from the invasion were scarce, yet there are still ships to be seen that sailed across the Channel in June 1944. These include an infantry landing craft, a lightship that helped guide the assault forces and even a Landing Barge Kitchen which kept the men fed.

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